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Good Sunday evening all. Sorry I did not get the tribute to Huck done this past week. It ended up being a larger job than I had anticipated and I also did not want to rush through it. Huck deserved my full attention and full effort. I did just finish it before moving onto this entry and you can check it out here: TRIBUTE TO HUCK.

It’s been a pretty rough week for me. My heart and mind were finally able to go to the place where his loss was a reality. I will not go on and on about the sadness, but I will explain why he was so incredibly special to me. I don’t believe I have ever told all of you, but in 2012, I had some weird medical conditions going on. The main symptoms were dizziness, fatigue, a lack of will to do much and it felt like someone was pushing my head down when ever I stood up and/or walked. After a TON of Dr’s visits, it was determined that I had developed a form of PSTD due to all of my health problems in the prior years. I was put on a med that helped, but did not cure things completely.

Through the entire period, Huck was there by my side, in the good moments and bad. He would lay on the bed with me for hours, just keeping his body pressed to mine and letting me pet him, hug him or kiss him whenever I wanted. That support from him, as well as the medication were able to ease the symptoms to where I could be functional again. Even though everyday life was pretty much normal again, I would have bouts with the PSTD and depression and Huck was always there to help me through it. He was not a professionally trained therapy dog, but I have no doubt that he was as good or better than any trained dog could have been for me. He could sense when I was down or stressed and was always there.

So this week has been very hard. First in the fact that he really is gone and secondly that I have lost my support. It’s amazing what will trigger the reality that he is gone, waking up and not seeing him on the couch or recliner. Entering the house and not having him meet me with tail wagging at 6500 RPM’s, feeding the dogs and having to stop before I put food in the third bowl, not having him lying across my feet or at my side when I’m relaxing. I could on and on, but suffice to say that everyday life is much, much different for me. At the moment, I feel like a boat drifting in the middle of the ocean, with no wind to help me move forward. I feel very bad for Nora and Gracie because, as hard as I try to be joyful and immersed in our family activity, I know that I am not myself and not giving that joy and involvement that I did previously. 

I will say this: I am very spiritual, I am a fighter and have been through many tough times before and am not afraid to meet this latest challenge. I know that in time, all will be well. I hope and pray that the time is not long. Not for me, but for my family. They too have been through a ton because of my health and they are a support mechanism for me and I will need to open up more to them to receive their love and support. So although I have just painted a rather dark picture, I know things will change. Even just sharing all of this with you has been therapeutic. I just wanted to give you all a heads up as to why Huck was so special and why I miss him so.

On the up side, the weather has finally turned around for us. Monday was still pretty chilly with a high of 48, but then Tuesday we hit 56, Wednesday 63, Thursday 72 and Friday 70. The weekend saw some cooler arrive, but mostly due to a lake breeze. Saturday was 65 and today we have not hit 60 yet and time is running out. Besides the warmer temps, we have seen a ton of sunshine. 

The plants have responded to the sunshine and warmer temps. Buds have burst and the leaves are filling out. They still have around a week, or maybe two in some cases, before they will be fully open, but it is wonderful to see the green returning to the woods. We even cut our grass for the first time this season Friday. Nora and Grace have been busy prepping the beds for flowers and soon they will move to the garden to get them ready to plant the fruits and veggies.

I did not fly the drone this week, but with the weather we have, I expect to be taking flight through it many times the first half of this week. We will be in the upper 70’s to around 80 tomorrow and 70’s for Tuesday and then looks like off and on rain for the end of the week.

I do not think I will be writing next Sunday, as Nora and I will be on our way down to Rochester for my appointments at the Mayo. We will likely be returning on Thursday and I REALLY hope that we know the game plan before we leave. It would be wonderful to have part one of what needs to be fixed done by the time we come home, but I am starting to really believe that the fix will be much more complicated than a simple stenting. I have had Dr’s and cardiologists tell me that the tests they have lined up for me makes them think they are getting the ducks in a row for a transplant. While much harder to recover from than stenting, the result would be awesome! ALL of my heart issues would be GONE! 

I have only one pic to share with you this week. Nora, Grace and I went to our friends beach on Wednesday and as we were headed home, came across this cute little fella. They really are pretty cute, just don’t pet ’em!

Good Night from the Keweenaw..
– JD

 

I have heard the parents who have more than one child say that they love them all equally and believe that 100%. Even though Nora and I have only one child, I think we can relate strongly via the dogs we have had and currently have. I know I have loved all equally, even though each dog has had their own personality. Because of the different personality traits of each dog, my interactions and relationship has been different with each one. Through my relationship with Huck, I feel that I had grown closest to him than any of the other dogs. Not long after we brought him home, he could be found next to me much of the time. The past several years that became even more heightened. If we were in the same building, then he is at my feet or by my side. He slept with me when we had enough space on the bed, lays with me on the couch no matter what I am doing and will follow me to my next location.

It’s a close race though. If the distance of the race were a thousand miles, then Burt would have been 1/8th of an inch behind Huck at the finish line. The two of them were very similar in their personality traits and mannerism.

I have the unfortunate news to share that this past Wednesday, May 5th, Huck passed away. Over the past 4-5 months, physical exertion would cause him to get out of breath and many times, he would struggle to catch his breath. It was never serious enough to cause him any pain and in the course of a minute or two, he would be breathing naturally. Then last Saturday, Nora was taking him for a walk, but they did not make it much past the end of the driveway and stopped. Nora said he was wheezing, much like someone does when they are having an asthma attack. They came into the house and he was still wheezing and it took around 5 minutes for him to regain regular breathing. So no more walks was the new thing going forward. This past Wednesday, he jumped down off the recliner to have his breakfast and another episode hit. This one lasted for around 20 minutes and included foaming at the mouth, blue tongue and the loss of bodily functions. Both Nora and I though that this was the end and Grace, Nora and I all sat next to him, petting him and saying sweet things to him. He did regain regular breathing again, but it had been decided that he should not have to go through another episode like that. He was a very tough dog and had never cried or complained about any pain, including knee surgery and taking a bunch of porcupine quills to the face, several going into his eye membrane. He did not cry of fuss with the episodes he had, but the one I was present for, his eyes had a look of fear in them. That was the first time I had ever seen him express fear and knew that it was serious. So we called the vet and were able to get him in to be put down. He handled that very well, including kissing both the vet tech and the doctor as the kneeled down to administer the tranquillizer and then the drug that stops the heart.

I am so proud of Grace. This is the third loss of a dog that she has had to deal with in just over a year and was there to see all of them take their last breath. One by natural causes and two through euthanasia. I have serious doubts that I could have gone through any of them. She and Huck were close their whole lives. Huck and Millie were around 8 months old when Gracie joined the Dee household. They both immediately took to her and loved her like one of their own. I will be producing a special tribute to Huck. I had hoped to have it done along with this entry, but it was taking a LOT of time, so I decided to write the journal and get the tribute done early this week. I do have some pics to share though. As mentioned, Huck and Grace were a special pair. He took on the task of making she she was always safe and handled anything she did to him, including grabbing the end of his nose, squeezing it and turning it when she was just a year old.

As she got older, they spent countless hours with Grace laying down, head on his stomach, reading a book. The things he had to put up with were less physically challenging and painful! but did require patience and understanding and could be humiliating. He always took it all in stride. Like just about all dogs, he loved to have physical contact with all of us, but Gracie was the perfect size and most agile to be able to drop down next to him and give him a hug. To which he would respond with a thank you kiss.

I still have not come completely to terms with the fact that he is no longer with us. With all the other dogs losses, I was able to do my grieving immediately after their death and within a few days was back to normal. I feel like my mind will not allow me to enter into that zone of full grief, like it might be too much for me to handle. Rather I am going through periods of less intense grief, but I still know I have not fully come to terms with it and released all of my sadness inside. I am fully confident that I will be able to, just that this time things are different, very different. It has been difficult for me to think of him for the past 4 days. It almost always brings a tear to my eyes and a lump in my throat. His soul with just so beautiful and his tail would wag at anything and anyone. Nora sent me a number of pictures for this entry, including this next one. To me it looks like heaven is calling to him, showing him the way where he will find Millie, Dune, Uncle Eddie and the grandpa he never got the chance to meet here in this world.

There were some other events that took place this week. Despite the fact that Gracie had to say goodbye to her great friend, she still toughed it out and partook in the Calumet Middle School band concert. This was her first band concert and mine too. She looked so cute in her outfit for the concert. It is amazing how fast she is growing and looking more and more like a young woman. She plays the flute, like her mom did in school, but has only played since the start of school and sounds like she has been playing for years. The concert consisted of 4 parts. Each grade, 6, 7 and 8, performed several songs and then they all came together and were joined by the high school band for a grand finale. It was quite the powerful and moving moment to hear all of those kids play. Thundering, very impressive and I cannot wait for the next one!

On Friday I had to travel to Appleton Wisconsin for an appointment. On my way down, I had to travel through quite a few vigorous snow squalls. I did take a few shots, including one with the ground and trees covered, but somehow I did something that made them disappear from my phone! The snows fell from just south of L’Anse to around Florence WI and was heaviest on the “Amasa Stretch”, which runs from Covington Junction to Crystal Falls. 

Yesterday we were all in the den and all of a sudden, a hawk flew down and looked like it was trying to attack a raven that was in the backyard. I am one to just let nature do what nature is doing, but I have to admit, I did not want to see the raven get killed! They may not be the best looking bird, but they are incredibly smart and one can even make friends with them if they work at it. A raven will also never forget their human friend either! A few seconds after the hawk flew in and caused the raven to take flight, they both were both on the ground and the hawk showed no signs of wanting to go after the raven. In fact, one time when the hawk got to close, the raven turned and caused the hawk to jump a few feet backwards. Not long after that, the hawk flew up and perched itself on top of an old steel pipe that is stuck in the ground for some reason. The two of them then just looked around for something to eat and eventually flew off at different times.

Last night was the first Jacobsville bonfire of the season! Temps were around 40 degrees, but the stiff and chilly wind had died off and as long as one was dressed properly, you could keep warm by the fire. It’s funny, I obviously cannot see what I looked like while sitting by the fire, but when I saw this picture, I could not help by think I looked like Bernie Sanders in that shot from the inauguration that became the source for lots of spoof pictures this winter, just from a different angle!

So I guess that covers it. I will be putting that tribute to Huck together and will post it either tomorrow or Tuesday. Next week I will write a new entry, but will not be writing on the 23rd as Nora and I will be traveling to Rochester for my appointments at Mayo that week.

Good Night from the Keweenaw..
–JD

I have said many times before and will say it again. April is the worst month to be in the Keweenaw. At least most of the time. The snows are generally in a state of melting and usually become unusable by the first week or two. The woods are still too wet or have too much snow in them to be able to walk or ride a bike and temps are in that cruddy zone, mainly the upper 30’s to mid 40’s. The only thing different this go around was that the snows were pretty much gone by early in the month, otherwise, the woods were too wet and with just a few exceptions, the temps were in the cruddy zone.  

I had a lot going on in my personal life this April, so the conditions outside did not really have much of a negative impact on me. In previous years, I would get close to clinical depression. Now that I am retired and once I win the lottery, I plan to spend the month of April on my 55 foot sailboat. Bee bopping around FL, the Bahamas and Caribbean. Even though it has been eons since I last sailed, it is in my blood for sure. Not sure how it got there, but it’s there. This summer I will be able to scratch a bit of that itch with the sailfish sailboat that I received from my older brother that passed away last July. I have also promised to teach Grace how to sail the sailfish this summer and she is super excited. By the time I was her age, I knew how to sail the little boats like the minifish and sunfish and would spend many hours out on Lake Geneva sailing around. Our family then picked up a used 16″ Hobie Cat and I upgraded to it and never looked back. For those that do not know, the Hobie Cat is much the Ferrari of sailboats. Incredibly fast, comfortable to ride in and that is about it. If the winds were blowing good and I was by myself, I could pass water skiers while sailing that thing! Good times indeed!

So April is gone and now we are living the life in May. To me that means more sun than clouds. Temps warming to the level where it is comfortable to be outside without a jacket and no bugs for at least the first 3 weeks. It is the warmup to the summer and the final good-bye to any snowflakes (but not until the middle of the month in some years). The grass grows and the early blooming flowers color the spots where they grow. By the end of the month, the tree buds give way to open leaves and the browns of the woods turn to a deep green.  

Unfortunately, this week looks to be more like mid to late April, with some chances for a few rain showers from time to time and temps mainly in the 40’s for highs. 

We had quite the trip through the weather world this past week. Monday we all awoke to it snowing. It really started to come down by later in the morning, just about the time I was headed north to Calumet. I stopped near the intersection of Jacobsville Rd and Princes Point Rd to snap a shot of the flakes falling. They were the big, silver dollar flakes and despite the fact that we were in the daylight hours at a time when the suns rays are as strong as they are in August, the snow was beginning to accumulate. As I got to Lake Linden, the ground was white and by the time I got to the to of the Calumet Hill and into Calumet/Laurium the ground was well covered and the trees were also flocked pretty good. I drove out to the site for the new Keweenaw Snowmobile Club’s groomer barn and things looked way more like the last half of November than the end of April. 

It was not a pleasant thing to come out of the store with the wet snow pelting my face, blown around by 30 mph winds. Later in the day, after the Girls got home, Nora and I drove over to check on a friends house and walked out to the cliffs to take a picture of the angry lake meeting the Jacobsville Cliffs.

Tuesday was a cold day as well and pockets of the snow that fell the day before were still hanging on into the afternoon. By Wednesday, we had sunshine at the temps warmed to around 50 degrees. Not super warm, but warm enough for this old guy to bask in the sun and roll in the grass. He is the only dog remaining in our family that likes to roll in the grass. Poor Huck is really starting to slow down. He can still get around good enough to do this daily routines, but climbing up on a chair or couch requires a little boost sometimes. I think we are all starting to mentally prepare ourselves for the day we have to say good bye. It may be in a week or two, or a month or two, but I doubt that he will be able to get by for more than 6 months given his current state. He is a great dog and probably my most faithful companion. Perhaps tied with Burt on that one. Burt was also at my side 24-7-365 once Millie passed.

I did a bit of drone flying earlier in the day and was hoping to take some pictures and do some flying around, but the winds started to pick up and when I thought I was taking some pictures, I was really creating some 1-2 second video clips. I did capture a frame from one of the videos and it shows the house and backyard, as well as the woods behind the backyard. Hopefully the weather will cooperate enough this week that I will be able to do some more flying.

I guess that about does it for this go around. Have a wonderful week everyone!

Good Night from the Keweenaw..
–JD

That’s exactly what it feels like. Although I am still very much not used to it. Just about every evening, I start thinking about the next day’s challenges will be and if I am prepared for them. It then hits me that I don’t have to work tomorrow. I can just sit and relax and enjoy the evening. In the past, it was only Friday evening I was able to feel that way. Now it is every evening!

Now, if we could just get the weather to be more cooperative for all my free time. When I wrote last Sunday, it was snowing. It also snowed Monday and even for a period Tuesday. In fact, some of the snow squalls on Tuesday were quite vigorous and quickly put an inch or two on the ground. Things started to improve on Wednesday and by Thursday, we had sunshine and temps around 60. That was nice enough that after dinner, we headed to the beach to enjoy the sun, sand and quietness there this time of the year. I did bring the drone and even did a nice fly around the beach and the light, but was trying some new software for the drone that let’s be see it in first person view via a 3D headset. While in FPV, I cannot control the camera. Then not long after that first flight, I lost connectivity with the drone and it ended up crashing. Nothing broken and I am very glad that it malfunctioned over land and not Lake Superior, or that would have been the last of that drone!

Most of Friday was pretty nice. By the afternoon, some clouds did roll in and we even had a few sprinkles occur by the evening. Those clouds and sprinkles were associated with a cold front that brought much cooler temps and even snow on Saturday. It’s not extremely rare to have snow towards the end of April. Just 3 years ago we had a dandy of an April snow event. However, because the second half of February and most of March were to tame, it stinks to be cold and snowy in April. The locals are all taking it well. By the time we get to this time of the year, most snows draw little more than a slight shaking of the head. It’s too late for it to be of any good and will not last long and in a month, the trees will be opening their leaves and many will have cut their grass once or twice. So rather than getting all bent out of shape about it, most are just sort of: “Whatever”.

Today was sunny, but chilly. Out high only around 37. The sun melted the snow and also helped it to feel warmer than 37, so after lunch, I took to the skies in the drone once again. I did wear the goggles, but only to get me into place to take some pictures. It is very hard to see the screen of my phone (which displays the image the drone camera sees, as well as some other control), and wearing the goggles eliminates the issues with the sun. Then once I got to where I wanted to take some pictures, I took the headset off, took the phone out of it and took the pictures. Not a lot, as I was still nervous about losing connection with it on Thursday. So I just hovered over the compound and took a shot of the house and shop and then a shot of the shop with white city beach and the south entry and light visible in the background.

It looks like I need to get online and search for solutions to a dropped signal with my drone and controller. Hopefully there will be one, or I might have to go and get a new one! 🙂 

Not much to report on the health front. I do have some appointments set at the Mayo Clinic for May 26th. Just one procedure and then a consult with the Dr. afterwards. The procedure is a right heart catheterization, which can be for just getting imagery, or for inserting stents, or both. I plan to call tomorrow to see what the plans are for this cath. Somehow I get the feeing that it is just to get imagery, as it would be a little strange to have the stent work done before even meeting the doctor, but not totally unusual.

I guess that about covers it for this one. The weather for the week ahead does not look to promising either. Snow tomorrow morning, then rain in the afternoon. Some more rain towards the end of the week and fairly cool temps as well. Looks like another week of hanging out inside!

Good Night from the Keweenaw..
–JD 

So here I am, on the starting line of a new chapter of my life. It will end up being a very important and very big change, but at the moment, very little seems to be different. It’s all very explainable and does not worry me that things don’t seem different. After all, my last day was on a Friday and ended the usual way. Send out my midday update, secure any loose ends and then head over to the house to wait for Nora and G to get home.

We actually met up at the school so that we could all go to dinner and celebrate my last day or work. But other than what we were celebrating, it is not unusual for us to all go out to dinner especially on a Friday. Yesterday was not unusual in the least. A regular day off for me. Today has had one twist. I did not have to do my usual Sunday work, but here I am writing a journal.

Tomorrow will really be my first day where the usual routine is not followed and the first hints of the freedoms that lie ahead of me for the rest of my life will be experienced. For now though, it’s much like a new pair of shoes. Something is different, but not radically. There is a bit of a new feel, but if the shoes fit right, the feel is not that different. Also like a new pair of shoes, given time, they will break in, some areas will stretch and make room for the unique shapes of your feet. Other areas will become worn and no longer fight the movements of your feet as you walk. In time, my new life will be “broken in”, will feel natural, as if it was made custom for me. Funny that this comparison came to mind, as I actually got a new pair of shoes this past week.

I suppose the main reasons why my final day “at work” was a miraculously uneventful event is that I had no desk or office to pack up. No co-workers that had become friends to say good bye to. I did receive congratulations and well wishes from most of my customers, but they were by phone or Email, not hand shakes or hugs. No golden watches or plaques of appreciation, my boss was just too cheap for that! 

None the less, I am feeling great about it. Nora has said that all last week I had a spring in my step that she has not seen in a long time. I know all of my stress has melted away like an ice cube sitting in the hot sun. I do feel a lightness, no more worrying about tomorrow. No more stressing about having to get it right, or as right as I could! Just a beautiful feeling of floating down the river of life, letting it take me where it wishes to. In time the most important benefit will come, spending more time, way more time, with my two beautiful women! Just thinking of it brings a smile to my face.

Besides the week being my final one for work, it was somewhat typical for April in the Keweenaw. The grass has been trying to green up, but the temps have been a bit below average and in reality, it is also a bit early to have things turning green. It is about as likely that we have snow on the ground this time of the year that we have green grass. Mother Nature decided to make that fact clear when she coated the ground with a layer of white. Thursday was cold and cloudy, but then on Friday we did hit 50 under mostly sunny skies and today we warmed to 60 degrees under filtered sunshine, that was all it took for the grass to deepen it’s green pigmenting.

While Nora was on a walk with her friend, Bleau, Kashi and her friends dog Dave, Huck and I took to the woods to do a little exploring. One of my goals was to head to the game cam and bring it in so that we could get new batteries for it. On the way to the cam, we both spotted some bones from a deer. I cannot say exactly when the deer was killed or by what. We have at least one wolf roaming the property and there could be more. I know we have a pretty large pack of coyotes and they can be heard just about every night. Last night was a particularly interesting sound display. There seemed to be some kind of screeching or crying along with their typical howls. The bones were actually only around 20 feet from the cam and while I took the camera down off the tree, Huck decided to help himself to a femur bone. I did not let him chew on it long, as it was breaking up pretty easily and I did not want him to ingest any of it. It is so fascinating to me how he can be so domesticated, yet still have that wild animal side to him.

With the weather being so nice, Nora, Grace and I headed to a friends place on the big lake. I brought along the drone to fly and take some pictures. It has been a LONG time since I few the drone, so it was almost like starting from scratch. Two of my three batteries have gone bad, but otherwise all was good. I really am love aerial pictures. Here is a shot of the shoreline in the vicinity of where we were. Towards the top, you can see the Jacobsville Lighthouse. It is privately owned and actually for sale. I believe the owner has a Facebook page for it’s sale. Here is another shot, taken from a little further up the shoreline, showing the south entry light, or as many call it, the Jacobsville light. White City beach stretches from the breakwater towards the drone for around 1/4 mile. An absolutely beautiful beach and just a short walk from our house.

Rotating the drone towards the north, the view takes in the south end of the Portage waterway and leads to the south end of Portage Lake. The light colored building in the far lower right is my shop. Here is a shot from near the same position, only a little closer to our property and the buildings on it. If you follow the road where it takes a 90 degree turn to the left in the direction of the waterway, the light colored building in the center of the photo is the shop and just to the right of it is the house.

I plan to do a lot of flying of the drone and with a little luck, purchase a new one in the future. The technology has really increased in them and it would be fun to have some of the new capabilities the current models provide. For now, I will be happy flying “Snowflake 1”, as Grace and I named it when we got it.

So that covers it for this one. I still have not gotten any news on the heart remodeling, but do plan to call the Mayo tomorrow to make sure the ball is still rolling. Until next time…

Good Night from the Keweenaw..
–JD