Emily Brisse

I turned twenty-nine earlier this month. At risk of offending many of you, THAT SOUNDS OLD. I know, I know: there's lots of life ahead of me, but as I can't quite quiet the tick-tock-tick-tock  thoughts, and as I'm one of those goal-oriented dreamers, I've constructed a list of (almost) thirty Minnesota/nature/writerly things I'd like to experience before the big 3-0. Here are my ideas so far : Climb on top of a hay bale and sing something Make a pumpkin pie from scratch Canoe and fish for sunnies on St. John's University's Lake Sagatagan Canoe through Lake Shetek to Loon Island Revisit the Boundary Waters Wilderness Canoe Area Visit Minnehaha Falls Visit the Root River Valley Go strawberry and/or raspberry picking Take a friend to the Carver Country Reserve Discover a new park Learn to name and identify at least five new plants Learn to name and identify at least three new bird calls Explore some new place along the North Shore Go cross-coun...

A shout out: If you've never heard of or checked out The Nature Conservancy , ladies and gentleman, now is the time. They're involved in important work all over the world, and if you love yourself some unspoiled places, it's likely that they've had a hand or at least a finger in either the preservation of that locale or the preservation of public opinion that such sanctuaries matter. In Minnesota alone, TNC has helped conserve more than 500,000 acres  of wild habitat. That's no small field of grass. And the photography they post? Let's just say it's not ugly. There are plenty of other strong organizations out there, too. Please leave a link in the comments if you think there's one in particular I need to know about!

Midwestern lore has it that when the goldenrod blooms, it's time to return to school. Well, the fields are a-full of these plants, friends, so for me it's back to teaching. I do still hope to post at least once a week. We'll see.  A special thanks to all of you who have read along and commented this summer—whether online or in person. Writing is a solitary art; when I compose these words, it really is just me and the swallows twittering outside my window. So it's likely that whatever you've said to me about my crazy blog-world-endeavor, I remember it. When I doubt whether to press publish —because writing has always felt so private and personal—I think of your kind eyes on some other end of these internets, and I'm heartened. You have made sharing easier for me, and I guess the whole point of this post is just to say thanks.  You’re a good bunch. Be well, and enjoy your patch of home.

Numbers have never been my passion, but I'm about to throw some at you like slick boomerangs with the hope that they'll fling back and sting me between the eyes, seep into my skull, and do that one thing I'm doing all this for: inspire. In Minnesota... -- there are over 15,000 lakes and ponds -- there exist  three of North America's major drainage systems (meaning, lots of rivers and streams) -- there are four  ecological biomes: prairie parklands, eastern broadleaf forests (sugar maple, basswood, and elm), and Laurentian mixed forest (white pine, red pine, spruce, fir, aspen, and birch), and tallgrass aspen parklands -- the area of greatest relief is the Arrowhead region, with the lowest elevation at 602 feet above sea level (Lake Superior's shore) and the highest at 2,301 feet (Eagle Mountain) -- the greatest twenty-four-hour rainstorm of record was 10.8 inches on July 21-22, 1972, in Morrison Country -- the lowest annual precipitation was 7.8 inches in...