Keith Vandervort
EMBARRASS – Don Taylor grew up spending time on his neighbor’s farm in Menahga, where he helped with the dairy cows, went on the milk route and did other various chores. He took something away from those formative years that has stayed with him as he nears the end of his seventh decade. He developed a respect and admiration for old barns, and the wood they are made of.
“I’ve always liked the look, the feel, even the smell of barn wood,” Taylor said earlier this month in his workshop at his home east of Embarrass.
And in Taylor’s hands, old barn wood becomes decorative craft pieces and functional furniture, a hobby he enjoys when he is not tending to his full-time remodeling and custom cabinetry business.
Maureen O Brien, known for Minnesota wildlife paintings, has died at 78 Born in St. Paul, O Brien was self-taught and started with drawing caricatures of children. July 20, 2021 7:35pm Text size Copy shortlink:
Bemidji artist Maureen O Brien was the kind of person who would go above and beyond for her community. When commissioned to paint a mural at the former M Health Fairview children s wing, where children would go for chemotherapy, she painted all kinds of animals bears, raccoons, ducks, loons and butterflies. But even after the mural was finished, O Brien would go to the hospital periodically and add new animals so the children who were there long-term would have something new to find.
ELY – This community at the end of the road is once again honored as one of the best places in the country to visit. In a recent issue, Smithsonian Magazine compiled a list of the 15 best small …
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Bears along some NC trails are casing hiking trails, possibly for days, waiting for opportunity to snatch packs, foresters said. (Shutterstock)
NORTH CAROLINA Backpack thefts are up along remote hiking trails in southwestern North Carolina, U.S. Forest Service warned this week. The primary suspects: greedy black bears.
Hikers are reporting an increase in bear encounters in the Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Wilderness on the Nantahala National Forest, the U.S. Forest Service said.
In some cases, the bears are waiting for hours or even days along trails before they attempt to snatch food and packs from hikers, the forest service said.
Drivers in Yellowstone National Park were just treated to a rather intense moment where a park ranger was charged by a grizzly who then responded with warning shots to discourage the bear.