Walking with the Wolves

Gunflint Lake is ideal right now for walking. The ice is at least sixteen inches thick, and it only has a smattering of snow on it. Traction is excellent in most places, but in a few spots I need to watch more closely, as it is smooth as glass beneath the dusting. Walking on the lake in these conditions is a great opportunity.

Greg and I took advantage of that on a recent afternoon outing. The sun was out, but we did have a bit of a north wind. We bundled up and took off with binoculars and camera. The first wildlife we noticed was a deer, carefully making its way south from Canada. I imagine that walking with those sharp little hooves is a bit like being on the spikes of high heels. I'm glad that my mukluks have a solid rubber footprint with plenty of texture. Luckily for the deer, we didn't see her fall. But when we later studied her tracks, it did look as though some spots were a bit slippery. It is to her advantage at that point to have four legs.

We hiked on land some, and visited a beaver pond on the old East End trail. I hadn't been there since before the fire in '07. It was wonderful to be back. The lay of the land is so different, since the fire. But the pond itself still had a serene feeling about it. I recalled skiing by it one year, and seeing three otter slides--one nice and clean (the living room?), one strewn with food bits (the kitchen?) and one that was quite clearly the bathroom. There were no visible signs of otter this day, but I hope that they still frequent the area.

On the return trip, we had the good fortune to spot a couple of wolves on the ice. They were coming out from the shoreline just to the east of our place. Then we could see three more coming, and it got exciting. They seemed to be running in our direction, so we dropped down to our knees, in hopes of looking less intimidating. Shortly, a sixth one joined the others, and they began to frolic and tumble in the snow. Greg was watching through the binoculars, and at one point he laughed. "Dogpile!" he said quietly. Even though the wolves were still far off, we didn't want to chance losing the moment by making human noise.

Doesn't everyone have a photo or two like this? "See those two dots? Those are wolves!" or moose or deer....whatever the wildlife. I did my best to photograph and crop the photo, to try and make the wolves more clear. This is the best I can come up with. I was watching intensely, with camera ready, in hopes that they would come closer. No luck, as they eventually became a bit suspicious of us, and decided it was time to head to Canada. Off they ran, the pack of six. It was exciting just to see that part happen.

We got up, dusted off our cold knees, and headed for home. There's nothing like having winter back and being able to see and hear the wolves again.

A Happy New Year to All

One week ago today, it was bustling in the kitchen at Heston's Lodge. As is our custom of many years, several cooks were preparing for our New Year's Eve feast. I have been doing this for about twenty years. Prior to my days at the stove, Sharlene would prepare the buffet. We invite all of our cabin guests and several friends to gather, eat, and usher in the new year.



Through the years, I have been an armchair traveler of several different cuisines to guide me in the menu plan. 2009 was no exception, but I chose a broad base: Asian foods. This allowed me to pick and choose from many different countries to come up with dishes that sounded best, looked easy, and had readily available ingredients. I think we were successful on all counts. Each year, the comments come through that this was the best one yet, but I think our memories are getting shorter!



Without all of the wondrous helpers who show up throughout the day, I would be lost in getting this meal together. Typically we have about sixty people who come to eat. One cook can't do it all in a kitchen my size. Judith made a beautiful platter of sushi; Gerri and Karen prepared several recipes, from Asian coleslaw to Potato and Cauliflower Curry; Greg and Tim grilled several sticks of satay; and I stir-fried over a campstove on the back porch. Mo and Tim brought an amazing halibut curry, and Tony and Tre saved the day by bringing fresh basil (for the Thai chicken) all the way from Green Bay! Ruth and Jody brought delicious entrees and appetizers from their own kitchens as well. Several folks pitched in for set-up and dish-washing duties. It was an amazing joint effort.



Addie did a fabulous job on the dessert table, and

those are actually the only photos I got. She made some pretty little meringue mushrooms and then frosted balsam branches, to adorn a gingerbread sponge roll with semi-friddo filling, made by Gerri. That was my favorite. We also had a blueberry cheesecake, chocolate torte, many cookies and holiday goodies....a wonderful finish.



We had a bit of music, thanks to Jim on the guitar and piano by Erik. Lots of good conversation and camaraderie flowed through the lodge. We capped off the evening with our bonfire. Greg has passed the torch on to the next generation, and so Paul and James did an excellent job of building and starting the fire. Everyone enjoyed the full blue moon shining down upon us.



What a wonderful way to honor the old and begin the new year.

The Luck of the Moment

Addie recently asked me why I hadn't been posting things to my blog or my twitter. I told her that it is because I haven't slowed down enough to have the words drift in to my mind. Even now, as I type a first draft of this, it is full of misspelled words and errors, a sign that I am still moving and thinking too fast. But fortunately, sometimes things propel me to take a moment to stop, and see what is happening around me.

So it was this morning...We've been closely watching the lake, waiting for it to freeze. The temps have certainly been in a range cold enough, with a low this morning of minus twelve. The wind has been our big foe, as it was blowing strong from the west, keeping the big waves rolling along. Any bits of shore ice were dashed to pieces. The result of that is a pleasant tinkling sound as the pieces rub up against each other. But what I really wanted to hear was the silence that first ice brings.

Today I got that. The lake appeared from my windows to be frozen at least halfway out from our shore. I bundled up and headed down to the landing. It is like a fairy tale world down there at this time of the year. The frost coats the branches and twigs with a flocking that Hollywood movie sets would envy. A large block of shelf ice covers the perimeter of our beach. And just beyond is the newly-formed lake ice, thickness unknown. It is covered in frost crystals, too, though barely a skim. If I were still a skater, I would be chomping at the bit. (I remember many nights of entertainment spent at the local rink when I was in elementary school. I also remember how my feet would ache in those first few days of lacing up the skates.)
It's a lovely world out there. And the bonus for me was that while I was snapping pictures and watching and listening, the Canadian wolf pack started to sing. I couldn't help but smile.

And So It Goes

What goes, you might ask? The days, the weeks, the months....and soon, the first decade of this millennium. Amazing to think that not that long ago, we were contemplating the whole Y2K deal. Crazy! Now we are asking how people will refer to the new year. Will it be "Two-thousand-ten" or "Twenty-ten"? My personal favorite is "twenty-o-ten." However you say it, it seems way to soon to be here already.

I've been saying that a lot this year, it seems. Mostly I have been referring to the fact that soon we will be joining the empty-nester crowd. Both boys left us in the last three years. Addie is now a senior, and may even be starting college in January. It's getting pretty quiet in these parts. I've had some people ask me how we will cope with that empty nest....The way I figure it, by the time we truly would be without kids, where they no longer return for summer vacation, or holiday breaks... about that time, someone will be ready to move back. And that is fine with me, as there is plenty of work to go around.

That said, a quick update for everyone, since I haven't written since last May. As many of you know, it was a different type of summer at Heston’s Lodge, as Greg took a job outside of the resort. From early May until mid-October, he left to go to work installing wildfire sprinkler systems. It was challenging, for the both of us, as we had worked together for the last twenty-three years. Now I understand a bit more what it is like for people when a longtime co-worker leaves and gets a new job. I’d joke about his job, and also about the fact that he now had a boss, and it wasn’t me! I also got back into the routine of making lunches, something I hadn’t done since the kids came home to homeschool. But those were just the small changes.

The bigger change for me was that suddenly I had more hats to wear. Not only was I trying to do my own work, but each day found me at some point trying to do Greg’s job, too. I have to admit that I learned a lot, and most times I enjoyed it. It is good to cross over like that. I can’t say that he is ready to do my job, but that’s a story for a different day.

Some days I would pretend I was Greg, like when neighbors would stop by to borrow a tool or something. I would walk around to the various shop locations, and try to figure out where Greg would choose to store that particular tool. Most times I was successful. That doesn’t mean that I can decipher his system of organization in his shop any better than I could before! Most of the time, it was probably dumb luck that caused me to stumble on what I needed. But now I know where a few more things are kept, and that is useful.

I also learned more about the running of the boats and motors. One would think that after all of these years, I would be fairly proficient at this. Not so. If someone wanted to rent a boat in the past, I would send Greg, or Robert, or Paul to get it ready. Easy as that. Now I had to send me. I’d get down there, and do whatever was needed to minimize embarrassing myself. For example, I find that it is much better if I start a motor while the boat is tied up to the dock. That way, the wind isn’t pushing me into shore while I am struggling to remember all of the steps it takes to simply start a motor. One time I failed to tie up, and though I got the motor started fairly easily and got going, I narrowly missed running into the dock! I don’t think that I ever flooded a motor, but I know that I came close. Each day I would have at least one question for Greg when he got home from work. The question of the day, I called it. One particular question stands out in my mind, and I know that now I will never forget it. Do you pump the gas line first, and then prime the engine? Or do you prime and then pump? Doesn’t matter, he told me. That will be good knowledge to have next summer, when we start things up again.

For now, the motors are all stored away in the boathouse, and the boats and canoes are pulled up on land. The docks have been taken in, and it looks like it is all ready for winter. Whether I am ready for winter has yet to be seen. We’ve seen some early snows, while the leaves were still on the trees. Most of October was a cold, wet month. That is actually a good thing, as it means we have some fine ground moisture as we head into winter. That in turn helps in the spring, when we dearly need it before the leaves come out. But now I am getting way ahead of myself, thinking two seasons down the road. For now, I’ll concentrate on continuing the winter prep work.

And I will do my best to start to catch up with this blog. Lots of fun stories from this summer to share….Stay tuned.