Blog Posts – Paddlin’ On

…and let it begin with me… Greetings in this festive holiday season!! I hope you are doing well. As I begin this year’s letter, I reflect back on a challenging year of self-discovery. My word for the year was compassion, so I began with self-compassion. It was important to me to start 2024 strong. As […]

In July of this year I had the honor of being selected by The Thoreau Society to present excerpts from my book, Paddlin’ with Thoreau… at their Annual Gathering in Concord, MA. Founded in 1941, The Thoreau Society is the largest and oldest organization devoted to an American author. The Society has members from more

If you are one of the people who has often said, “I’d love to write a book…” and that’s where it stops, this is your chance to have an essay published in my next book, Mum’s the Word…Reflections from Many Colorful Kayaks. Your challenge is to write a drabble, an essay of exactly 100 words

“Though Thoreau considered himself an able woodsman, [Joe] Polis had much to impart to him, such as finding one’s way by ‘indications of where the sun shines on trees and rocks, [and by the] location of mountains’.” –David B. Raymond, “The Influence of Penobscot Woodcraft on Henry David Thoreau,” Maine History 56, No. 1 (Summer,

What is Sacred to You? This essay is an excerpt from my recently published book, Paddlin’ with Thoreau…Reflections from the Red Kayak “All wisdom is the reward of a discipline, conscious or unconscious…Cultivate reverence.” -Henry David Thoreau, Journal, September 5, 1851, age 34 Two days before this journal entry, Thoreau writes about walking in drizzly

This essay is an excerpt from my latest book, Paddlin’ with Thoreau…

Just as we reached and soared to new heights in January, we now reach deep within and find the resilience that will bring us joy.

When I was a little girl about eight years old, I subscribed to Highlights Magazine filled with fun learning activities. In the back of one issue was an invitation to send in for a certificate entitling you to board one of the first rockets taking people to the moon. This possibility was incredible to me! My Mom, rolling her eyes, graciously paid for and sent in for my certificate. I had my ticket! I was going to the moon someday! I couldn’t wait!

Reflections from the Red Kayak “Could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each other’s eyes for an instant?” Henry David Thoreau, Walden This question is the opening quote of my new book, Paddlin’ with Thoreau, the 4th one in my Reflections from the Red Kayak series. The pictures above are

Reflections from the Red Kayak “Books must be read as deliberately and reservedly as they were written. Books are the treasured wealth of the world and the fit inheritance of generations and nations.” Henry David Thoreau, Walden, Reading And so Paddlin’ with Thoreau, Reflections from the Red Kayak, appropriately begins with that quote from Henry.

Reflections from the Red Kayak “Each new year is a surprise to us. We find that we had virtually forgotten the note of each bird, and when we hear it again, it is remembered like a dream, reminding us of a previous state of existence. The voice of nature is always encouraging.”