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Primary Colours of Fall
Here’s a little Sandilands haiku to inspire your autumn adventures. As we arrived in the Sandilands last weekend, my wife remarked, “I forgot how red the grasses get.” It’s true. Every autumn we share our amazement of how even the ditches, however briefly, turn vibrant shades of red and orange. Another reminder to savour the…
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Caminante
When I once told a Latino friend of my desire to learn Spanish (probably in my own broken vocabulary), he told me I was wise, as Spanish was the language of heaven. I didn’t disagree. I first read Antonio Machado’s poem Caminante no hay camino in a book by Brené Brown, and it has since…
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Dusk Ride
Our family’s been spending a lot of time on bikes lately. Rides just after sunset are the best. Playing with textures and a “grand reveal” for this one. Did you feel it too The moment when the air On your skin turned cool
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How to SUP in Fryslân
Four years ago I watched from a bridge as a group of paddlers sliced silently through the morning mist on their SUP boards. As they approached they suddenly crouched down on their boards to slip beneath the bridge on which I stood, standing back up to continue paddling along the Zwette towards the centre of…
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Schiermonnikoog
In 2023 our family visited the little island of Schiermonnikoog, one of the wadden islands of the Netherlands. With a lot of natural and historical significance, we enjoyed biking around the island exploring all we could find. Here’s a zine about a little moment we enjoyed. PS: we had a lot of fun trying to…
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Mennonite Marathon NL
Following the tradition established in August 2020 to commemorate the arrival of the first Mennonites in Manitoba, in 2023 I took the opportunity while visiting my wife’s family in the Netherlands to run to the birthplace of Menno Simons himself. Fortunately my in-laws live only a half-marathon distance from Witmarsum, so the mission could be…
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We’re Going on a Trail Run
Nothing brings out the best in human ingenuity and resourcefulness than putting obstacles in front of trail runners. This zine, inspired by Michael Rosen’s We’re Going on a Bear Hunt, explores one of my favourite trail obstacles.
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How to Catch a Trail Runner
Having observed the habits of the elusive “Trail Runner”, here are a few tips for catching one in the wild.
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Trail Runner’s Guide to Berry Picking
The best thing about summer trail running is picking berry snacks along the way. Here’s a look at the art of picking berries on the run, featuring Manitoba berries.
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Plowshare Prayer
This song found me, through some benevolent algorithm (and some friend connections, so it wasn’t “random” at all, I suppose) at the end of a long week, stopped me in my tracks, struck some chord deep inside, and has been working on my ever since. Maybe it will work on you too. Thanks Spencer for…