The final section of Deciding on Trails is titled, “Taking Heart in Trails.” A little over a month since publishing, I can say that I have taken heart in the positive response to the book.
Articles
Community Pain Points in the time of COVID
I have a lot of thoughts (and questions) around how trail communities – how any community – will recover from the pandemic. But in this moment, I simply want to acknowledge what a difficult time this has been for people.
Getting Outside in a Time of Social Distancing
Life has changed pretty significantly over the last couple of weeks. I sense that we’re all doing the best we can to get by despite the very real hardships that so many of us face. One of the things that’s been on my mind, like many of you, is how safe is it to go […]
Are we Hungry for Thriving Communities?
In her memoir, Hunger, Roxane Gay writes of romantic relationships, “…it’s a shame that the measure is what is not so bad instead of what is thriving and good.” That insight caught my attention because it’s true for so many people. No doubt, we all have friends or family members who stay in relationships that […]
Outdoor Adventures with Your Nervous Dog
Time in the car has a way of connecting us back to our grief. While traveling in Wisconsin recently, I was reminded that I really miss my dog. By this trip, it had been about nine weeks since he died. Quill, a fear-aggressive German Shorthaired Pointer, spent close to nine years hopping in and out […]
Rolling Into Summer Retreat
This very moment is everything I noticed yesterday that I had “Rolling Into Summer?” (with a question mark at the end) on my calendar for June 1-2. That’s because when I first penciled it in, I wasn’t sure that I would go on to host my first overnight nature retreat. Truth be told, I didn’t […]
Cycling Through the Seasons
From maple festivals and everything pumpkin spice to Solstice celebrations and Seasonal Affective Disorder, our lives are very much influenced by the four seasons. Our moods can be impacted by shorter days or, say, by the rainiest year on record (hello, Pittsburgh in 2018). We feel free of winter’s clutches the first spring day we […]
Why we don’t have to be good
New Year’s reflections on gentleness and resolutions It’s 3 p.m. on New Year’s Day and I’m seated at my desk to repeat my semi-annual ritual of taking stock. Resolutions get a bad rap and I get why. I heard yesterday that just 4 in 10 people manage to keep theirs, and there have been many […]
10 Months Living in Pittsburgh’s South Side
Ten months ago, three days before Christmas, my wife and I moved into our new (old) home in Pittsburgh’s South Side neighborhood. Throughout our first year here, I’ve often thought about writing about our experience as new residents. Honestly, though, I haven’t known what I want to say. My history with the neighborhood goes back […]
In Gratitude of Investment
A friend invested in me in a big way last week. Pam purchased five tickets to the Gremlins in the Woods* workshop that I’m hosting next month. Not only did she invest in herself in registering, but she also invested in her friends…and in me. Pam believes in the value that I provide as a […]
