The Wind Is Back

But no rain.  I think I might have to start complaining about the lack of rain, even with the long weekend coming up.

Poobably, this blog should have been titled “First Day Without Fire” because that’s what it was.  

Still damp along the trail from Thomson's to Tyson's

Rhubarb compote on top of Balkan-style yoghurt. Pretty much the tastiest breakfast ever.

And a first fire-up of the grill

Garage clearing and garden prep. Hot in the sun, but who's complaining? Oh, right, me.

Murray tells us that it is possible to stand on his beach (or our beach) at night while waving a flashlight towards the marina (actually the old mill) and see the the light show up on the Kagawong web cam. We are going to try that, sometime.

Impeccably Perfect...

...weather, among other things. Bright sun, pleasant temperature, no wind. Actually, we have had almost no wind since the May 10 gale; it's as if all the available wind was used up in that one big blow. Current conditions good for power-boaters, but not so good for sailors, except at this point there aren't any. 

Here's the new garage decoration—a sort of modified, mini hex. Three copies of this have beed made, and as of now, two delivered.

Canadian long weekend is coming up in a few days—the official start of summer.—and already the scene is heating up. Still, this evening all is quiet, with the merganser splashdowns and takeoffs the only noticable noise.

Front Deck Kind of Evening

Sunny, warm, and no bugs yet. Nice view of ripples and catspaws, being pushed north by the first breeze in many days.  

The bent maple at the bend in the lane—no leaves yet.

The bluff-side ditch being cleared by Sue.

Projects were begun, and some accomplished—all at a reasonable pace—including leaf clearing, and the reestablishment of a VPN.

Waffles In Bed?

 ... of course not. But it can't be Mother's Day without world famous waffles somewhere. And all was good until we discovered that, although here in the land of trees, we had no maple syrup. Once over the shock we improvised—using jelly, strawberries, and my favorite, blueberries dusted with powdered sugar and then drizzled with fresh lemon juice.

Nice to see rhubarb coming up. Earlier in the week I made rhubarb compote and then Sue made rhubarb pie, from stock harvested in Whitewater.

Pax and I getting ready for coffee on the deck and some morning pretend tai chi.

And, today, the camper trailer that has for so long resided in the garage has moved on to new adventures. Somewhat sad to see it go since it's been here for over a decade and has provided quite a significant number of sleepless nights.

First Run to the Dump...

 ...after a trip to Espanola to pick up the Windrider discovered near Desbarats on the trip up, and now owned by Bob Cave.

Going to the dump is just part of life in the north, and sadly the dump "mall" has had a steep decline in the quality of castoff merchandise. We are "shopping" for the soon-to-be garage bunkie.

Brilliant, warm sun with a good bit of cool in the shade. The lake, all day, as flat as my singing. Looking like ice, but quite sure not because a couple of soft water boats were out tootling around on it  

Oddly enough, the weather here is much nicer than that in Wisconsin. 

Cool, Calm, and Partly Cloudy

Fine day for working outside.  

Vernal swamp

Tyson's creek

Removed three toppled balsams and a good bit of other windfall. Reestablished/rebuilt the path to Tysons which was obliterated by the big ice heave. Bob Ellen, with his pal Sonny, stopped by for a chat.

Gale After Rain

Some heavy rain, and even a few rumbles of thunder, last night, washing away all remnants of winter. 

Nothing is much more fun than lying in bed listening to a downpour hammering on a metal roof. Except if you are Pax. Mimi was her usual good sport—making him a thunder tent in the lower bedroom, and then moving down to the lower level herself.

By late morning the clouds had been blown away by a powerful WNW gale. Even now, the trees outside this window are being lashed by the wind and the whole-house vent is clanging. And it’s chilly in the wind, almost cold. But warm and cozy inside.

We took advantage of the conditions to tow the foot valve assembly out to deep water, and with the water this high 100 feet from shore is pretty deep. The tail wind made rowing easier.

Vianet tech here this afternoon and we are now now wi-fied.

Those little things in the distance are not ducks but foot valve floats.

A Lovey Day In The Country

Partly sunny, warm and windy. No ice left in Mudge Bay,  A few chores accomplished, including grocery shopping in Gore Bay, but at a sedate pace. Dinner at the Lloyds, with Murray and Elaine, who arrived today.

I Hear Waves...

...now combined with the rustling, tinkling shiver of moving ice. What a phenomenon. To think that a bay this big could freeze solid, four feet thick, and then could, eventually, be reduced by sun and wind to tinkling shards, and back to waves.

Evidence suggests (see below) that another big ice event occurred when we were not privileged to watch it—the shoreline has been significantly rearranged.

I was thinking of kayaking amongst the ice floes, but that’s going to be impossible because tomorrow there will be none. 

No WiFi until Thursday, so I am struggling to type this on a mini keyboard bluetoothed to my phone. 

Gooseberry

Hot and Cold Running Water...

 ...and a roaring fire in the stove. WiFi remains the last big hurdle. (TG for LTE.) Had to use the Suzie P as an icebreaker, but the floes were mostly rotten. Warm and sunny up by the garage but a nice cool breeze coming off the ice. 

More Than Halfway

In St. Ignace, a stopover place we love this time of year. 

The caravan ready to head out. 

Top of Lake Michigan by Manistique. 

View from the room. 

On our traditional walk. 

Fields and streams wet and running. Big Lake seems high. Expect to know the condition of Mudge Bay shortly after noon tomorrow. 

Packed and Loaded

Everything fit, but still the the whole process seemed quite a bit like work.

Full summer here today. Every tree and shrub partially or fully leaved out, creating delightful shadows and shade to temper the intense sun.

Spring Gallery Night in Oconomowoc...

 ...with Ellie as one of the featured artists. 

A summery night, and the town thronged.

Steaming Fields

Quite a good soak last night. And this morning, driving west, after a brief break in the clouds, Pax and I tunneled through billowing clouds of steam rising from dark, recently plowed fields. (The traffic situation not conducive to photography.) Something I've never seen before, resembling sea smoke.

Hellebores blooming. 

The serviceberries are quickly moving from silver to white, and the redbuds are finally budding (red).

More rain now.

Transition Time

Out with the rosemary, for example.

Normally it spends May and part of June under the old apple tree, where, in partial shade, it can harden up to outdoor conditions after its cushy 6 months of indoor living. The problem this year is that, as of yet, there's not much shade under the tree. Not sure what to do.

Also, weed-and-feed, oil changes, old medicine removal, clothes sorting, tool gathering, and the start of an intimidating pile of stuff in garage and breezeway that somehow will have to be packed for the trip north.

Poor imitation of a thunderstorm last night—two claps of thunders and a few spatters of rain—but enough to spook Pax sending him (and to keep him company, good sport Mimi) to bed in the lower level. Hot and dry again, though the first signs of real rain right about now.

Warmer Than Rockport...

...on a strong south wind. High of 82.  Four varieties of winter squash planted: Robin's Koginut (from Row7), Honeybaby Hybrid, Butterscotch Hybrid, and good old open-pollenated Waltham Butternut. It will be interesting to review the results come October.

Tulips in very sheltered places, along with hyacinths and damndelions.  

Prairie greening up after the burn. Now for some rain.  

Straight to Summer?

Sunny, warm and windy—almost hot.  Buds breaking. And it even looks like there might be water on the webcam.

On our walk today Pax jumped into Whitewater Creek, mistaking it for Mudge Bay.

What a Day; What a Party

Happy birthday Ellie and Renee!

Blogging Help

After a stellar recital in Fox Point, Katy and Will ( and Buddy and Pip) rode with us back to Whitewater. The kids were kind enough to help a struggling blogger come up with a couple of decent cover images.

Lots of fun and good food—Mimi's famous meatballs.

The Untended Garden

Almost too bright and warm for garden work, but a new bit of fencing got built (to keep squash vines from wandering and taking over the lawn), and five fifteen-foot rows of beets got planted—using the should-have-been-patented, no-kneel seeder developed last year. Squash would have been planted too, except the hour got late and the rain moved in. But...no complain about rain...it has already, in just a few hours, greened things up substntially.

How different here from Kagawong. Yesterday, Therese drove over to Serendipity and sent the following photos. They, along with other information, have helped us decide to postpone departure for a week or so—a first in living memory.