Category: Uncategorized

I sure can be good about reminding folks that all things happen for a reason and that while we might not know the reason at that moment, somewhere down the line it will appear and we will be grateful that things worked out the way it did. I have had many such happenings occur in my life and some I have been able remember that and just go on about my business. Others take a bit more self remembrance to help me get through. This waiting for the shop/living space to be occupy-able is one of those that has taken a lot of strength and self reminding to deal with!

I thought I was just being spoiled, but then have talked to several folks that are surprised we all have lasted this long in the camper. I am going through week 4 and Nora and Grace are going through week 5. Although Nora and Grace were at school all day last week and even the first week, Nora was at work for the day. They also have been gone since Thursday for a wedding downstate. I do have to admit that when Nora, Grace and Bleau are at school, it is a bit more tolerable, but still small. My brother was over yesterday and we were talking about the size and he made the comment that what we all are living in right now is about the size of what my office was back in the old home! Minus the bedroom, which we pretty much only use to sleep in and nothing else.

The fact that the weather continues it’s schizophrenic nature does not help. The sunny days are wonderful. We all can be outside and doing things. The rainy days are the opposite. Most of the rainy days we have had in the past 3 weeks have also been all day events. It may not be raining heavily, but enough to keep us inside.

The other straw trying to break me this past week was that progress on the shop/living space was slower than I had hoped for. Monday was a holiday, so no work. Tuesday was a rain day. Wednesday was good for working, but the crew had to finish up work at another site. Thursday would have been ok, but a design flaw in the truss design was spotted by the builders. Not a safety issue, but aesthetics. They were able to come up with a solution, but it required some different lumber for some of the walls and thus no work was done on Thursday. Friday they did come out and got the forms off, the mud-sills in and also the rear wall completely framed and the front wall about 85% framed. None of the walls are standing, so I did not take any pictures of where it currently stands. I was told that the crew will be out tomorrow and they are even bringing the equipment to set the trusses. So with some luck, we will have 4 outer walls and the two inner, load bearing, walls up, as well as the trusses. Tuesday’s weather looks a little iffy, but they said they will work in the rain if it is not too heavy and by daybreak, the rain looks to be light and scattered, so perhaps they will work that day. Wednesday the weather looks good, so I am hopeful that by the end of the day Wednesday, it will be closed in, minus the doors and windows.

I was over at the site every day this week. It is very good therapy for me to be over there, whether it is to work, or just hang out and watch the crew work. On Tuesday I got a load of pit-run rock. That is the rocks that came out of the mines. They are sized anywhere from a baseball to a large watermelon. Not good for the final surface of a driveway or roadway, but very good to “stiffen up” a muddy or wet area. I spent most of the late morning and early afternoon spreading those rocks out and packing them into the soft and wet ground.

The folks that bought Nora’s grandparents home (which is right next door to where we are building and is also where we will be eventually moving into to live permanently) had saved the old mail box for all those years. It was a little banged up and also dirty, but still use-able. So they were kind enough to give it to us, we cleaned it up, painted some new numbers on it and in between the rain events on Tuesday, I got it mounted.

As mentioned, Wednesday was a beautiful day, with clear blue skies and comfortable temps. I was thankful for the sunshine, as it helped to stiffen up the area where I had put the pit run. Around 9 am, the lumber for the walls arrived and was off loaded into the dry areas around the foundation. In that last picture you can see the pit run where the truck is parked.

The trusses were to arrive Wednesday as well and I did not want them to sit on the pit run and mud mix, so I put in an emergency call for some crushed mine rock. That is the same rock material from the mines, but it has been put through a machine that breaks the pieces into about the size of a cherry. That is ideal for the finished surface of a driveway. The company I used were able to accommodate me and had 40 tons of crushed mine rock delivered by midday. I spent most of the late morning and afternoon on Wednesday spreading the rock out. By the mid afternoon, I had a pretty functional driveway. The trusses ended up being delayed a day, but I was just glad that I had a good place for them to be dropped when they arrived Thursday.

As mentioned, Thursday was kind of an off day in the weather. It had rained pretty good early in the morning and then spit showers off and on the rest of the day. A good way to tell if a slab was poured and finished with an even surface is to look at it after a rain. The depth of the puddles will show you the unevenness if the slab. The boys did a great job on our slab. The two puddles on the right are actually were floor drains are located, so water should be collecting there.

Friday morning the wood needed to deal with the design flaw arrived and at that point, I was able to look out over the shop/living space…some assembly required!

I wish that I had more to report in this entry, but the reality is my life is pretty much revolving completely around this build! I can say that the seasonal slowdown has occurred. There are still visitors up here, but with schools in session, things are certainly quieter. The colors are slowly starting to pop. More so in the higher terrain, but even there, only about 5-10 percent changed.

The Keweenaw Snowmobile Club is still hoping to be able to build it’s new groomer barn in time for this season. We set up a GoFundMe page to try and help raise the remaining funds needed to build it. Here is the link to that GoFundMe page. Please, please help us out! The building we are currently using is not a suitable one and is in such dis-repair that some areas are not even safe to even be in! I will be plugging this fundraising page on other spots on my website, as well as on Facebook pages. Please spread the word on this, as we need all the help we can get. We have raised about half the money needed through our fundraisers in the past 4-5 years, so thanks to all that donated in those events.

I guess that covers it for this one!

Good night from the Keweenaw..
–JD

It seems like this time of year a whole set of changes take place. The summer tourist season comes to an end. School starts back up. Local, college and professional football starts. If you go by the meteorological calendar rather than the astronomical, summer has given way to autumn.

Once I graduated from college, it also became my favorite time of the year. No more back to school and all the others were a thing that made me happy. It still is my favorite time of the year, but this year has taken a back seat to another arrival. The timing of this arrival does not have an exact time or even an exact date, but there is a “ballpark” date for when it will come. That ballpark date is in a week to ten days. The event that is taking dominance over all else right now is being able to move into the Barn-Dee-Minium.

While I am extremely grateful to have a friend of our family’s let us stay in his camper free of charge and while I am also grateful that it is located less than 5 minutes from where the Barn-Dee-Minium is being built, the camper is getting smaller and smaller a day at a time. Especially when it is full of 3 humans and 2 large dogs! I can say that when I was asked if we were doing anything for the holiday weekend, it was nice to say “Camping!”. Seriously, my typical answer is usually: “nothing, just relaxing and doing a few chores around the house”.

This week will be easier on me, as it is already Monday and school starts tomorrow, so Nora, Grace and Bleau will be there for most of the day. The camper is a lot more roomy when it is just Huck and I!

So speaking of the Barn-Dee-Minium, some great progress was made on it in the past week. When we last left off, the sand had been put in and partially leveled and the forms were in. By Monday afternoon, all of the below grade plumbing and electrical work had been done (and approved). One of the things I did not like about my previous shop was the fact that the electrical supply to the larger stationary machinery came from the ceiling. At times, it would interfere with me using those machines. So this time around, while designing the shop, I also designed the layout of the machinery, so we could put in the below grade electrical runs right to where the machines would be.

Tuesday had a fair share of rain and the crew also had to be on site at a different build to go through the check list with the new owners, so no work got done. However, they sure made up for it on Wednesday, as by Wednesday afternoon, all of the sand had been leveled and packed. All of the rigid insulation had been put in place, all of the re-bar for the thickened edges had been set in place and all of the pex tubing for the in-floor heat had been installed and inspected! That meant that we were ready for the concrete to be poured!

So, after waiting out the bulk of the rain Thursday morning, the first of the concrete trucks arrived around 11 am. The crew for the pour was large (7 in total) and very well versed in the art of pouring concrete. They ordered up a conveyor truck for the pour. It was the first on site and in a short time, the boom was being put into place over the slab. The boom/conveyor allows them to have the concrete placed exactly where they want and also removes the arduous task of having to use wheel barrows to haul the the mix to areas of the slab that a traditional concrete truck chute cannot reach.

It took over two hours and around 40 yards of concrete to fill the forms and it did rain for most of the time. Most of the rain was on the light side, although there was a period at the beginning of the pour where it came down moderately. That caused the concrete to be a bit more creamy after leveling and vibra screeding, but also kept the mix from curing too quickly. They were able to use the bull float to pull most of the extra cream off and then the waiting game commenced for things to dry enough to hand and power trowel. I left the site at around 6:30 pm and they were going to give the woodworking area one final run over with the power trowel to give it a nice polished finish to make it easier to clean up the wood dust and shavings. So needless to say, it was a long day for some on the crew!

As the concrete was drying, Grace put her hand print and initials in the wet concrete. A friend of hers, Huck and I also put our hand prints and initials in the slab and we also put Nora’s initials, the other part of the “Jacobsville Trio” (Graces group of good friends here) initials as well as Millie and Bleau name.

The crew took a well deserved day off on Friday, but Grace, one of her friends, Huck, Bleau and I went over to check things out and do a bit of work. The slab was plenty cured enough to allow us to go on it and the girls had a fun time inventing games to play on it.

Tomorrow looks to be a pretty rainy day up here, so I am not sure if any work will be getting done, but I figure it should take only 1-2 days to get the walls framed and another day to set and sheathe the trusses and at that point it will be dried in. The trusses are not on site yet, but my delivery date is Wednesday. Once it is dried in, then I will jump in and get all of the electrical done in the walls that will be insulated. We are going with spray foam insulation as we did in the shop and house in Mohawk and they will be called in as soon as my electrical work is done.

As soon as the building is insulated, I will be moving in to ease the congestion in the camper and allow me to be right on site and work on things at every opportunity. CAN’T WAIT!

As mentioned, the weather has been good and bad this week. Monday was a beautiful day and the crew got lots of work done. Grace and I took advantage of the weather to take a bike ride from the build site up the road. It sure was enjoyable for both of us and we look forward to many more trips on bike and on foot. Nora plans to join us next season, but is walking 4-6 miles every day with a friend.

As the rain was finishing up Tuesday afternoon, I was on my way back from town and suddenly a rainbow appeared. This is obviously no my first rainbow, but it sure was a special one, as one of it’s ends appeared to to end right where we will be living soon. I think that is a very clear sign we made the right decision.

Not a whole lot of other things have been going on. Pretty much working at the property, staying in and staying dry, or getting in a little fun exercise. The colors are starting to show. Less so here in the banana belt than up in the higher terrain. I have not been to the Mohawk area for around a week now, but the colors in the Calumet area are more noticeable than we have here. That is fine by me and illustrates how the climate here is different from that of the higher terrain.

I guess that about covers it for this one. Hopefully the next edition will have pics of a fully shelled in building! It seems almost hard to believe! More magic in this magical land.

Good night from the Keweenaw..
–JD

It’s done. The exitus of 3382 Number Six Road has been completed. Actually, it has been completed for over 9 days now. The final days before the closing were pretty crazy, with moving all of the odds and ends that were not moved on the day we had friends and family helping with the big items. In fact, we were not able to get everything out before the closing took place, but the new owners were kind enough to allow me to go back and fill our trailer with one last load. Here is the final “Front of House” shot for that place.

Gracie and the dogs were with me and I have to admit that there were some tears shed by both Grace and I when we took our final look and drove out of the driveway. There were a lot of great memories made there and thankfully, we will be able to hang onto them. There were also more than the fair share of difficult times had there, primarily revolving around my health. It’s nice how the mind seems to be able to put those to rest and we only remember the good times.

Our current, temporary, living arrangement got off to a bit of a rough start. We were actually very blessed with good weather for about 99.5% of the moving process. Some days were a bit on the warm side, but we never got rained on or had to delay a trip to the storage facility because of the weather. That changed on the way from the old house to where we are at now.

There were a few light and spotty raindrops falling when we left the old house and we were probably less than 10 minutes away from the new when the skies opened up and it poured rain. There were a few things in the trailer that were not water proof, but were water resistant. The not so good parts were the fact that we are currently living on a dirt road, which turned to mud with the rain. So many of the items not only got wet, but they got covered in mud. Secondly, the rains let up a bit, but still came down pretty good while we were unloading the trailer and getting the non-waterproof items into a dry area.

Nothing was damaged and the weather cleared by later in the evening and Saturday was dry, but hot and humid. Then Sunday it rained pretty much all day. Which made for some cabin fever on my part. I was really starting to dread the decision to shack up in the temporary setup we were in. Just kidding, that is actually an old barn on the property where the camper we are living in is at.

The weather had been almost ideal since last Sunday’s rain. A bit warm on some days, but nothing out of hand and the camper does have air conditioning that keeps it very comfortable. I can happily say that the streak of dry weather has done wonders for my feelings on our current living situation and the forecast going forward does not look to have a lot of rain in it, at least during the day.

One of the bonuses is that on mornings when Gracie is sleeping with us in the camper, I get to look over at this sight as I do my morning work. That is actually not too often though, as one of her best friends lives just two doors down and they have been sleeping over there for the extra space it allows. Her other best friend lives around 2 miles away and the three of them really have a great time together. After all those years of watching Grace make do with entertaining herself when Nora and I could not do something with her, it does my spirit great good to watch her be able to spend nearly all day with friends playing. The sun is setting on this summer break and school will be starting in a week and a day. They all go to different schools so will not have as much time with each other, but Grace is also excited for school to start so she can get back together with all of her school friends. Then after she gets home from school and all of her chores/homework is done, she will be able to do stuff with her friends.

With the moving over for now, we all have been able to take a breather and relax a bit. On Friday, the Jacobsville Girls (JG’s) and their parents all went to the Houghton County fair and had a fun time. I believe this is the first year of going to the fair that I got out of having to go on all the rides. I guess I have gotten old enough where I take more enjoyment from observing her have fun with her friends than to be on the ride with her!

I am still trying to figure out the best internet connectivity solution for my work. We thought that using our cell phones as hot spots would work good, but it turns out that Apple phones do not always work well with computers running a Microsoft operating system. So it looks like satellite internet provider will be the best way to go…until some other form of service delivery becomes available. I hear that radio is being looked into and they are getting very close to using that technology to provide internet service to rural areas. Only time will tell.

The free time has allowed for some rest and relaxation as well. Gracie took her kayak out for a spin the other day and Nora joined here the next day. Yesterday I strapped on the life vest and grabbed the paddle and headed to the shore to launch my trusty craft. As we paddled along and explored the regions shoreline. We came across a gentleman sailor that had decided to drop anchor and spend the evening and overnight in a little cove. There was smoke billowing out of the grill on the stern of his boat, so we paddled over to see what was for dinner. A nice guy and he did invite us to take a morning sail with him today, but our day was already filled up with activity, so we had to turn down his offer.

As mentioned, this past week has provided some very good camping weather. Not too hot or not too cold and plenty of sunshine. It has also provided some spectacular sunsets and sunrises. The other morning, I was taking Huck for a short walk after breakfast and the air was still, the vegetation was covered in dew and the eastern sky was aglow with the rising sun. Off to the west, the Portage shipping canal was releasing it’s steam to the late summer, chilly air.

Yesterday we all headed down to the beach to hang out for a bit. It was early enough that we had the entire beach to ourselves, but also late enough that the sun had warmed temps enough to where we were comfortable with shorts and t shirts. The pups took to having fun right out of the box. That pic was shot during a rare down moment for them. The did spend most of the time running around and checking things out or playing with each other.

Just then, the army corps of engineers dredging barge came down the waterway and into the big lake. Perhaps to join the small regatta of cabin class boats preparing to race. If that were not enough excitement for the morning, a sea plane came into view and looked to want to strafe the beach. Sure enough, he dropped below the tree line and while no shots were fired, it did create some real excitement for those that were there.

WE have also been making nearly daily visits to the lot where we will be building the workshop and apartment. They got started on things early in the week and by midweek were bringing sand in to use as a pad to build the slab atop of. A day later, all was smoothed out and some forms were in. They plan to have a pretty full crew on site starting tomorrow and keeping it going until it is done. As long as the weather cooperates, the slab could be poured by the end of this week and the building could be pretty well shelled in by the end of next week. Then I jump in and do some things like electrical, plumbing and a few other things an then the spray foam insulation goes in. At that point, I may actually move over there and setup my office there. That way I can be on top of my weather duties at all times, but also can be on site to get work done when ever I hae time!

Although we had wildlife up in the high country of southern Keweenaw County, there is a larger population of critters down this way. Wild turkeys have really taken over things and can be seen in lots of places. Including the road we will be living on.

I think that about does it for this one. Lots more to come in the next few weeks/months, that’s for sure. I do have some great health news to report. When I went down to Wausau in mid-June to have things done to get rid of my a-fib, my ejection fraction was 25-30. That is the percentage of blood being pumped out of your heart, compared to if all the blood was. Nobody has an ejection fraction of 100 or 90 or even 80. Professional athletes will be up around 65-70 and an average human with a healthy heart will be 55-60. My 25-30 was quite low and almost to levels where a transplant would be strongly considered. I was told that once my heart rhythm was fixed, my heart would repair itself to some level. I had another test done on the 13th of August and got the results last Friday and my EF was 50-55! I was really hoping for 40-45, so it went beyond my hopes! They also said that because mine went up so much, so fast, it is quite possible it will get to 55-60. Truly amazing! I can say I feel as good as I can remember. Sure will make all the work ahead fun and desirable.

Good Night from the Keweenaw..
–JD

For the past 3-4 months, Nora, Grace, myself, and at times, others have been busy preparing to move our life and belongings approximately 25 miles to the south, southwest. I have been involved in many moves. From the simple relocation to and from my college living space to more complex moves like when I moved from Chicago to the UP. I can say with firm confidence that this move has been far more complex than any of them and we have not even officially moved yet!

We have moved much of the smaller items out of the house and into two storage lockers in Lake Linden. One locker is about 95% full, the other is just starting to have it’s space taken up. The main move will be taking place this Saturday. We have around 11 folks (including Nora and I) and around 5 trucks and trailers all lined up to move things. The entire move should actually go fairly quickly. We are leaving some of the bigger items for the new owners and as mentioned, a lot of the smaller items have already been packed and moved. The move on Saturday will not involve any packing. Just loading onto the trucks or trailers and hauling them to their storage spot and then unloading.

The shop will take up most of the effort on Saturday. I have already brought down most of the smaller items that I could, but am still under the restrictions put on me by the Dr’s following my procedure of a few weeks ago. We will be able to put Big Red to work in doing most of the heavy lifting of the larger machinery, so that will be nice.

Today, my brother and I will be heading down this afternoon to put up one of those frame-type car ports. It will serve as storage for items while we build the workshop. It will also be right next to where we will be temporarily living, as well as friends of ours. That will be the first official mark that we make on the Jacobsville area. Much more will follow, but I am excited as can be just to be putting this car port up and getting the ball rolling!

I do need to mention that because of the activities to take place this weekend, I will not be writing this weekend. So this entry will sort of have to serve for this past Sunday as well as next. I should be able to resume writing on the 18th and hopefully get back into a more regular routine.

The past 10 days did include more than just getting ready for the move. Bleau got fixed on the 26th and is recovering really well. He had to wear the cone of shame for a day or so and then Nora found a more hip and less cumbersome e-collar on line. It is basically an inflatable ring, a lot like a child’s inner tube. He then wore that for another 4-5 days and then has been e-collar free since. “Uncle” Huck has been good about putting up with the extra attention that Bleau has been getting the last week or so.

This past Sunday, Gracie had a landmark birthday. She left the single digits in the dust and turned 10 years old. We celebrated some at our house and then went down to the folks who’s house we are buying for cupcakes (Gracie’s choice and creation!) and more celebrating. We have become very close with the couple that we are buying the house, they are like family, from and look forward to regular gatherings once the move is done.

On Monday, I traveled up the highway for a meeting at the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge. I was ahead of schedule, so decided to stop at the boat launch on Lake Medora and just relax. There was a line of severe thunderstorms rolling across Lake Superior at the time and as the leading edge of those storms drew close to the Keweenaw Peninsula, I snapped this shot of a roll cloud approaching from the west.

Roll clouds can look very threatening and do usually indicate some strong winds coming. However, they are not shelf clouds, which tornadoes frequently drop out of. As the roll cloud approached, the winds did pick up and I decided to high tail it up to the lodge so that I would not get caught in any heavy rain the approaching clouds might produce. I wish I could say it was all skill, based on my knowledge of the weather, but the truth is, luck had a lot to do with my timing. Just as I stepped into the lodge entry and the door closed behind me, a heavy downpour commenced! It lasted around 20-30 minutes, but I was very glad to have gotten into the safety of the lodge and not have to run through the rain and flashes of lightning.

So I guess that about covers it for this one. It is bittersweet to think that this will be the last entry ever written from this home. It sure has been a roller coaster ride while living here. From the ups of bringing little Grace into it for the first time 10 years ago and all the great times since, to the battles of trying to get over the many health issues I have had in the past 10 years.

I think the first few weeks out of this house will be very strange, but I also believe the excitement involved with our new place of living will help to make the transition a fun one.

Good Night from the Keweenaw..
–JD

It’s hard to believe that in less than 3 weeks, we will be out of this house and it will not even belong to us anymore! Even with all the packing we have been doing for weeks, it has always seemed like the move was a long way off. Now we are down to the nitty gritty.

In less than 2 weeks, the house will be totally empty, except for my office, a few clothes of mine and something for Huck and I to sleep on. We have a sizable crew of friend coming on the 10th to help us move all the big and/or heavy items. Many of the smaller things have already been moved to a storage facility. The girls are so excited to get down there that they are going to set up camp on the 8th or 9th and then once everything is out of the house, start living down in Jake. I am going to wait until we close on the house to move down fully. It will just make it easier for me to not try and have to move and set up my office the same weekend we are doing the main move.

The utility logistics are starting to get more complicated. I probably should have researched it a bit better, but it turns out I need to have the septic site evaluation and site approval done before I can do anything else. Even pull power into the spot. The septic does not need to be done, so that is good, but it still would have been nice to get electric on site first. In any case, I am thankful that we have note encountered a situation that presented very difficult challenges.

With my health back to nearly 100 percent, much of this past week was spent on packing up and moving most of the remaining things we can handle on our own. The house is getting emptier and emptier and a 10 x 20 storage locker is already full and we just started on the second one.

We have been missing some beautiful beach days this summer, so yesterday it was decided that we would spend the morning doing things for the move and then head to the beach for the afternoon. Even though they have not had to pack or move a single item, I think the pups were the most excited to head to the beach out of all of us!

It was a perfect afternoon for the beach and we were able to find a spot that we could have pretty much to ourselves. Huck jumped in immediately, but we are still trying to get Bleau to go in at all. We worked with him and by the time we were getting ready to leave, he was comfortable going up to his belly. I have little doubt that in time he will be swimming like a big dog. His bloodline is full of breeds that love to swim.

There was an off shore wind, so Nora and I did not wade in past our chins, but Gracie too the full plunge. She did not last too long fully in, but did make several trips between playing on shore and going in at least to he waist.

On the way to the beach, we walked past some wild blueberries, many of them ripe and ready for picking, so we picked a few quickly and then moved on so the dogs would not pull our arms off in their excitement to get to the water. The report from the berry department is that the strawberries are pretty much done for the season. Blueberries and cherries are fully ready for picking and both look to be a healthy crop. The raspberries have around 2 weeks to go, the thimble berries 2-3 weeks and blackberries around a month. The home we are moving to has wild blueberries growing in the property and they also have domesticated raspberries. I know I would like to add some more raspberries and also get a healthy amount of strawberries going. I also know that Nora is wanting to have a similar raised-bed garden to what we have up here.

I guess that about covers it for this one. Strange to think that next weeks entry will be the second to last one from this house. Ah, the adventures to come!

Good Night from the Keweenaw..
–JD