Nordic Waffles!

Today I stopped on the way home from work to have my teeth cleaned.  I am lying on the dental chair with the blue paper clipped around my neck. Sharp instruments are probing the gum tissue around my teeth.  I look up at the big television screen. Channel Five is showing scenes from the state fair. Some people are eating Nordic waffles. I say, "Hey, hook. Hi hollege hoomhate eh ah cv."  It is hard to enunciate clearly when people have fingers in my mouth. One the screen was the smiling face of my college room mate. She was eating a Nordic waffle. What are the chances of me happening to catch the moment she was on television? Pretty slim because I never watch Channel 5 between 4 and 5 otherwise unless I happen to glance up from the elliptical at the gym. Not only was it very pleasant to see my former room mate on television, she took my mind off the scraping and probing that was going on in my mouth.  When I lived on Fifth Avenue in Saint Cloud I slept on the bottom bunk and she slept in the top bunk.  She says I ground my teeth at night. I don't grind my teeth at night anymore.  Now I snore.  I am sure I snore softly and elegantly though, don't you think?

The Invention of Nature

My neighbors gave me this book.  I must have watered their plants when they were on vacation so this book was a thank you gift.  I think I got The Invention of Nature; Alexander Von Humboldt's New World by Andrea Wulf about a year ago and I just finished it now. In the past year two of my master naturalist friends read it and liked it.  I read the first few chapters before loaning it out.  The book really starts taking off after the first few chapters. This is a non-fiction scientific book about not only Alexander Von Humboldt but also Charles Darwin, Aldo Leopold, John Muir and Henry David Thoreau. Female scientists and scientists of color are pretty much absent in this thick book. The story is mostly about Humboldt and the people he inspired. Although the subject matter is not light reading I managed to finish the book without too much difficulty.  I enjoy the stories about traveling and making observations about nature that change your perception of your own back yard.

Summer Vegetables

This week was week 11 of getting a box of fresh vegetables from my farmer on Monday nights.  Actually this week I got a box AND a bag.  In the bag was a delicious watermelon that would have been too heavy for the box.  The box already had two acorn squash, a zucchini, a yellow squash, a bag of Hungarian hot wax peppers, a good amount of red potatoes, a half dozen roma tomatoes and two extra large slicing tomatoes. So far this year I have made use of all the vegetables. I have sauerkraut going.  I made 4 jars of refrigerator pickles.  I used or dried all the herbs. I try to supplement by buying fewer vegetables at the store.  I cannot live without onion and garlic.  If I buy an onion at the store chances are I will get onions in the box. Last weekend I bought garlic at the store and sure enough, now I have garlic in my CSA box. So if you run into me and are surprised by the astounding smell or garlic emanating from my pores, you now know why.

Driveway Puddles

On my way home from work today the clouds opened up and rain fell and rain fell hard. I pulled the car into the garage.  I shut the windows and wiped up the rain that came in the house. Then I went out to the street to get the mail and the garbage bin. Rain had collected in my driveway. A couple spots were so keep my ankles were submerged. That brought back a memory of Offspring #2 asking, during rain storms, if she could swim in the driveway. I always said yes so she would don her bathing suit and swim in the driveway puddles. She enjoyed the puddles. I enjoy the puddles too.  I have lived her more than 25 years. Several times I have paid to have class five gravel added to the driveway. I could have had the driveway improved with cement or asphalt or brick but I never did. I prefer the gravel.  Sometimes I have to mow the center strip because grass and plantain grow between the tire tracks. Shoveling the snow on a gravel driveway can be difficult.  But I still like the gravel.  I like the fact that when the rain falls on my property it soaks into the ground instead of running off down the street and into the Rum River.  I like the fact that the rain on my driveway soaks down into the aquifer eventually. Owning property means making a series of choices.  Some of the choices I have made turned out well and others didn't.  I am glad I chose to keep the gravel driveway.

Riverway Camp Site #3

 This weekend my  master naturalist group organized a camping trip to William O'Brien state park. We had three camping sites on the Riverway campground. I was in camp site #3.  Even though the weather reports predicted storms I left on Friday after work. Many people stayed home on Friday and came on Saturday instead. I arrived about 6:30 p.m. No rain fell on me that night but rain had poured down earlier in the day. The air was thick with moisture.  Campfires had a hard time getting enough oxygen to stay alight.  I brought my kayak but forgot the paddle.  I made arrangements for a friend to bring me my paddle. During the evening we heard rapid repeating gun fire.  Was this a machine gun nearby?  An AK47 perhaps? This was not a sound I was used to at this state park. I put up my tent and went to bed listening to a pair of barred owls calling.  One of them was so close one time I think the owl must have been right above my tent. I woke up early and went for a walk along the river.  Oh, the Saint Croix is such a beautiful river. All summer it has been running a high volume and only in August is the river down to it's normal level. After a big breakfast at camp site #2 I took a another hike along the river to look around and breath in the fresh scent of white pine.  By the time I got back other people had arrived including my camping partner at camp site #3. Earlier this year the two of us camped in 12 state parks in 9 days so we knew each other.  We had a big lunch and headed over to the beach area to do some volunteering.  We set up tables. One person had a table on wolves. Another couple people had tables on reptiles. A couple people gave away master Naturalist bling and explained the program.  There was a table on blue birds and another table on monarch butterflies. I was at a table with invasive species and dead animals. I was near the table with the pelts of a wolf, a bear, a beaver, a muskrat, a river otter, a badger, a possum, a red fox, a gray fox, a white tail deer, a snowshoe hare, and a bobcat. To the left of me were 12 animal skulls. As kids walked by with (or without) their parents I would wave and yell, "Come see the dead animals."  Funny how dead animals can bring kids over. Between 1 p.m. and 4:30 we had 148 people come and see the dead animals and invasive species.  We cleaned up and had dinner at camp site #2. Taco bars are my favorite! At 7 in the evening one of our members gave a talk at the visitor center on wolves so we all went to that.  When we returned we found a huge campfire going in camp site #3. We made s'mores in several ways.  Instead of graham crackers some people used ice cream cones.  Instead of white marshmallows some people used pink marshmallows flavored like strawberries. A ranger came by and we asked about the gun fire the previous evening. She said the park officials are looking into that. She said it appears a local farmer is hosting shooting events which may or may not be legal so close to a state park.  All the kids at the event had glow sticks.  I had a yellow glow stick around my wrist. I was told I needed it so I would not get lost. While the youngest kids left to go frog hunting I crawled into my sleeping bag and went to sleep. I did not sleep well. Things kept falling around me.  Acorns were coming down but was I also hearing rain fall? Lightening was flashing and I could hear thunder in the distance.  I got up and went for a hike with a friend. As we walked along the river we walked through pockets of hot air and pockets of cold air. When we got back to our campsite we quickly took down our tents and put them in our cars because we were sure it was going to rain hard any second. As we finished up the sky got lighter.  I guess the storm moved into Wisconsin and we weren't going to get wet.  After that we had another huge breakfast. Soon my friend arrived with my paddle so I went kayaking.  I kayaked up river the length of the state park which about a mile and then kayaked back again. The park naturalist was going to give us a talk on how to engage students in nature. I knew I would be a little late but I just had to get a kayak ride in now that I had my paddle.  As I paddled up I saw families standing on the sandstone boulders. Some were exploring. Some were fishing. Some were cooling off their feet in the river. Seeing the parents with their children brought back many memories for me bringing children to this park and hanging out at the same huge boulder, the climbing pine tree by the group camp, and the picnic shelter with a fireplace in it. I was about an hour late to the talk by the park ranger but the group included me anyway. After that we had another huge lunch.  Rain was expected by 2 p.m. so everyone was packing up. I left about 1:30. Oh, what a fun weekend to spend along the Saint  Croix River!

Making the Most of Summer

I dread to admit it but I am seeing signs of fall. I see red leaves on the woodbine. I see scads of cucumber vines draping trees and fences like garland on a holiday tree.  I see fewer swallows in the air. The crickets are chirping.  I have fewer ants in my house.  Acorns are falling from the trees and hitting me in the head. Some of my favorite paths have so many acorns it is painful and loud to walk on them. The pumpkins are changing to orange. A few leaves have fallen from the trees.  No matter!  I am bound and determined to make the most of this summer.  I am going to put more miles on the motorcycle and more nights in the tent and more hours in the kayak!

Half-Pint

This morning I checked on my chickens and they were fine. I have been locking them in the house at night just to be safe from the predator. I let them out and gave them a snack of some corn cobs. I refilled the water bowl. When I came home at 6 tonight I saw Half-Pint, one of the Americauna chickens, lying on the ground next to the water bowl. Her sisters were stepping on her in their excitement at my presence.  Half-Pint was dead; poor little chicken. I was sad as I got fresh bedding and food and water for the other girls.  As they ate in the chicken house I removed her stiff little body from the coop. Her eyes were closed on her bald little red head.  She had alopecia and now she is dead.  None of the other chickens are bald; only her.  I laid her body in the prairie at the crest of the hill.  Other animals will benefit from her now. She was a good little hen. One day you have six chickens and the next day you have five.  All part of the circle of life.  As I paid my last respects I thought of my younger cousin who is dying from lung issues.  RIP Half-Pint.

A Town Like Alice

This cover of A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute says a new novel but actually it was published in 1950. The story is told by a male lawyer who lives and works in London. Very little of the story is set in London.  Most of the novel occurs in Malaysia and Australia. From the very first chapter the lawyer's story was captivating and fast paced. Although the lawyer tries to be objective and professional he can't help being charmed by his young client, Jean.  Jean is an unusual young woman.  Her strength during times of adversity and her resilience are frankly remarkable. I see the story has been made into a movie and a television series so I might have to look into that.

Blue Shoe

I read Blue Shoe by Anne Lamott and it was ok, it was readable, it wasn't terrible. But it was like watching a Lifetime movie when you are in the mood for serious drama.  Mattie is the main character. Sometimes I liked Mattie and sometimes I didn't.  I thought Mattie could have been more respectful to her mother who was aging and not at her best. Mattie had the tendency to put her father up on a pedestal and I guess most people can relate to that.

Lotus Blossoms!

 Last week I saw an add for a volunteer event on Saturday involving the National Park Service.  This event was set for Lions Levee Park in Saint Paul Park. I had been there before and I knew this stretch of the Mississippi River is stunning.  We were supposed to meet at 1 o'clock.  I pull into town at 12:30 and run into a traffic jam. I guess Saint Paul Park is having a parade today so there is no where to park in Saint Paul Park. I go where the Saint Paul Park police point and I end up parking a mile or two away from where I want to be. I actually don't know where the park is. I was surprised how many people in the parade crowd don't know the park either. Even the guy running for sheriff didn't know.  The guys making burgers at the Lions Club booth didn't know where the park was.  I end up walking around.  I see a pick up with a trailer and a jet-ski on the back. I pull him over and ask for directions.  This is a young 

 guy with his dog that looked like Benji and two boys in the back seat.  He said he will give me a ride. I jump into a truck with strangers and the dog licks my face.  He drives me the last half mile to the park.  I get to the place where the park rangers are. Wilderness Inquiry is there with their voyager canoes.  These canoes can hold 10 people each.  Our group consists of three canoes. We are given our safety lessons and life jackets.  I have been in these canoes before once when we took a trip from the U of M campus in Minneapolis to Hidden Falls Park near the Ford Dam.  I partner with a woman named Helen. She was born in Guadalajara, Mexico. She lives in Saint Paul now and has never canoed before. She told me all about the valley in central Mexico where the monarch butterflies live in the winter. Today we are going to canoe down stream in the back channel, cross the river to Island #122, cut buck thorn, and paddle back. We should be back by 5 o'clock. I love this back channel. The limestone cliffs are lovely. We see herons and cedar waxwings. I spot a gopher snake swimming in the river just under the limestone overhand. I think the snake is about 3 feet long and that was something to see. The two women sitting behind us are here on holiday for England. One of the women is vising her son who just had a baby. They saw an ad for this event in a paper at the airport so they signed up. The other people in our boat were volunteers from Allina and a Wilderness Inquiry staff.  We make it to the island. We canoe around it to the far side.  The staff put plastic footstools down in the sand so we don't have to get too wet or muddy getting in and out.  We split into groups of three. Each group is to tackle one large buck thorn tree.  We are told to leave the berries in a pile and throw the parts without berries into the river. I grab a saw and start sawing.  Others are impressed with my sawing ability. I have sawed a lot of buck thorn so I am used to this.  After a short time our work is done and we head back to the canoes.  These canoes are super heavy and once everyone gets going they can move really fast.  The current is not strong in the back water and we are back at the park in no time.  We all say good bye and head back to our cars. For some reason everyone else got to park close.  There was plenty of parking available at this park but my car is, well, I didn't know exactly where my car was.  I start walking. After all that paddling and sawing it feels good to use my legs for a change.  Helen drives by and asks me if I wanted a lift.  For the second time this day I hop into a car with a stranger. I explained where I thought my car was but it is not there.  We eventually find it. I mean, how can you loose a yellow car? The best part of the day was seeing the lotus blossoms.  The water has recently gone down so the leaves were up in the air. I would have liked to get closer but with these huge Voyageur canoes we must stay where the channel is deeper.

Lotus in blossom!

Heckyl Has A Bald Spot On Her Neck

Early this morning at 1:30 a.m. another attack occurred on the chickens.  I woke to the sound of a chicken screaming bloody murder.  Yelling out the window and banging on the glass did not help. I hurried out of the house and I thought I could hear the poor chicken screaming as it was being led away. The sound was getting dimmer but I think that was because I was moving; not the chicken.  I went out there and as soon as I turned the corner on the east side of the house the animal took off.  I counted my chickens and all were accounted for so I went back to bed.  In the morning I saw that it was Heckyl who was crying. She has a bald patch of skin showing on the back of her neck. I see her feathers all over the ground where the attacker dug a hole to get into the run from underneath.  This attacker tried this before and that is why there is a cement bird bath next to the run. I had no choice but to move the run to firmer ground which is what I did after a very long and glorious day outside. Both Heckyl and her sister Jeckyl laid eggs today along with one of the Americaunas.  No chickens were lost in the attack. I got three eggs today.  Feathers will grow back.  Today was a good day.  More on my glorious day outside tomorrow!

BOOM!

So far this summer I have put almost 600 miles on my motorcycle. I have taken only short trips mostly to work and back.Ever since the tune-up I got this summer, my bike, normally an extra loud farting machine when decelerating and shifting from fourth gear down to third gear, has been very quiet.  I have heard a few gentle puffs come out of it but nothing like the loud backfires it/I/we used to make. I thought perhaps the brand new air filter made the difference. But tonight, as I came around the curve on Highway 47 and shifted down into third gear in the right turn lane onto 164th my bike let out a sound like a gunshot. BOOM! I broke the sound barrier. I found the backfiring experience to be very satisfying.

The Forgotten Seamstress

Last night my book club discussed The Forgotten Seamstress by Liz Trenow. The author lives in London and grew up next door to her family's silk manufacturing company. The story goes back and forth in time between current time and the years before world war two. The seamstress who was forgotten was a child in an orphanage in London. Her outstanding sewing skills were noticed by a visitor so she was taken to sew for the royal family. Things happened. She became pregnant and like many women of that time; not only in London but all over the world, she was taken to an institution against her will. She delivered the baby. The baby was taken from her and given away. She was still committed to the asylum.  Who wouldn't be crazy after a life like that? She sewed her secrets into a quilt. The book club members agreed the author did a nice job up until the last chapter when all the loose ends were tied up too quickly and too far fetched to be believable.  Other than that it was a good book.

Chicken Shenanigans

Tonight I got home from work and went about my chores. I got the mail.  I emptied the dehumidifier.  I watered the plants outside. I sauteed some vegies. I set a pot of water on the stove to boil. Then I went outside with a pitcher of fresh water and some fresh vegetable scraps to check on the chickens. I pushed some peppers, squash and carrot ends into the run for a snack when I saw my six chickens pacing in excitement. I thought nothing of it until I realized one chicken, one of the Americauna chickens, specifically Pollyanna, was pacing back and forth outside of the run; not inside with the other five chickens.  I have no idea how she got out. The doors were shut. Nothing appears out of the ordinary.  All parts of the chicken coop and the chicken run appear intact.  This morning, when I laid out the muskmelon rinds, Pollyanna was inside with her sisters. So what the heck kind of chicken shenanigans went on today?  Pollyanna walked around the coop to my side so I opened the door and she hopped right in with the others. So far my only explanation is someone is gaslighting me or Pollyanna is a magical chicken.

Interior: A Novel

Imagine I wrote a book that described in detail my entire house in great detail including all the furniture and everything in the cupboards. I can't imagine it would be very entertaining. But his book by Thomas Clerc was, at times, actually funny. The author has a small apartment in Paris and the way he arranges his treasures is fairly hilarious. He and I think very differently about rooms and what each room symbolizes.  In any case, if you want to know more about the life of a professor in Paris, you might enjoy Interior: A Novel by Thomas Clerc.

A Great Trip to Isle Royale

After waking up to moose having breakfast there was no way we could get back to sleep.

We watched the 3 moose eating for about 90 minutes.  I sat on a bee nest to make room for Offspring #2 to see better.  The bees kindly asked me to move and I did. Eventually we made coffee and oatmeal and ate our breakfast along with the moose. We could actually hear them chewing.

We are feeling pretty proud of ourselves so we posed in our Lara Croft outfits in front of our cabin.

The time had come to leave this lovely island. When we first woke up the sky was clear and there was no fog. We could actually see the fog appearing and it stayed thick and white all morning.  One unhappy guy was scheduled to take a sea plane out this morning. He was upset that he would have to sit on his hands until Tuesday. We waited with the others at the dock looking for our ship to come in. Here is the ship coming in. The white boat just appeared out of a white cloud.  I could see the look on the pilot's face when he saw the dock.  The dock was not where he thought it would be and he quickly spun the wheel to avoid a collision.

A mother grebe was supervising about a dozen chicks.

Cute little ducks!

While our voyage on the Sea Hunter II was organized and safe, our voyage on the Voyageur II was different.  Someone mentioned a tin can and it turns out this boat was a tin can compared to the other boat. We got no safety lecture. The wood on the door was missing some slats. But all that doesn't matter because we made it safely to Grand Portage. We were only a half hour late.  After paying $4/day for parking we were on our way. We stopped at a gas station for some junk food.  We picked up my niece in Grand Marais. She needed a ride to Richfield and we were heading that way. We stopped for dinner in Duluth and had a lovely, if not smelly ride home. Now, over a week later, that my left knee has stopped aching I can honestly say it was a great trip.  I would go again.

Reckless Birds!

This morning I was on my deck talking (via video/chat) to Offspring #1 and his two offspring  who are in Sicily when out of the basswood tree flies two red shouldered hawks.  One of the hawks slammed into my picture window and fell to the ground while the other hawk veered away from the house and sat on a branch in the basswood tree.  Well, I got a little excited. The hawk on the ground shook it's head, waited 45 seconds, and then flew up into the basswood tree.  Poor thing was probably seeing stars after having it's bell rang that hard. Grand Offspring #1 asks, "Was it scary Grandma?"  I answer it was scary. But then I see the worried look on her little face and say it isn't scary anymore. These two juvenile red shouldered hawks have been flying through my yard and up and down my street calling all day long. I have a couple red shouldered hawk feathers on my peony busy.  I am glad no one got hurt.  As I type this two male ruby throated hummingbirds are flying around chasing each other off the feeder like a couple of F-18 jets.  Here I travel all the way to Isle Royale to reconnect with nature when I got a boatload of nature drama going on right here at home.

Day Four on Isle Royale

Day Three on Isle Royale

I was up early on day 3 on the island.  Here I am making coffee.  I put a coffee filter into a small strainer and pour hot water into the metal cup. Delicious! The oatmeal with cranberries and strawberries was also delicious.  Offspring #2 said we could grab a cabin if they were empty. Although I heard the same words yesterday, I didn't realize that meant we could sleep in a cabin for no additional cost.  I threw down my oatmeal.  A light drizzle had just started.  Offspring #2 said cabin 3 was taken.  I marched a mere 75 paces away to find cabin 3 empty and available. I took my hat out of my pocket  and threw it on the door step.  I came back to our campsite and said, "Pack up!  We're moving to cabin 3."

We moved our stuff into cabin 3. Here we are right on Washington creek and we have a cabin to stay in today!  The cabin has 3 walls, a screen front and a roof.  The cabin is a couple feet off the ground.  Luxury accommodations were needed after what we went through. 

Every time we opened a package that made a crinkly sound this red squirrel would come running expecting a handout.  Self-important little red squirrel.  Turns out these squirrels have been isolated from other squirrels for so long they have become their own sub-species.  They are smaller, not as reddish, and their tails are not as fluffy. The name of the sub species is Regala because they act so self-important.

We spent a half hour watching this herring gull fish right in front of our campsite.

Inside the cabin people left drawing so we decided to leave one too. Maybe we'll come back some day to see it.

We liked this tree.

The moose was cute.

We liked this one too.

This moose was more realistic.

Here is eye ball man!

The rain came down hard in the afternoon so we had to move inside. We were so grateful for cabin three I can't even begin to tell you how grateful we were.

We were snug as a bug in a rug. Although the floor was hard we slept well.  During the night I worried I would fall off the bed as I tossed and turned.  In the morning I found myself on the other side of the cabin!

Day Two on Isle Royale

Shroom at our campsite.

Offspring #2 waiting for me to catch up and resting her back by leaning on a lawn chair.

Here we ford a stream like pioneers.

With both a front pack and a back pack Offspring #2 cannot see the boots.

Some rocks wiggle and it is hard to keep the balance with all the extra weight.

No capsizing!  Proud moment!

Here I am pumping Grace creek water into our thermos where we would add tablets to kill all bacteria.

I woke up early on day two on Isle Royale.  I made coffee and looked around.  Offspring #2 needed more sleep. An awkward moment arose about 9 in the morning.  We were not expecting to see any hikers yet but a couple guys walked by.  My guess it was a father and son walking together. They didn't see our bright orange tent right away.  I think they thought we were just getting water. And we were getting water. We packed up our stuff. We hoped the trek back would be easier than the trek out. At first the trek back was easier. We drank all our water by the time we got to Grace Creek so we stopped to filter more water. I sat under the bridge and got the water.  After that it was an uphill trek to the overlook.  At the overlook, which is exposed rock, the weather was hot and sunny.  We were cooking but we had to rest.  We watched as ants carried off pieces of our discarded hard boiled egg shells. Now we needed to head down a big hill which was going to be hard because coming down on my sore knee was bound to hurt.  I was glad I had my hiking sticks along.  For a time I wore two back packs and that wasn't too hard but I didn't do it very long. We stopped to rest often.  When we got down the hill and came to see Lake Superior again we decided to ditch one backpack.  Offspring #2 would come back for it later.  Offspring #2 walked at one pace and I walked at a slower pace. We figured we had about a mile or two back to the other campsite.  When Offspring #2 passed me coming back for the other campsite I said I would pitch the tent and make supper. I made it back.  I was so glad to see that campsite, let me tell you! I pitched the tent. I started some red beans and rice to cook. The sun was low in the sky by the time we were all together again.  I was glad it wasn't quite dark yet.  We decided the dishes could wait until morning.  We got into our sleeping bags and expressed gratitude again that we did not make it any farther away than we did on day one.

Day One on Isle Royale

Here we are fresh off the boat.  The ranger is nice enough to take our picture and some door knob in red clothes tells us he is going to photo bomb us.

On our way from Grand Portage to Isle Royale Captain Don showed us a couple interesting things. The first thing we saw was the Little Cedar Spirit Tree on the shore.  I have seen the tree before but from land where the view isn't nearly as good.  This tree is over 300 years old and quite impressive.  As we sailed into the Washington Creek harbor we passed over the top of a shipwreck. The SS America sank in 1928 and is submerged about two feet under the water.  The spot is marked with a buoy.  Luckily no  one was killed although one dog did die because it was tied to the railing. When we arrived on the dock the park rangers divided us into two groups: day hikers and back packers.  We were in the back pack group. The day hikers had only a couple hours to explore. We had 4 days to live on the island.  We were given instructions and off we went.  We had a plan to camp nearby and go on day hikes. Did we stick to the plan?  No, we did not.  Did we regret not sticking to our plan? Yes, at times we severely regretted our impulse to come up with a new plan.  My left knee still regrets not sticking to our plan. We thought we could hike to a campground on a lake 8 miles away. What were we thinking? We didn't start until noon and we severely overestimated our ability to hike. This is no walk in the woods.  The path is hilly and treacherous.  Sometimes the path was not even visible because the vegetation was five feet high and bent over the path. Sometimes the path was bare rock. Sometimes we walked over flat boards. Along the way Offspring #2 asked, "Should we turn back?"  I kept saying "no."  I thought we could make it eight miles. When we crossed Grace Creek we were really disappointed because we were not even a third of the way yet. We stubbornly kept hiking until the sun got low in the sky at which point we gave up.  One of us made dinner and the other one pitched the tent.  We had not seen any other hikers for hours and we were ready and willing to admit defeat. Dinner was fried rice and apples and Cabernet Sauvignon.  We might as well eat and drink all we could because we would have less to carry in the backpack on the hike back tomorrow. Once our beds were set up and we were relaxing we listened to the sounds of the babbling brook. When you are outside and if you listen extra hard you can hear all kinds of stuff. For awhile I was totally convinced I heard a moose walking up that stream. We could see moose prints in the mud all around the bank.  At the end of day one on Isle Royale we were about 4 miles from the dock where we got off the boat.  We were happy and tired.  We were also glad we didn't make it the eight miles because then we would have to walk eight miles again tomorrow.

See the twisted white bark of the spirit tree?

Our tent pitched next to the babbling brook.

You cross the brook on these boards. This is the view from our back woods camp site.

Here we are at the beginning of our long hike.

A People's History of the United States; The Twentieth Century

I listened to this book on CD.  Howard Zinn spoke on the preface and also again toward the end of the book.  Otherwise the book was read by someone else. This book tells the story of what happened by the losers. For example, in the history books I read when I was in school I learned that Christopher Columbus discovered America in 1492.  Well, there were people already there when he invaded and enslaved and killed. This version of the book focuses on the last century so I learned about the Native Americans, the women, the migrant workers, the people of color, the immigrants, and the poor. The author was a historian so he knows a thing or two about history.  I enjoyed the book more than I enjoy a typical history book. Sometimes the author criticized people I like which made me a little uncomfortable (don't go picking on Ruth Bader Ginsberg).  Although the author didn't talk about all the losers in our nation, he did talk about quite a few.  His account is more about the east coast than the west coast because he is located on the east coast. My thoughts were provoked and my perspective has changed because I read this book.

Perhaps It Is Better That Way

In order to get to Isle Royale we had to take a boat.  Since Offspring #2 has been prone to sea sickness in the past we chose to leave from the Minnesota shore instead of the Michigan shore. From Minnesota the ride is only 2 hours long.  From Michigan the ride is 5 hours long. We left on Thursday from Grand Portage.  Actually we left Minneapolis on Wednesday at 4:20 p.m. and got to Grand Portage at midnight. We splurged on a room at the casino in Grand Portage. Walking into the casino at midnight on a Wednesday is a very sad experience. People are smoking, gambling, drinking, and not all of them are happy and well adjusted. The rooms are nice though and the bed was fluffy and clean.  We slept well and got up on time to meet the Sea Hunter 2 at the dock about 8 in the morning.  Captain Don gave us a safety talk.  He said the voyage yesterday was terrible and people were puking over the rail right and left.  We were lucky to be leaving today instead of yesterday.  I was glad I booked the passage ahead of time because the boat was full and no more passengers could board. We sailed safely from Grand Portage. A friend warned me that sitting outside would be cold so we sat inside until the last half hour when we entered the long harbor where Washington Creek meets lake Superior.  I didn't know that our camp stove gas had to be separate so it took a while to find that but we did.  Our gear was stowed and off we sailed from Grand Portage to Isle Royale.  We had no idea what we were getting into.  Perhaps it is better that way.

Primitive!

We all make decisions on how to spend out time, resources, and energy. Some people work. Others exercise. Some people travel. Some people watch the Kardashians on television. I chose to do something very tiring, strenuous, difficult, challenging yet still enjoyable.  Not every single second was enjoyable but most of it was enjoyable. I am glad to be back home where I have the luxury of refrigeration, a soft mattress with clean sheets, a toilet that flushes and toilet paper right at hand, clean water from the tap, a microwave and an oven, a variety of food to eat, and several vehicles to choose from if I want to go somewhere. Also, I own quite a few pairs of shoes so I can switch out if my feet start hurting.  I just returned from four days on Isle Royale where we went backpack camping.  I am talking primitive camping here. I will offer more information on that historic trip some day when I can keep my eyes open and my brain focused better than I can today.

The Predator Returns

A predator was at my chicken coop this morning at 2;30 a.m.  I chased it away. Today I see it dug under the run and pulled out some corn cobs I had given the chickens for a treat.  The predator was also on top of the coop and it broke off some wood on the roof and knocked a door handle off. I made repairs this morning. I put the handle back on and I put a heavy cement bird bath over the hole.  I have the chicken coop tucked in tight between a black spruce and a white pine so they would stay cool. The predator was under the black spruce digging. I put a solar powered light out there.  I also put three sponges around the coop and saturated them with wolf urine. Word in the neighborhood is that we have new predators out there.  I get this information from my neighbor. She spotted and photographed a coyote on the next block. She has also been chicken sitting for another neighbor two blocks away.  A predator killed two of the three chickens she was taking care of.  She thought it was a fox or a raccoon. Predators have to eat too but I wish they would eat more bunnies and leave my chickens alone.