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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…
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The Fire Inside
In her characteristic weaving of old and new texts from a wide variety of sources, Maria Popova of The Marginalian first brought this quote from Vincent van Gogh to light, framing a discussion of the myth of normalcy from Alain de Botton’s book. Here’s her quote: “Does what goes on inside show on the outside?”…