Just Another One of "Those" Weeks

It's one of those weeks, where a problem keeps returning to vex me. In this case, it is a rash of outboard motor challenges. Over Memorial weekend, we had two motors go down in one swoop, when Greg and Paul were attempting to get the barge up and running. Of course, it had to be nine at night, as well, when friends had come to use it to reach their cabin. They ended up towing the barge, with their load of cabinets and other stuff. I love this picture of their trailer--they said several people on the highway had taken their photo. No wonder why!

We brought the two motors in to the repair shop, and after several days of determination, the guys had them running again. We picked them up and brought them home, and got them on to the boats. All was well for a moment or two, and then they quit on us. Unfortunately, one is just too old for the challenge of pushing a boat anymore, so we may have to leave that one for bluer lakes (greener pastures?)....or scrap, more likely. The other one, we hope, is still salvageable. Time will tell.

Now a third one has gasped, and so have I. The main thing for which I am grateful is that Greg and Paul are here to help deal with these challenges. As I have mentioned in previous posts, the waterfront, and in particular, learning about the outboards on my own, is not one of my strong suits. So glad to have help around!

This is a picture of Greg and our friend Chris. They are looking at an antique motor, a Johnson, just as the stand says. Greg isn't sure how old it is, but he says it's from the 1930's or 40's. It's another one of those old things around here, a part of our collection. Recently, the motor found a new home. The Gunflint Trail Historical Society will soon be opening the Chik Wauk Museum, up at the end of the Trail. The outboard is in one of the many exhibits. This will be a much better spot for it, rather than hidden away in a corner of our motorshed. I'm really glad that we didn't have to get this motor to run again....though that may have been an easier task than keeping our current motors in working order.

Sooner or later, our motor troubles will be behind us. In the meantime, I'm fixing up a boat with oars....not much can go wrong with that, right? On second thought, don't tell me.

Another Blueberry Update

Out and about last night, to transfer a car to the end of the Trail, I asked Greg to pull off on one of my favorite forest service roads near Seagull. Here is what we found:
Blueberries, and lots of them. Everywhere I looked, I saw bushes that were laden. Continued doses of rain and sun should help them along towards another healthy harvest.

It was difficult to walk, so as to not step on a bush. I missed seeing a black-backed woodpecker up close, as I was paying so much attention to my footing.

I baked up a batch of blueberry scones in the bread oven recently. Something tells me that more of these are in our future, given the looks of things in the two pictures above. Yum--can't wait!

Home Improvement

Or, Cabin Improvement, as the case may be. Don't you love it when a project finally all comes together? We have been planning for a while to raise the floor in the master bedroom of Diamond Willow cabin. But like all such tasks, it needed to wait its turn on the project priority list. Last December came, and the time was right. So we ordered the flooring from our good friend Greg of Hull's Sawmill. It is tongue-and-groove maple, a lovely honey color, with interesting shading throughout. My Greg went to work right away to raise the old floor, and install the new one.

Like any good resorters, we were working on a deadline, and as it approached, we identified the usual problems: not enough time, and not the best timing. The floor was in, and had been sanded, so it only needed a finish. Winter, however, is not a good time to be applying polyurethane when decent ventilation is needed. We opted to wait until spring, when we could open the windows and the warm air would assist in a shorter drying time. We put some scatter rugs down, and called it good enough for the cold season.

Two weeks ago, Addie and our friend James got busy and emptied the room of its furniture. They learned the fine art of sanding, which is a whole lot easier these days. No more sheets of sandpaper and blocks of wood. They used two orbital hand-held sanders and had it smooth in about an hour. Next, I showed them how to paint on the poly. Two coats later, and we have a beautiful finished floor in the cabin.

But wait there's more. The bonus of this project is that Greg took the opportunity to install a new door, leading out to the screen porch. He installed a screen door, as well, so now fresh lake breezes can readily waft into the cabin. A short ramp leads from the bedroom down into the screened porch.

And just outside the porch, the deck awaits folks in need of serious relaxation....Anyone interested?

Chive Talkin'

Yesterday was a good day to wade into the annual gardening foray. Once again, it was me against the weeds, if that is what one calls the grasses, wildflowers and other plants that have moved in to garden plots left empty too long. About twenty years ago, Greg built a rock wall alongside the lodge, on the driveway that leads down to our landing. Over the years, I would plant different things there: flowers, herbs, vegetables. I still haven't found any one thing that does best in that spot. In recent times, we built a raised bed garden, and I have tended to that more loyally than the older terraces. But this year, I decided, is a good one to revive those old beds and see what might pop out of the ground this time.

Neglect is a sad thing. The weeds were tall and well-rooted. The early spring probably assisted in that. One of the most prolific plants was actually an intentional one--my chive bush. My dad had given me a starter plant when I first moved up to Gunflint Lake, and I had put it into the ground. What a hardy perennial. It grows abundantly, and it always gives me plenty of onion flavor in whatever salad I toss it into. Life at the lodge obviously suits it, too, as it had spread so much, I had probably a dozen locations where chives were growing. It was time to cut back on it, so I pulled and pulled and reduced the chives to two small plots. The scent of onion was in the air while I worked. I had noticed it before when weed-whacking. While it seemed cruel to be so aggressive, I knew that we didn't want a garden exclusively devoted to this, as pretty as the purple flowers might be.

When it comes to gardening, I am of the mind that the plants must survive with as little or as much intervention as I can afford to give them. Watering generally happens, but not as frequently as it should. Weeding might take place when I walk by and notice it needs doing. I don't have a spectacular green thumb, but I can usually harvest a few homegrown products, and that is really all I want. The satisfaction of the produce, as well as recognizing the connection to ancestors that gardened as a way of life, is enough to keep me planting each year. As far as the chives are concerned, I realized that they are my ideal garden vegetable--they manage to not only make without me, but to flourish in amazing quantity. Now, if we could only survive on onion grass.

Truth be told, though, one other plant in the side garden holds my heart the most. It is a tall white pine, growing at the northeast corner of the lodge. When Greg was first laying out the terraces and wall, he planned the locations with regard to that tree. At the time, it was maybe five feet tall, and rounded like a bush. In the years since, it has grown to be a wonderful example of its species. The branches are full and lush, and the pinecones in late summer are rich. It shelters birds in both summer and winter. It stands as a reminder to us of how, given time, a tree can grow tall, and a stand of them can turn into a forest. So it will be in years to come, where the Ham Lake Fire left its mark.