Up on Sag Lake Trail on Sunday, I spotted this bush. Yup, those are early blueberries. With luck and enough moisture, we should have another good crop this year. Our friend who owns this land told me that many more bushes in the woods looked bountiful as well. We got a little rain last night, and a bit this morning. Keeping our fingers crossed for more, since this will be the reward.
It's not really unusual for Gunflint Lake to go straight from winter/early spring into summer, when it comes to the weather. That has definitely been the case over the last week. Our daytime temps have been in the eighties, and it is cooling down to the sixties at night. For me, this is a real treat. I love the hot weather, and still have many memories of how cold it was last summer. I'm not complaining. Never mind that I haven't had time to find my lighter clothes....at least my Hawaii wardrobe is still nearby, so I can grab those things. Greg, on the other hand, is not pleased, and keeps reiterating the fact that it is soon to cool off. Five degree declines are predicted everyday, and for him, they can't come fast enough.
Because of the early onslaught of summer, the plant life has taken off at rapid speed. Suddenly, my lawn needs mowing. The weed whacker is in for a work out soon. The leaves are turning from the early chartreuse to a deeper summer green. The rhubarb has gone ballistic. I'm tempted to make only pie and sauce for every meal, just to use it. Putting it in the freezer generally doesn't work too well for me. I tend to forget about it until late winter, and by then it has totally shriveled up.
This would have been one of those years when I could take a chance on early planting in the garden. Had I done that, I would probably have loads of lettuce and peas, and be well on the way to some lovely tomatoes and beans. But the words of my grandmother, passed on by my father, are that wisdom in Duluth says not to plant before Memorial Day. This year, the holiday happens to fall on the traditional day, the 31st. I guess that means that I am shortening the season even more. That's okay. I'm at best a casual gardener. I sow the seeds, attempt to pull weeds, and generally expect the plants to survive without me. It seems to work well enough.
Today, however, I am going to cheat a little. When I am in town, I plan to pick up some flowers to spruce things up a bit. You can't beat that instant punch that some bright colors add to the landscape. Even on a bad day, the happy faces of pansies perks me right up.
Saturday brought together a crack team of carpenters to accomplish a long-awaited task: new boat ramps for the beach. Greg organized the labor and supplies. Working off a sketch on a scrap of paper, Paul and Joe put together the prototype. After putting the winch on the front of the ramp, we carried it down to the beach to give it a try.
Only the barge has been put into the water thus far, so we took advantage of the extra young muscle, and pulled the Lund down to test it out. We got the boat into the water, and then with the aid of the winch, I was able to crank it up and out of the water. Hooray! I am always searching for ways to make my life easier, and these fellows had just done it for me.
They came back up to the workshop, and our friend James joined them. In under an hour, three more ramps were assembled. The guys portaged them down to the beach, where they now wait for a bit of rearranging. (Isn't that the hallmark of a woman? I just want them in a certain place on our beach!) Soon we will have boats and motors sitting pretty on their ramps, all set for fishing and exploring.
Finally! A smart way to store and move our boats, in and out of the water. I thought back to the fall of 2005, when Greg and the boys went to Alaska for four weeks. Addie was home with me, but between the two of us, we couldn't budge the boats very far off the beach. Greg rigged up some of his tree-removal equipment for me to use for the task: a strap and a rope come-along. While it worked adequately, it was cumbersome to carry back forth, as well as to use. This solution will be so much better.
Thank you to Greg, Paul, Joe and James!
A not-so-random collection of the doors we have around here.
Gunflint Trail cabins located on Gunflint Lake in Northern Minnesota. Secluded log cabins near to Boundary Waters Canoe Area.
