It’s getting out that the best autumn colors can be found in the western UP. Picture by picture, visitor by visitor, the true nature to the color show we are blessed with each year is getting more and more well known. I’ll admit that there is no way to scientifically quantify this statement and that there are folks that will argue it’s validity. I am fine with that and would never argue about it, but I have been in many places during the autumn color show and I have never seen colors that are as impressive as we have here.
Some years are less dramatic than others, but none disappoint. Plus, when we are having a dandy of a show, it actually will boggle your mind. Your eyes will be sending info to your brain that is just cannot fully handle. This seasons show was a dandy. I almost feel like I should be locked up for not taking more pictures than I did, but I have been just so busy with the build project, I selfishly enjoyed the show as I came and went across the area or worked outside, but did not stop to properly capture it for the rest of you to see.
Don’t fret, I do have a few shots and I strongly suggest you get on social media and do some searching for others pictures. Part of the issue was that we did not have very good picture taking weather while the show was at it’s peak late this week. The first half of the week was quite good, especially Tuesday and Wednesday when we hit the low 70’s and had loads of sunshine. The same weather had be going gang-busters making connections to our stand-by generator and helping the lads out with getting the septic field done. I also got the annometer and cell signal booster put up on the top of a 30 foot pole that was initially going to be for the power.
Anyway, on Friday, on my way home from getting the mail that is still going to Mohawk, I snapped this shot of the color show going on near the head of the Traprock Valley. It was a dull afternoon, with some scattered rain showers occurring. Even so, the trees appeared to be ablaze.
Yesterday, on my way to the the build site, I passed by the Jacobsville cemetery. The cemetery is a beautiful, country, cemetry. Nothing fancy to it, but sits peacfully- half in a field and half in a wooded area. The wooded area is the “Old” section of the cemetery. So old that most of the headstones can hardly be read anymore. If you think I was mistaking the back for the front, here is the other side! Most of the graves in the “old” section have dates of death prior to 1900. It just boggles my mind that folks were living way out here over 120 years ago!
Speaking of living out here, the build continues to progress. The roof was completed this week, as was the septic system. Inside, I am working on the electric and outside I worked to get the generator all ready to go. I only need to make a few connections and run the cabeling through electrical conduit (which I already have dry fitted) and then when the propane tank gets set this Wednesday, we could use it for power.
I am hoping that the power gets hooked up this week though. We were told than once the power company was notified we were ready for service, they had 14 days to get it done. This Friday will be 14 days. Ms Dig has been out and marked other utilities in the vicinity, so we shall see! The addition of electric to the building will change A LOT. Not only will we have power, but we will have a back up source of heat, probably our regular source as well. We will have a fully functioning septic system (power to the pump) and could have a water supply with little work at all, as we have the pump and water line and the line could be buried after the water is hooked up to the well. It will also be very nice to not have to turn on the diesel generator each time myself or the contractors want to have power. You can only imagine how anxious I am to have power!
This past week was a very busy one for Grace and Nora as well. The traveling childrens theater was in Calumet again. This was the third year in a row that Grace took part in the play. It is a very insensive thing, as they have auditions Monday after school and then a quick rehersal after the auditions are done. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings are all rehearsals. The first show is then Friday night and the second Saturday afternoon. Nora and I split the shows, with her taking Friday night and I taking Saturday afternoon. We did it that way to keep things simple with the dogs. Anyway, the play they did was a rendition of the Jungle Book and Grace was one of the monkeys. Here is a shot of the entire cast at the end of the play. She is back row, 6th from the left.
After the show is completed and they all take their bows, they head up into the ballroom of the Calumet Theater, where the families and friends can all meet up with the actors and take more pictures. Grace and I took a selfie before she took her monkey contume off. I kept mine on, as it does not come off!
The weather for most of the day yesterday was nasty. Rain and snow and even some minor coatings in spots. Grace and I got home and then the three of us had some nice warm soup and fresh bread for dinner. The girls then settled in for the night and put a movie on, while I headed over to the property to run the propane heater in the shop enough that it would not freeze inside. We have our paint stored in there and did not want it to freeze. While the heat was running, I did a few things to get the progress a bit closer to being done.
It was fully dark out by the time I headed back to the camper and I decided to take the long way home. The skies were actually clear at the moment and as I made the turn to get back to the Jacobsville Rd, I was heading west and looked up and saw what looked like the northern lights directly over head. This is not an impossible thing to happen up here, but is very, very rare, as it takes a very, very strong aurora event to produce. I stopped the truck, turned it off and looked up at the night sky. It was not the northern lights, but rather some high cirrus clouds being lit up by the rising, nearly full, moon in the east. I tried my best to capture what I was seeing, but only had my cell phone and they do not have the settings that a SLR does. In any case, you can see the wisps of illuminated sky in this image. Just imagine them going all the way across the sky in a west/east orientation.
This morning, much of the Keweenaw awoke to a coating of snow. I surfed through the different webcams on the site and it appeared that the most snow overnight had fallen in the highter terrain from Calumet north. That made sense, as most of the snows were lake enhanced and the winds were from the SSW, so the banding would have been most confined to the northern peninsula. Here is a shot that one of Gracie’s friends sent here. The friend lives in Mohawk. It did snow in many areas of the Keweenaw off and on most of the day. Twin Lakes looked to have picked up similar amounts to Mohawk during the day today. Here in the bananna belt, we had a few flakes fall overnight, but only enough to “freckle” the ground and vehicles. A few sprinkles and even a few peaks of sun is what we saw during the day. It’s going to take some time to get used to this new climate we are living in!
I see that there were some donations made to the Keweenaw Snowmobile Clubs building fund in the past week. Thanks so much to those that took the time to send us some of their hard earned money. Every dollar helps, so THANK YOU! If you would like to know what this is all about and make a donation yourself, please click here.
That does it from the colorful Keweenaw for now. Talk to you all next week!
Good Night from the Keweenaw..
–JD