Author Archives: susanmsink@gmail.com

Birds!

I was hoping to sleep until 7:15 a.m. today, but the pheasant outside my window had another idea. It sounded like he was standing on my balcony and every minute or two he’d let out a tremendous squawk followed by … Continue reading

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Tomatoes

This is the most anxious time in the garden. This year feels especially fraught. In May we have had a record low temperature (14 degrees on May 2) and a record high (96 degrees on May 15). And it is … Continue reading

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Asparagus!

Three years ago, I had a dream. A dream to eat asparagus from my garden. I obsessively watched Youtube videos, ordered some plants and put them in two of my raised beds. And for that year and the next, I … Continue reading

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Fruitfulness

Here is that photo of the prairie from May 9th. It is hard to believe how fast the green starts to assert itself after a burn. I do love the look of this photo with the paths running through it. … Continue reading

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Spring Green

I’m in Chicago for the weekend visiting my niece.  (Part of the purpose of the trip was to deliver these kitchen stools by Steve, and father and daughter shared the paper over breakfast this morning.) The cold followed me here, … Continue reading

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Spring Greens

Yesterday morning I worked diligently away on the proofs of a book while the classical music station played songs related to May. Ah, May! Glorious spring! Month of full bloom! We can finally put that cruel month, April, behind us. … Continue reading

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Our Shame

Hardly ever do I see starkly the disconnect between something that really matters and what I’m being fed by the media. Usually my days play out like this: the media (NPR mostly) tells me what is important and what is … Continue reading

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Arrival of the Bees

Spring 2013 officially began in Central Minnesota on April 26. Yesterday the temperature went up not just into the 50s and not just into the 60s but actually up to 72. And today, we were all ready. I’m actually relieved I didn’t … Continue reading

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The Mushroom Farm

In 1985, two years before Steve purchased our 80 acres from the Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict, Kevin Doyle, who was a classmate of Steve’s at St. John’s University, purchased the monks’ old hog farm in Collegeville. These … Continue reading

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Terrence Malick Speaks of Love

On Saturday, in part to clear our heads after the media extravaganza that was the Boston Bomber Manhunt Week, we went to the Twin Cities to see Terrence Malick’s new film, To the Wonder. It was lovely to hear so … Continue reading

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