photo by Coleen Sullins A visit from a flying squirrel in the evening, he waited for the cover of darkness to check out our supplies and scampered up our skis when we arrived after the sauna.  He apparently likes cheese.     A visit from the daily groomer in the morning–it was too warm to set tracks but they would drag the skate lanes to break up the ice.  I don’t know if he likes cheese.     photo by

  Creamy, silky AND healthy, the Alligator pear, aquacate, manzana del invierno, palta, or avocado, is one of those incredible fruits we should be getting down on our knees and giving thanks for every day. A Superstar. A Helper.   Limes and avocados are two of the main reasons I simply cannot eat only locally here in the Upper Midwest of the United States.  They are two of my favorite entities on this planet and no one I know except my friend David Cavagnaro, a

  The International Paralympic Committee’s Nordic Skiing World Championships, right here at Telemark Lodge in Cable, Wisconsin near our winter home-base.  The paralympic equivalent to the World Cup, this is the championships for athletes from around the world competing in biathlon and cross country skiing.  It’s incredible to be this close to world-class skiers, watching their smooth techniques and stamina, and all of this combined with the phenomenal spirit of individuals overcoming the challenges of missing limbs or being visually impaired.

  A giant snow egg on the Hemlock Trail at ABR.     Snow angels outside of the sauna.     And the awesome wood stove responsible for the snow angels… .  . It’s been a hearty season here in the Upper Peninsula.  Lots of snow and sub zero temperatures—rough as it may be, it feels right when winter is as it should be.  Today it was 16 degrees above 0 and it felt like a heat wave.  And Emerald Ash

. Let’s start with a few images from a weekend in a cabin with my sisters…as you can see it was full of hardship and suffering!  My favorite is the top photo taken by my sister. .   Girls with blow torches! .   This is a post about the Little Guys—ingredients that tirelessly support the whole, the oft Unsung Heroes of our culinary quests, the Ameliorators. I try to have near me at all times what I call The

  This is part one of a Love Story of Leeks.   I sometimes refer to my Helpers, my crew, the band of ingredients that are my secret weapons.  Friends I can turn to when something isn’t right—if a sauce is bland, or too bright, or if it has no base flavor—I consult my arsenal of Superheroes.  I have a page with the Helpers List but they need more explanation.  Just like the DC Comics making the movies of the individual

We now begin the trip home.  The American Birkebeiner ski marathon is over, the car is packed to the gills and we are pointed south heading towards brown grass and re-entry into the world. After leaving the home-base cabin we stopped in at the “00” trails near Seeley for one last ski.  With the new snow it was slow but it didn’t matter, it was achingly sweet as we said farewell for another year to that sweetheart of a trail, and to