Something like two months ago, I asked for suggestions of topics you’d like me to write about here.

This is what I got back (hella good list, can we agree? I’ve made some notes as they apply):

1. Road trip snacks!! (Done: see this post.)
2. New and exciting plants I’ve seen in Minnesota
   • Minnesota is not especially full of new and exciting plants, as compared to Michigan. Colorado – that was a place of plants unheard of, spiny wonders and succulent survivors. Here I’ve got the same pines and spruces, oaks and maples, marsh marigolds and daisies. /// One super exciting thing though is that there are actually full-sized ash trees all over the streets throughout the Cities. With the total destruction wracked by the emerald ash-borer in Michigan, I’d sort of forgotten ashes could get so big. That stupid green little bug hasn’t totally wrecked them all here quite yet, so I get to see some. Be smart about moving invasive species, people – keep an eye on that firewood!
3. New music
   • Couple of quick recommendations for you here. One is the group Lucius, described usually as “indie pop,” who I saw live in Minneapolis with Niko a couple months ago and it was one of the most fun/great concerts ever, even with my usual concert-sleepiness. (Does anyone else suffer from that phenomenon? Concerts shut. me. down.) Anyway, those girls kick ass. They are so good. I’ve also been hearing more and more of First Aid Kit, who also are ass kickers, and I need to figure out my phone so I can add all of their music.
   • In addition, these two songs: “Drowned Lovers” by Kate Rusby and “Hero” by Family of the Year.
4. The edge, how you define and re-define your own edge, how you go beyond it
   • This is obviously a very intriguing concept, but for right now, I just want to share a quick anecdote. /// Summer 2010. (Or was it 2011?) Hot, sunny day on Isle Royale. Casey and I paddled out into Duncan Bay and found an island that was all cliffs and all blueberries. We literally sat in a patch of blueberry bushes for ages and ate our fill like we were little bear cubs. The blueberries were growing right on the side of the mini cliff, which was craggy, moss-covered rock hanging out over the deep blue water, and we’d heard it was a great spot for cliff jumping, so that was the plan.
   • I think Casey jumped first, and he swam around and climbed back up, and I was still standing there, bare toes on the moss, staring down at the water, nervous. “I know I know I know,” I said. “Ahhh! I’m getting there.” And he gave me a piece of advice then that I’ve thought about over and over since. “Whenever I’m nervous about doing something,” he said, “I remind myself that I know in my heart that I’m going to do it eventually. So I can spend twenty minutes agonizing over it and working up the nerve, or I can just do it right now. Same difference. Saves a lot of time.” /// So I jumped.
   • And the water was deep, and clear, and cold, and safe.*
5. Hammocks versus tents for backpacking
   • I don’t own a hammock and have always used a tent, but here are my thoughts on hammocks anyway:
     1. Pros: Lightweight; no soggy ground soaking into your butt; quick to set up and take down; comfortable and feasible even on steep, uneven, or rocky ground
     2. Cons: Can’t use them in places without big trees; not as good for cuddling with others; not as much storage space to keep gear with you overnight
6. My favorite bugs!
   • Well, as any of my Bio Station buddies knows, Megaloptera has to be on the list. Come on. Their order’s scientific name is Megaloptera. And their larvae look like this: SO AWESOMELY CREEPY.
   • I also really, really love weevils because they are adorable with their little proboscises. Look at that face:
7. Which has fuzzier bellies: puppies or kittens?
   • Can someone please supply me with the materials to complete this research? Thank you.
8. Alternate futures I am considering
   • Living in a big farm house with all of my friends and some chickens
   • Becoming a classroom teacher
   • Moving to northern Michigan
   • Moving out west
   • Writing a lot
   • Living on a boat for awhile
   • Having some goats
   • Not having some goats
9. Candy
   • I’m not sure exactly what was meant by this suggestion, but on the topic of candy I would like to say that I love its texture as much as its flavor. You get textures in candy you don’t get anywhere else. And I love tiny individual things.
10. Weird things I wonder about
11. Permaculture
12. Books I’ve read in Minnesota; book recommendations or books that have been very influential
13. Camping spots
14. A detailed list of all purchases
15. Pseudo-fiction with real characters in my life
16. How to treat everyone with kindness and love and still reserve a special spot for special people
17. Pros and cons to my most memorable sunsets/sunrises

The rest of that list will be dealt with soon.

For now, please go enjoy fall in your favorite ways – or winter if, like me, you happen to live in some place like Minnesota.

*Isle Royale aficionados will note that these photos were taken at Scoville Point. I didn’t have any from that afternoon.