In Praise of Mona and Ted Nesse
Mona and Ted Nesse
For those of you who haven’t experienced the pleasure of meeting Square Lake Association’s newest members Mona and Ted Nesse, I’m honored to introduce my wonderful neighbors to you.
Among her many talents and skills, Mona is a retired Nurse Practitioner, experienced equestrian, accomplished sailor, classical musician and gardener, magnificent cook, party-host, and lefse maker par excellence.
Ted is a semi-retired technology and engineering management guru (see his resume), conservationist, avid gardener and farmer, recently-elected May Township Planning Commissioner, accomplished sailor and classical musician, community advocate, and Scandinavian kindred spirit – despite his disinclination to enjoy lutefisk with me.
Since building their beautiful home in 2018-19 on the north side of Square Lake, after acquiring exquisite acreage from the late Floyd Johnson farmstead, Mona and Ted have fully embraced our collective mission of preserving and protecting Square Lake and its surrounding watershed.
Conservation- and environmentally-themed projects that Ted, Mona, and I have collaboratively advanced over the past two years include:
Early-stage (year-2) co-creation of an organic Food Forest on my property, led by our friend and master chef Nick Schneider (https://thrivechefworks.com/), with water generously piped-in from the Nesse well.
Early-stage (year-1) co-development of an envisioned 1.5 acre Pollinator Habitat on our adjacent properties, guided by our friends Matthew Schaar, Soil Conservation Technician, USDA / NRCS, under their EPIQ Program, (https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/programs/financial/eqip/), Karin Jokela, Farm Bill Pollinator Conservation Planner, Xerces Society, and Tara Kelly, Landscape Restoration Specialist at Washington Conservation District
Square Lake-centric community advocacy and monitoring projects, including: a) River Grove School CUP/Road Maintenance Agreement implementation, and related Traffic Studies; b) Ostlund Trail North and Oldfield Road design, maintenance, and safety improvements; c) Monitoring possible Square Lake Park expansion into Wilder Forest; and d) Monitoring possible sale of Wilder Forest to various prospective buyers, including the early-stage interest of The Science Museum of Minnesota, and more recently the Manitou Fund.
Volunteer technology advisor for our Square Lake Association educational website.
Very simply, Mona and Ted epitomize the art of being caring neighbors; inspiring conservationists and environmentalists; committed community volunteers; nature, animal, music, and lake lovers and advocates; and fully engaged champions of our Square Lake Association.
My personal thanks to Mona and Ted for making our Square Lake community a better place.
Please join me in welcoming them into our Square Lake Association community.