Red's Wrap
Happiness. It's relative.
Category: Grand Marais
Untethered in the Morning
The sun was just coming up when I leashed up the dogs to walk them down our long driveway in Grand Marais. The sunrise was soft above the far trees – yellow and orange, strands of pink. And I thought, “Morning has broken like… Continue Reading “Untethered in the Morning”
I Swam in the Big Blue
Down the beach, I see our neighbor swimmingHis gray head bobbing in the gentle wavesWhile he talks to his wife on the beachShe is collecting rocks, looking for agates, studying Then they switch, he comes on shore and she wades inI watch her in… Continue Reading “I Swam in the Big Blue”
The House in the Pole at the End of the Driveway Up North
At the end of our driveway, loosely termed because it is really just two tracks in the grass, is a very tall pole that was once one of two marking the entrance. The other pole long since fell over. There used to be a… Continue Reading “The House in the Pole at the End of the Driveway Up North”
A Bobbing Head in the Distance
When we stopped at the roadside park on U.S. 2 along Lake Michigan in the U.P., I saw a head bobbing pretty far out and I wondered whether the person was floating on a surfboard hoping to catch some tiny Great Lakes wave that… Continue Reading “A Bobbing Head in the Distance”
The Worst and Best Scenario
Everyone here is sleeping. It’s late afternoon in the summer. It’s what creatures do. I am texting with my husband who is canoeing with one of our sons on Sable Lake. He sends a picture of an eagle, a photo of our son paddling,… Continue Reading “The Worst and Best Scenario”
Superiority
This is our new neighbor. She’s having a hard time fitting in. We’ve tried to help her by suggesting that she scale down just a bit and maybe give the barn swallows some space to fly around. That’s not true. We’ve only had one… Continue Reading “Superiority”
We Know When to Quit
We didn’t press on. We turned back. It was the wise thing to do. Even if we had to turn our truck around on a narrow dirt logging road with shoulders made of deep soft sand. I had to get out of the truck… Continue Reading “We Know When to Quit”
White Pelicans in the Rain
It rained hard on the way home from Madison. So hard that I got off the freeway when I got to the outskirts of Milwaukee, opting for surface streets rather than the pinball machine that the freeway was becoming. All the way back, on… Continue Reading “White Pelicans in the Rain”
The Gales of November
Tonight, I learned the meaning of the word fetch, used as a noun, to describe the growing power of wind and waves. This is especially pertinent to a lover of Lake Superior who is frequently at a loss to describe the lake’s extraordinary drama.… Continue Reading “The Gales of November”
Snow Door | wisconsinacademy.org
Listen to Jan read her essay “Billy” presented on WUWM’s Lake Effect
Jan’s essay “At the Breakfast Bar” on WUWM Lake Effect
Jan’s essay “The Parish Hall,” on WUWM Lake Effect
“Fury Cannot Touch Me,” Modern Love, NYT, 9/29/11
Recent Comments