Raspberries - day 3

Five and a half...hours we spent on raspberries today.  Picking, washing, sorting (berries on ice cream, berries for jam, berries for pies), containing, making jam, eating.  Again today I had twice as many as Case after the picking part.  I am remembering that girl (Violet?) in Willa Wonka who turned into a blueberry.  I am witnessing my own Northwoods version of that. 

Raspberries - day 2

This morning I needed to be a "Dumpster Diva" for the Lions Club White Elephant Sale that is next Saturday.  So I called some friends to go with Case with buckets in hand.  He came home with over 6 cups and about 3 more cups transported in his stomach I imagine.  Friends went home with lots, too.  All this happened before a nasty thunderstorm with 90 minutes plus of continuous rolling thunder and 4 hours without power.  As we were eating our way through Schwan ice cream cones in the freezer, the power came back on - just in time to go to the World Lumberjack Championship held in Hayward each year.  Yes, there is a professional lumberjack circuit just like pro cowboys in the rodeo and drivers in NASCAR.  One of my new friends has a daughter who is a Lumberjill on the pro circuit.  Her specialty is Underhand Block Chop.  You stand on a 12 inch diameter log and with an axe chop it between your feet until it is in two pieces.  She broke her own world record of 28.19 seconds.  Other events were the 90 foot pole climb and descent, two-person saw, log rolling, springboard - which has to be seen to be believed, team relay, and "hot saw" which is slicing through a log three times with a tricked out chainsaw.  It was a fun Saturday night in the Northwoods!

Raspberries - day 1

One of our neighbors (retired couple) has been especially helpful to these Newbies in the Northwoods.  When they asked us a favor, we said yes immediately.   They were going on vacation for a week so...could we come over and take care of their garden while they were gone?  The garden is huge with a tall fence and then an electric fence farther out.  It is the peak of harvest for many things..mainly raspberries...rows and rows of raspberries.  Day 1 - we figured how to get inside both fences; we brought several large containers; we bought 2 children's sand buckets from the Dollar Store so we could hang them from a loose belt leaving both hands free to pick; we were astounded at the 10 cups that we picked.  There would have been more I feel - because my bucket was twice as full as Case's.  I think he was eating more than he was putting in the bucket.  We came home at 9 am and had vanilla ice cream and fresh raspberries - lots of them. 

A Good Deed

Several weeks ago we were out for a walk when we noticed a television hidden about 20 feet off the road on National Forest land.  Case climbed back there.  Not one but THREE televisions.  We mentioned this to one neighbor.  "Oh, yes." they replied.  "We knew they were there."  When resorts would dismantle years ago, they would fly dump TV's so they wouldn't have to pay to dispose of them.  Well, what the heck!  Why hasn't anyone done anything about it?  I called the township chair for waste disposal and explained the situation.  He said that we could bring in the TV's at no charge since we found them along the road.  One day when I was at work Case took the truck and was loading up the TV's when a different neighbor came by and stopped to help carry.  Yes, he knew they were there, too.  When that neighbor got home, he called the first neighbor to say what Case had done.  That afternoon the first neighbor who originally knew about the TV's brought over a triple chocolate cake for Case to thank him for doing something about getting rid of the eyesores.  I guess the guilt about not doing anything about the televisions got the best of her.  As Case was thoroughly enjoying his first slice, he looked up briefly to say, "I'm going out to look for more TV's."

The Honeymoon is Over...

...between the Northwoods and us.  The reality of life is now looking at us squarely in the face.  We have been at some meetings about the cell tower where people have been less than civil.  On other issues we have felt the rivalry between between two local governments.  And one situation we did know about before we moved in - that the people who live on our lake are not as good as the people who live on the lake connecting to ours.   (Most of the people on the other lake are quite wealthy and don't like to hobnob with the little folk over here.)  We have been laughing off the last one for a long time.  "Just ask the people on the other lake, they'll tell you we are not as good as they are."  "We are not worthy." [Think Wayne and Garth.]  At least we can laugh off that one. 

People are people no matter where you live.  It was foolish for us to think otherwise.  Even though the honeymoon is over, there is still a solid marriage of real life experiences with the Northwoods.  We can live with that.

Paradise Lost

We found out that the local telephone company has struck a deal with the township to build a 320 foot cell tower on the lake connecting to our lake.  More later...

Defintion of Glide

In one word - kayaking.  I went out on the lake early this morning.  Quiet.  No noise as I gently paddle.  What a gift gliding is!  Possibly like skating but I am so poor at any kind of skating that my huffing and puffing and fear of falling ruins any glide sensation.  So it is kayaking for me. 

Out of Africa

Well, the insects have gotten so bad that waving a branch doesn't cut it any more.  We bought head nets also known as skeeter beaters.  Works for deer flies and other flying varmits as well.  You can wear them with or without a hat/cap underneath.  Vision is not impaired.  Not really hot unless you are in the blistering sun which is hot anyway. 

Case has nearly broken his arm patting himself on the back for insisting on air conditioning when we remodeled the house.  I have nearly broken my arm from patting myself on the back for insisting on a screened in porch. 

Another reason to move north

All the males in the area from age 12 and older - including surly teenagers - hold the doors for women to pass through.  This is a good thing.  Even though I am trying to build up my upper body strength, I like for the door to be held for me.  The boys and men can be dressed in everything from a shirt and tie to camo to right off the fishing boat.  It doesn't matter.  They hold the door.  I like it.

I can't even remember when a door was held for me in Chicago and suburban area.   

Too much fun

Family was visiting this week.  And a great time was had by all!  One day we drove to Lake Superior.  It was a beautiful day - not beastly hot.  After eating at a restaurant overlooking the lake, we walked along a beach.  The sand was warm so I waded in.  Surprisingly, the water wasn't that cold (as usual).  In the town of Bayfield we had the fortunate timing to see a tall ship that was staying for a few hours before going on to Duluth to a festival.  One of the men watching/protecting the ship said that the crew was 46 high schoolers spending their summer on board.  The ship is tall but not anywhere else in dimension.  You can't even stand up below deck.  There is quite a wait list to be chosen, and you pay dearly if you are lucky enough to make the cut. 

That type of summer is for the young.  I will enjoy my porch or my AC. 

Fishing

We went fishing this morning.  Even though I only caught one bluegill,  I enjoyed watching an osprey also catch one fish.  It dived straight down from flight under the water, grabbed it with its talons, surfaced and flew to a nearby tree with it.  The osprey's fish looked much bigger than my fish.  However,  I am not willing to dive to get my fish though.

Firemen's Picnic

We went to the annual Spider Lake Township Volunteer Firemen's Picnic today.  (As an aside-the Fire Chief is a woman.)  That group makes a mean BBQ chicken!  There were raffles, games, prizes...with heat and humidity.  I was telling everyone that we were calling our real estate agent to get our money back.  It's not suppose to get this hot here!  We attended 3 years ago after we bought our house.  We went, ate and left.  This year we knew so many people and enjoyed talking the news of the township.  We lasted two hours before the heat drove us out. 

Just Like Africa!

When I go for a walk which is almost daily, I break off a fern on the side of the road.  I use this to swish away the bugs as I walk. Swish on the right shoulder -  Swish on the left shoulder in a slow rhythm.  It reminds me of the movies in Africa and India where a slave continually fans the royalty sitting on the throne to keep off the insects. 

Yep...the Northwoods are just like Africa. 

I really, really love my 18 x 18 screened-in porch.

Busy Season

Tuesday AM - worked at my part time job
Tuesday PM - Toured a restored prairie complete with costumed historical re-enactors (French Voyager - 1600's and Finnish logger - 1800's)
Wednesday PM - enjoyed visitors from Arlington Heights, IL (We caught up on the Blago news.) Anyone coming to the Hayward area or through Hayward on their way to somewhere else, stop in!  It was SO good to see familiar faces from home!
Wednesday evening - monthly Lions Club meeting
Thursday morning - watch the contractor fix the garage roof

I don't have TIME to blog!

Sweet Corn Story

We, like most of you, will be having sweet corn today on the 4th of July.  This is how my  Dad would talk about sweet corn and the seriousness of eating FRESH sweet corn.

You start a pot of boiling water on the stove.  When it is a rolling boil, you walk to the stand of sweet corn and pull one ear off a stalk. Run as fast as you can to the house, shucking the corn as you run.  The idea is to cook and eat the corn as soon as possible.  IF YOU FALL DOWN while running to the house, throw that ear away and go back to the field for a fresh ear of corn because by falling you took too long and the first ear of sweet corn isn't considered fresh anymore. 

Happy 4th!

I blinked.

I stared a supercell/wind sheer thunderstorm in the eye on Friday evening at 8:30 pm and I blinked.  We were standing on the screened in porch, and I had to run in the house.  I was just too scared.  The wind took down 3 live trees.  Why those and not the 9 dead ones that we still need to work on, I don't know!  The radio kept saying supercell thunderstorm, rotating activity, take cover.  We lost power about 7:30 pm when it wasn't raining or windy so I knew it was bad - knocking out power as the storm came our way.  The next morning as we surveyed the damage we saw a softball-sized hole and another hole still with the branch in it - in the garage roof.  No damage inside the garage.  Insurance adjuster coming this week and the contractor shortly after.

There is levity in all situations.  When the storm was approaching, I heard one of the visiting teenagers next door yell, "Auntie Em! Auntie Em!"

Imagine...

Imagine the most crowded place that you have ever been.  Multiply that times 3 and that's what Hayward was like this morning the Friday before the 4th of July.  The week of July 4 is the busiest week of the year in Hayward.  Every store and parking lot is jammed with the one-week vacation people, the cabin-owning weekender people, and the snowbirds with a winter home in the South or Southwest.  We have been so busy that we needed to lay in some supplies.  Knowing that it would be crowded, we left the house at 8 am.  So much for that plan. We are trying to smile through all of it.  All the folks from Illinois, Minnesota, and Iowa - you keep coming and spending your money.  About 70% of the money in the county comes from tourism.  We will enjoy the area the other 51 weeks of the year.