One of my favourite things as a father is to experience nature and wildlife with my kids. The problem is that, until a certain age, some kids have the most difficult time actually seeing what you’re trying to point out. A couple years ago we took our kids to a…
The Prize of Simply Seeing
Some of my favourite moments growing up involved encounters with wildlife. I poured over wildlife books, watched vigilantly from the backseat on long drives, and learned to walk or sit quietly in forest or lakeside. Wildlife rewards the observant with rare sightings. Even today, I find no greater delight than…
Making Things Out of Junk
One of our kids returned proudly from pre-school one day holding up a creation made entirely from objects rescued from the recycling bin. If we were unsure what this random glued-together collection of cups and sticks was, exactly, so was she. But it was her creation, and that was enough…
Winter Reveals
“Summer conceals, winter reveals.” – Annie Dillard A few short months ago, the forest trails were but a thread through the lush green tunnel. Without a trail, in fact, travel through the woods in summer would prove nearly impossible. After a rain, the crowding branches leave you drenched. At times…
The Things Dad Brought Home
Last weekend I ran on the frozen Seine River. Because of the rumours of wildlife along this twisting urban waterway, I kept my camera (the kind that also makes phone calls) handy. Sure enough, within the first couple kilometres I’d chased up a fox, later a small herd of friendly…
Listening to the Dishwater
We’ve been doing the dishes by hand lately. It’s the daily ritual. (We’ve tried skipping a day, but quickly regret our past selves’ laziness the next.) Some days the kids help out, but inevitably, once the youngsters are in bed, the house gets quiet, and I turn to the mess…
The Long Night and the Dawn
“No matter how long or dark the night, no matter the pain, or how difficult is is to go on, you can’t stop the dawn.” – Ashleigh, Jan 10, 2021 A couple weeks ago we lost a dear friend. Ashleigh was a shining example of being light in the darkness,…
The Year of the Fun Run
When race cancellation emails began to fill runners’ inboxes in early 2020, causing a primary running and training motivator to fizzle, everyone was forced to look for those alternative motivations to keep moving forward. For several years I’d been finding “running as art” a good motivator for getting out the…
Longest Night Run 2020: Recap
At 4:29pm on Dec 21, the sun set on the longest night of the year. In Steinbach, the gray sky hardly blinked as it slowly faded to deeper shades of grey, and the street lights slowly took over lighting the streets of town. And as the darkness settled in, we…
Eight sleeps
Eight sleeps left till The Longest Night Run! We’ve been encouraged by all of you who have signed up so far, along with the stories of why you’ll be braving the night. And we’re so grateful for the generosity of those who have donated, it’s beautiful to see a community…
Hi, I'm Brent! I write about creativity, curiosity, design, and wonder.
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© 2021 Brent Manke