Leelanau Up North

When I walk my little plot of land in Empire, invariably I trip over a half buried, broken down fence.  Made of rough hewn tree limbs and barbed wire, it is pretty well camouflaged by a thick overgrowth of vegetation. After swearing into the wind, I get up off the ground and remind myself why I don't remove this hazard:  Because it's my link to the history of this land and to the people who came before me. The fence was most likely part of the orchard that covered these hills at the turn of the century.  Or a remnant of Norway Town, a settlement by the lakeshore of Norwegians who worked at the Empire Lumber Company mill during this period. I like to contemplate that a century ago - someone - filled with hopes and dreams, proudly planted the fence to cordon off their little parcel of land.  And now this land, in the fullness of time and by favorable circumstance, has become my own.  Remarkable.   I wonder if their hopes and dreams for the land were fulfilled. Min

What is Leelanau Up North? Certainly it's a physical place - a most beautiful place in northern Michigan.  But to me - and I hope to you - it is also an inner place.  A state of mind, if you will. As I've suggested in previous posts, the landscape of Leelanau - the dunes, the water, the forests - inform my thinking.  I'm continually awestruck, inspired and humbled by these works of nature. So much so that when I'm Up North, I look at life differently.   Quandaries resolve.  Mundane worries subside.  I can better sense the meaning of life and our place in the world.  The path forward becomes clear.    It's a Leelanau State of Mind. Perhaps you've experienced your own sort of Leelanau State of Mind, ... in your own beautiful place, wherever that may be.  (You know who you are.) If so, we'd like to hear about it.  Please share your thoughts, prose, poetry and music with us in this creative space. See You Up North, Chris