Snow showers and firewood stacks

Yesterday was a teriffic day for working outside. Although it was cloudy, there was no precipitation, and that is all one needs for appropriate conditions for working on the woodpile. We tackled different aspects of it---splitting, loading the skidsteer, transporting it to woodsheds near cabins, and finally stacking it. The weather felt just unsettled enough to indicate that a change was coming. So we took advantage of the day and worked until dark. By then, several new, neat stacks of wood had "appeared", almost as if they had grown overnight. Of course, all of our aching muscles indicated that it wasn't a quick process, but it certainly was a satisfying one. We also put away the last of the boats, motors and canoes, and got all of the lawn furniture stowed away for the winter. With all five of us working, things quickly got done.

Turns out, it was none too soon. Today we woke to flurries in the air and white on the trees and roofs. It looked great! Having gotten so far on the firewood chores made it a whole lot easier to enjoy seeing that snow. It snowed throughout most of the day. Nothing really stuck though, as the ground is still too warm. I do love to see snow in November, as it feels like the right time of the year for it. Hopefully it is another snowy winter like last year.

Deer season opens tomorrow. As a precaution, Greg has "dressed" Moses and Jethro, the donkeys, in blaze orange sashes and halter ribbons. They seem to tolerate them, but that's about it. Last year, I had Greg tie a strip of orange fabric around Moses' tail. Wasn't long before it was found in one of the piles that he leaves behind!

Tonight we had a campfire to burn a bit of brush that was laying around. We pulled out the special tool, and had our favorite campfire food: brats on a rake. Greg made a special rake several years ago, with straight teeth and large rings on the bottom. This is perfect for sliding near the fire, and the straight tines make it easy to rotate the brats to cook all sides. They tasted great!

A Good Day for Otters

The frost was heavy on the rooftops and grass this morning, but my windowbox flowers are still hanging in there. The sun is shining and the sky is clear, with the temps headed towards the fifties today. Perfect firewood weather! 'Tis the season to be putting up the firewood, so the logger brought the logs, the pile sits up high, and soon the chainsaw will roar. The splitter will go full throttle, and those of us who are so inclined (as well as those who aren't) will be stacking it in rows in the woodsheds. To some in our family, it is an onerous task, to others....almost a joyful one. Personally, I don't mind it, as there is something meditative about all that stacking...

Yesterday as I was cleaning at Diamond Willow cabin, I happened to glance out the window at just the right moment to spot an otter swimming near the shore. That is certainly an advantage of that cabin---the lake is so close that even with older eyes, I could see this little creature. I went outside for a closer look, and perched on the rocks at the edge. Soon I heard a commotion just a few feet down the shoreline, and four otters popped down the beach and into the water. I'd heard about a trio, so it was pretty exciting to see four of them. If they saw me, they didn't let on. They treated me to a show of swimming and diving in perfect arcs. Up they would pop, with their mouths full of something tasty. They would munch and crunch loudly through the morsels, making funny little noises as they ate. They stood straight up in the water, as though they were little periscopes. What a delightful show. Robert and Paul spotted them also, while they were busy pulling in the dock at Tamarack cabin.

This morning was so beautiful, we decided that it was time to take a boat ride, perhaps our last one of the season. We went over to see our friends' cabins on the Canadian side. Then we circled back, to meander the south shore. The kids saw a bird swimming in the water several yards over, so we cautiously got closer for a better look. We determined that it was a juvenile loon, as it had the coloring, and it didn't dive right away, the way an adult would. Greg whistled some loon calls to it, and it was looking around as though it expected to see another of its kind, rather than an aluminum boat. It looked fairly lonely, so I hope that it finds some company soon for the long flight south. I haven't heard any loons in a few weeks, so I had thought that they had all taken off.

The Minnesota Rovers are here this weekend, working on the Border Route Trail and the ski trails. They head out each morning with chainsaws and brush cutters, to help get the trails clear and ready for skiing and snowshoeing. It was a productive day for them today. They cleared on the Border Route, from Bridal Falls to the east, until they reached the boundary of the BWCA. Tomorrow they will tackle other areas, and I will make lasagna and fresh bread for them, as a thank you for all that they do. If you would like to learn more about the trail, the Rovers, or to learn more about the trail-clearing trips, be sure to visit their website, http://www.borderroutetrail.org .

Moving deeper into fall

It feels as though we've moved into "real" fall---where the leaves have mostly come down, and nature is moving into the phase of shutting down for winter. The temperature stays mainly in the forties during the day, and into the thirties at night. Surprisingly enough, the flowers in my window box are still thriving. In fact, they have looked their very best in the last month versus the whole summer! It must be the right amount of warmth that they receive from being so close to the building.

We had our first snow last week, about an inch or so that stayed around for more than a day in places. At the same time, the Twin Cities was having a warm day of seventy-some degrees. It is amazing to me that the three-hundred mile distance can make such a difference in weather.

As we took a drive recently to drop off our recyclables, I was noticing all the different shades of gold on the trees. When ever we go to buy light fixtures, we always have to decide between shiny brass, antique gold, brushed nickel, etc. I thought about that as I looked at the trees, and sure enough, there is a difference in the types of "gold" that the leaves were showing. Some of them were bright, like I imagine the aspen trees in Aspen, Colorado to be. Others had more of a coppery color to them. And the tamaracks looked like they were flourescent.

We have been seeing more deer in recent weeks. In years past, the deer would only be around Gunflint Lake in the winter time, when Grandma Peggy would feed them. One year, the DNR radio-collared some of them, to learn where they went for the summer. Most of them travelled just to the east, towards North and South Lakes, where there were more meadows. By November, they were back again, waiting for Peggy's corn. Now we spot them more often, and not just on Gunflint Lake. The range that they cover has increased, and they must be finding more food to sustain them year-round. We no longer feed the deer here, as we found that they also ate all of the little trees that Greg had planted through the years. They still pass through, as we see their tracks.

Flying Geese

With temps yesterday in the low 70's, many clouds, and high humidity, it felt outside like a big change was going to happen. Sometimes, you can just tell. Last night, big drops of rain fell, the wind blew, and the thunder and lightning struck. We had an inch of rainfall in the rain gauge this morning, and our morning temp had fallen to 50. This feels a lot more like fall. The Forest Service crew returned today to take out the equipment that remained in the woods after the prescribed burn. They worked in a drizzle as they retrieved and transported fire pumps, hose, and sprinkler systems. Before they left, I gave them coffee and cocoa. They would not have needed that yesterday. But this is so often the way of the weather in Minnesota!

While I enjoyed my lunch on the porch yesterday afternoon, I had opportunity to observe a tiny little bird making its way through my lilac bush and the large white pine next to it. When another similar bird came along, I noticed a bit of red on the head of the bird. It started to chatter, and the red patch expanded to the size of a dime as the feathers stood up. It was fascinating to watch, and of course it sent me right to the bird book. It was the ruby-crowned kinglet that I was watching, and the book said that the patch is only visible when the bird is aroused. These little birds must certainly be nearing their migration time.

Today was the first day that I heard geese flying overhead. I didn't see the first flock, but did catch the second one. It had to be a group of fifty! I must admit that I enjoy more seeing their return to the north, because it means that summer is coming. But it still is quite a sight and lots of sound to see a large flock moving in either direction.

Greg and Paul have returned. Robert was here briefly, then off to Two Harbors to visit friends for a couple of days. I'm told that they have over 1000 pictures to download. Since I have never been to Alaska, this should give me a decent sampling of what I missed.