Opinion

With recent heavy rainfalls in our area in the last month, the weather, and specifically precipitation has been on a lot of people’s minds and has been the topic of much conversation. When I was growing up, I remember many summers that would start wet, and end rather dry, close to being a drought. And my dad would talk about how we so desperately needed rain. And I would point out that strong thunderstorms were being forecasted, to which he would respond that, “Well, that’s ok. But it would be better if we had a day or two of a continuous, gentle rain, so that the ground would be soaked well, but not flooded.”

Cryptocurrency? If you take financial avice from this column, in the future, you may not be able to afford to read this column. That said… let’s talk digital currencies.

Is it the sun? The lilacs threatening to burst forth? All efforts to nurture our planet Earth seem to be coming together in delicious ways as the ground and trees turn green and the number of people ready to make personal changes or speak from the heart grows and grows. The world is full of possibility!

Guns, guns, guns. Hundreds of millions of guns, guns, guns.

There are invasive plants, insects, aquatic and terrestrial dwellers. Parasites and even diseases are categorized as invasive. This is a subject I struggle with because I believe we are meant to move, travel, and spread out. Evolution developed an enormous tool belt of ways to move lifeforms about our planet. From the weightlessness of a dandelion seed drifting in the wind, to the laxative effect in European buckthorn berries, we are up against true forces of nature.

It is that time of year again (however brief it may be) that we need to be more concerned with sun safety. The sun can be dangerous year-round, but for a large portion of the time we are bundled up against the cold, and so we automatically protect ourselves against harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation. But this time of year brings about increased health risks, such as skin cancer.

Last Wednesday, our crew of six sailed from Silver Bay to Two Harbors. A “nor’easter” built all afternoon, but we were “running with it,” as they say in nautical terms, moving with the waves and wind rather than against them. So, the ride was relatively smooth. If you never looked behind you, you’d never guess how big the waves were. We have a seasoned crew now, and it was a thrill for me to watch them take over at the helm, peer ahead with purpose, and start decisively spinning the wheel.

Somehow the Big Lie continues and now we have restrictive voting laws in many states. Minnesota members of what was once known as the Republican Party, want that to happen here as well, just to provide “a little more trust” in our election system.