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Darla Mae Swanson

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A Birthday with Longfellow: Poetry, Nature, and Unexpected Gifts

This year I decided to give myself a birthday gift—an afternoon with nature and poetry. There’s a little garden in Minneapolis, along Minnehaha Creek, called Longfellow Garden. It’s named after Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. I’d never been there before, but I had read about it. Someone online mentioned going there early

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Changing Plans on the North Shore—and Loving It

My August nature resolution was a simple goal: an overnight backpacking trip on the Superior Hiking Trail. Just me, two days of hiking, and my bedroom (tent) on my back. This was going to be a dry-run, albeit short. One day, I’d like to do the through-hike—all 300 miles of

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Mining Memories: Hunting For Amethyst in Thunder Bay

I’ve wanted to look for Amethyst near Thunder Bay, Canada, for about 15 years. Not quite a “bucket list” item, but definitely something that’s lingered in the back of my mind—something I heard about once and have been intrigued with ever since. This June, my son John and I finally

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Saying Goodbye to My Dog Lacey: A Lifetime of Love

Yesterday I said goodbye to my best-friend-of-a-dog, Lacey. She was my 16-year-old German Spitz.  I got her on a sunny summer day at Cabela’s in Owatonna, Minnesota. My family stopped at Cabela’s to look at hunting dogs (only look) and I spotted a pen of spitz puppies. Not hunting dogs.

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