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The county fair may have packed up and left town late Sunday, but the theatrics of the roller coaster continued…in the weather department. As I mentioned in last week’s entry, our temps and humidity levels last weekend were very summer-like. Late in the day Monday, a front came through and produced some strong thunderstorms as well as some cooler and less humid air. The thunderstorms produces several funnel clouds in the area. Two near Baraga and one over the Portage waterway between Houghton and Hancock. Here is a picture snapped of the one in the Houghton vicinity Monday evening.

We had nothing that severe up this way, but the wind was howling and there was a ton of lightning/thunder and heavy rain. All told, we have picked up around 6″ of rain in the past 10 days and it is currently raining pretty heavily with a thunderstorm rolling through. Our high temp Monday was 80, with a dewpoint of 74. It’s not that rare to have a temp of 80 up here, even in late August, but it is very unusual to have a dewpoint that high. Just 12 hours later, our temps was at 53 with the dewpoint of 52. The cooler and less humid air kept dumping in and by Thursday morning, my low temp was 42 and I could see my breath when I let the pups out to go potty before I started work.

Then, as if to give one final jab (wishful thinking that it will be the final one), the humidity came pumping back in by later Friday and has stuck around through yesterday and today. We also had rain Friday and yesterday. One thing has become clearly evident to me with this roller coaster ride. I still do not like humidity at all! The rains coming through as I type will be ushering in some less humid air that will last a day, before returning briefly for Tuesday and then disappearing the rest of the week and weekend. Perhaps only to return as we head into early next week.

In any case, I am fully ready for autumn. The little chill we had this week was fine by me. I had some soup with my lunches and got to wear long pants for the first time in a while. Sleeping was done in quiet comfort as well. I am also getting excited for the snow to fly. I know we are still at least a month out before I can realistically expect to see snow, but some areas in the northern Rockies saw their first snow of the season earlier in the week. The was snow in my old riding grounds around Togwotee and the mountains near Cooke City also saw some snow.

This summer has been a bit of a challenge to fly the drone. The rains have been a part of it, but it has also been windy on days when I wanted to fly it. Part of the problem is that I do not feel very comfortable flying it in winds above 10 mph, which is a bit silly, because it can handle that and it’s built in GPS navigation and other electronics will keep it stable and in the same spot, so I just need to get a little more brave.

Yesterday we all headed down to Jacobsville around midday. There was a pretty heavy overcast and even a threat for rain, but I packed the drone anyway. Nora brought her metal detector and while I was busy with the drone, she and Grace looked for treasure hidden just below the surface. I did a bit of flying and recorded a very boring video, but did capture this neat photo of the Jacobsville Chapel. The chapel was built in 1888 and is still used for evening services on Sunday during the summer months. Last Sunday was the last service for this summer. Grace and Nora go to just about every service and I go when possible. The big problem for me is that by the time the service ends and then the coffee hour afterwards ends and we drive home, it is past 9 pm, which makes for a short night for me! It is probably the prettiest chapel I have ever seen, although my opinion might be a little bias!

The girls wrapped up their fortune hunting, so we headed to a relative of Nora’s that lives across the road from the chapel and on the big lake. While Nora and my brother visited with Nora’s cousin, Grace, the pups and I played outside, which included heading to the beach to let the pups swim and cool off. Even with the sky cover not so pretty, sitting on the beach and looking out at the big lake with the Huron Mountains off in the distance and the south entry light just off shore to the right, it was a very beautiful site to behold. So I took a panorama for you all to share what I was looking at.

Afterwards, my brother Jim and I headed back north to home, while the girls went to one of our friends place to make some apple cider the hard way with an old-school press. These folks also raise quite a few farm animals, one of which is a pig that will be headed to be turned into chops, ribs, roasts, bacon and sausage for us this autumn. Ever since we put our deposit down on one of the pigs, I have avoided going to visit them when we are there. I just am not yet ready to know my food that well. They also have some chickens and the three kids had fun playing with them. Grace has been allowed to name a few of the animals and here is Grace posing with “Knight”. He’s a rooster and since more than one rooster in a flock can be an issue, his day’s are numbered as well. I am actually glad that Grace is getting this exposure to where our food comes from. We are not going to be having Knight as a meal, but the folks who own the farm will be.

Back on the Dee “farm”, the harvest of summer crops continues. Tomatoes are being picked and frozen so they can become sauce at a later date. Zucchini is also being shredded and frozen for bread and other treats. The cucumbers are coming in faster than most of us can eat them, but we are doing our best. Perhaps some pickles in the near future? Beans are just about done and carrots will be ready in a few more weeks. In my berry patch, the blueberries finally ripened. This was the second year after being planted, so it was the first year they produced fruit. So I am not sure if they are late producers, or if they were just late this year? Some of the strawberry plants we planted are ever-bearing and have been popping out a few treats every week or two.

So here we are, the 2nd day of September and just two days away from the start of the school year. In many ways, the summer flew by, but in some cases, it seems like things like the Father’s Day Flood was a year ago. Grace is officially excited for school to start. Hanging out with dear old dad has it’s pluses, but can also be a bit dull. I don’t know how many books she has read or re-read this summer, but it would easily be 30, maybe more. It seems like Grace almost always has a book in her hand and is reading, even while brushing her teeth! Nora and I have taken some pictures of the different situations we have come across Grace reading. I have those pics to share with you now.

First is one of her go to spots in the evening, that being the swing in the screened in porch. Many times she is joined by Huck, who wishes Gracie would read out loud to him. The kitchen is also a favorite spot of hers, especially when she just wants to be alone to read. The hammock was a good investment for this summer as well. Especially on those beautiful summer afternoons. At times, the hood or roof of my truck or Nora’s vehicle will see some action. Some spots are more traditional, like a folding chair, while others are not, like an empty laundry basket or the fork implement for Big Red.

I guess that covers it for this first entry of autumn 2018. Talk to you soon!

Good night from the Keweenaw..
–JD

Back On The Island! Grace and I snuck away on Monday to visit my mom in southern WI and returned late Thursday. My mom usually makes a summer visit up here, but back in May, she fell and broke her hip and leg, so has spent the better part of the summer healing up from that. She is able to get around all on her own, including driving. Not too shabby for a woman that is 83 1/2 years old! Nora had to stay back to work and was able to watch over Huck and Millie as well. As always, it was nice to be with her and also see my brother that lives down that way. Gracie had a lot of fun visiting with her grandma and uncle and also with the girl next door, Emma, that is the same age. Her folks bought the home next to my mom and ended up tearing down the house and building a beautiful new home that is a perfect fit for that spot.

Grace first met Emma last October when the girls joined me in my annual October trip to southern WI for the Milwaukee snowmobile show. They hit it off immediately and had been looking forward to their next get together ever since. In fact, except for when they each had to go and get changed, they pretty much spent all of Tuesday afternoon, Tuesday night (sleep over of course!) and all of Wednesday together. Probably a total of 30 hours together and not a single issue. The activities ranged from swimming in the lake to horseback riding to just hanging out and chatting. It was hard on both of them, as they had such fun, but then had to say good bye and not know when the next time they will see each other.

The trip down had some sketchy driving, as we hit that heavy rain that fell in the Madison area on Monday afternoon and then on the way back, a semi-truck that was likely hauling milk, went off the road ahead of us and almost flipped. I am not sure why it went off the road, but the driver did an awesome job of recovering, as the trailer was really swaying back and forth and it looked like it was going to flip at one point, but they were able to get the trailer to settle down and the rig back onto the interstate. The rest of the trip back north was uneventful and I really like it now that the speed limit on the interstates is 70 and even the stretch of highway 45 from Watersmeet north to Bruce Crossing is 65. That knocks off quite a bit of time from when it was 55 mph. I was amazed at how many people were still doing 55 though. Not sure what that is about!

Anyway, we arrived home safe and sound and to a hero’s welcome by Huck and Millie. They sure hate it when a member of our family is out of town. I can freely admit that it was also very nice to be home. I cannot explain exactly why, but there is such a sense of relaxation and joy that hits me as we get into the Keweenaw. It is, for sure, home.

We all slept well Thursday night, including the pups and then awoke to a pretty rotten day on Friday, so we all just took it easy and did some recuperating. Then on Saturday, Gracie had her “birthday celebration with friends”. Instead of having a bigger party when she invited lots of friends, Nora came up with the idea of having 2 of Grace’s friends join her and Nora for a girls day out. They went to Copper Harbor and played mini-golf, had a picnic and did some shopping and playing on the playground they have up there. Then headed home and swam in the pool for a while, followed by dinner and then capped things off with a trip down to one of the girls houses for a campfire. These three girls have all become very close friends in a short matter of time. Grace did not even know Flora (the girl on the left in the picture) at the start of the summer. It is so cool to see Grace developing some friendships that will likely last right through high school. They girls and their parents are super cool too and that makes it nice when we all hang out.

Grace and I had planned to go to the Houghton County Fair on Friday, but because the weather was nasty, we put it off until today. Nora was not feeling so well, so she stayed home to rest and hang out with the pups. Grace missed going to the fair last year because Nora had family in town, but we promised we would do all we could to get to the fair this year. She really loves it, then again, what kid doesn’t?

We got to the fair just as the carnival part was starting and upon entering were right upon the dog show. A gentleman goes around and rescues dogs from shelters or even the streets and then trains them to do tricks, such as catching Frisbee’s, even jumping off a platform into a pool to do that. He also had two dogs that could climb up a nearly vertical wall to grab hold of a padded inner tube. It was really incredible to watch the dogs run up to the wall and then up it!

After a quick bite to eat, we hit the Ferris wheel. We both were all smiles as we looped around on it and were able to take in the fairgrounds from atop the wheel. Grace and sometimes I, went on most of the rest of the rides, at least the ones she was tall enough for. The two most intense she still needed to be around 3-4″ taller for, but I was kind of glad, because I was not thrilled with the idea of going on one of them. I am all for heights and things like roller coasters, but the ones that spin rather violently are not to my liking! The bumper cars where a hit with Grace and she tried her hand at the rock climbing wall. She did pretty well, but was disappointed that she did not make it to the top like she did at the waterpark in Minneapolis this spring. We stuck around for a while and watched several kids older than her not make it as high as she did, so I think that made her feel pretty good.

The main event at the fair today was the demolition derby and when I explained what it was to Grace last night as we were talking about today’s adventure, she could not believe that people would smash up perfectly good cars. When I explained that the cars were one step away from going to the junkyard anyway, she understood. There was a huge crowd for the demo derby, probably more folks that I have ever seen in one spot up here, except for maybe a Tech hockey game. They ran 4 heats and I have to say that heat number 2 and number 4 were two of the best demolition derbies I have ever seen. They really went at it and there was some incredible driving by some of the drivers and an incredible effort put out by some of the vehicles. If you look closely at that last image, the car closest to us appears to not have any rear wheels. They were still attached to the car, but in a rather unconventional manner! That was a view a few seconds later and as you can see, both wheels are just being dragged along and not supporting the car at all. As the match progressed, that car and driver became the crowd favorite and actually survived through the round, but was not able to go at it anymore.

As for the other happenings up here this past week, I cannot really comment, as we were not here. We arrived home to a beautiful Keweenaw summer day on Thursday and then nasty rain for most of the day Friday. Saturday started out cloudy and cool, but the sun came out in the afternoon and warmed things perfectly for the girls to swim in the pool. Today was warm and very humid and as I type, things have grown almost as dark as nighttime, as a thunderstorm is getting ready to hit us from the west. Some of the radar imagery looks frighteningly similar to the imagery during the Fathers Day flood, so I hope we have none of that happen! Rains look to continue into tomorrow, along with the humidity, but then dewpoints crash into the 40’s for Wednesday and Thursday. I am pretty much done with summer weather. Not that I will complain about any more that happens in the next week or two, but my thoughts have gone to having to wear long pants and a jacket when outside and I like those thoughts!

One quick announcement. The annual trail cleanup for the Keweenaw Snowmobile Club is going to be held on October 19 and 20. A Friday and Saturday as is always the case. Needless to say there is quite a bit of work to be done. We will not be doing any of the repairs to the huge washouts on trail 3 from Dollar Bay to Lake Linden, but lots of other signing and brushing to be done. So mark it down in your calendar and I will be sure to add more info (such as where free lodging will be offered) in the future.

I guess that covers it for this one. Talk to you next month!
Good night from the Keweenaw..
–JD

 

 

Another week down and another week closer to the end of summer. This has really be a wonderful summer and I will be a little sad to see it go, but I know that autumn and then winter will provide plenty of joys too, so I am not worried about the end of summer approaching.

All in all, it was a pretty nice week weather wise. We had some very nice pool weather Monday when Nora got back into town. 88 for a high and enough humidity to make us all glad that we were able to soak in the pool that afternoon. Things did cool down for the middle of the week and we even had a quick shot of cool temps on Friday. No rain worth mentioning, so things continue to dry out, but with the increasing time that the sun is either beneath the horizon or low enough so that the trees block its direct rays, the drying out process is not as severe as it is in June and early July, when it seems like the sun never sets!

The end of the summer is really getting to be the talk of the town now. I suppose it is a much more meaningful event than in other parts of the country or even world. Our winters are so long and so harsh, most folks up here really relish the summer months. It doesn’t hurt to be blessed with some of the most beautiful summer weather you are ever going to find either.

In any case, the rush seems to be on to try and squeeze in any activities that folks wanted to do this summer, but have not gotten around to it yet. I can’t really say that the Dee’s have too much on their list to still get done while the summer is here. It’s been a pretty busy summer of swimming, some walks, large festivals and intimate get-togethers, as well as loads of time relaxing on the porch. That is our go-to spot all summer long. Mornings and evenings seem to be the most special, as that is when human activity is lowest, but wildlife activity is high. Plus, even though it is in the shade all day long, and also sunken a bit below the ground around it, the temps there can get a bit much on really hot days.

The one thing I noticed we did not do as much of this summer as we typically do is go to the beach. I think the pool is the main reason for that, as it is just a few steps away from the house, in the full sun and the water temp is also sitting in the upper 80’s, 24 hours a day! None the less, Wednesday seemed like a beautiful beach day and I had spotted a potential beach that we all had never been to, but I was not sure we could even get there via vehicle. So we drove out and took a look and realized it was a no-go. Too much brush had grown in on the path I had seen a year or two ago and it might be something for autumn or very early summer, before it gets so grown in, but it would not have been a fun trek for all of us that were dressed in beach wear!

So we ended up driving down the road a bit and found one of our regular spots completely empty, so we stopped there and had our fun. I think when I said that most of the Dee’s were just fine with our lack of visiting the beach this summer, I was really just speaking for Grace, Nora and I. Huck and Millie heard us mention “the beach” before we even left the house and were suddenly invigorated. We had already planned to bring them, but they sure stayed close enough to all of us to keep us from trying to sneak off without them. They must be able to smell the beach as well, because their excitement level always rises to an even higher level when we are around a mile away from the shoreline and pretty much stays at that level until they are able to bound out of the vehicle and head for the water.

It is such a joy to see them jump out of the vehicle and race to the water. They almost always turn around once reaching the water and look back, as if to say: “Thank’s for bringing us here!”. Then the job of finding a stick to toss into the water begins by all in attendance and is usually accomplished in pretty quick time. Grace usually wastes little time finding something fun to do. Either getting into the water herself, or if conditions are not suitable for swimming, she will look for rocks or other interesting things on the beach. Wednesday provided the perfect conditions for getting into the water. Before long, she was hooked up with the pups and having a grand time in the waves and upper 70 degree water. I did not bring my suit, but had I, I might just have gone fully in myself. The winds were blowing just right to push the warmer surface water up to the shore.

We stayed long enough to tucker the dogs and Gracie out enough and then headed back to the vehicle. As we did, we came across some wild blueberries growing where the woods meet the sand and picked enough for a quick snack…even the dogs!

Friday morning the upper Midwest, including all of the Keweenaw, was overcome with smoke from the wildfires out in western Canada and the US. The day started out looking like it would be a nice one. Nora even took the afternoon off in hopes of being able to squeeze in a little more pool time before school starts and she loses that luxury. However, by around 11 am, the smoke was moving in from the NW and overtaking the region. Here is a satellite image from Friday morning as the smoke was rolling into the Keweenaw.

That image is from NOAA’s latest GOES suite of satellites, GOES-16. So it has better resolution than previous satellites, as well as more and better sensors that can “see” things in the atmosphere better than the older satellites. The “channel” that I displayed there is called “GeoColor”, as they take the image sent form the satellite and then enhance it with colors to make it look like it does from space (blue water, brown soil, green vegetation, etc.).  Because it is new, I have not been able to see all of the things that the atmosphere produces displayed by it. But about a week ago, I did see smoke from the western fires dropping out of Canada and into MN and far western WI. Friday’s smoky imagery was much more vivid and something I had never seen. On the ground, it also was something that I had never seen. We went from a few low clouds and fairly blue skies to an almost white sky and then to a very light, orangish-brown sky. At one point, the smoke blocked out so much of the sunlight that it appeared as though a thunderstorm was coming. Most of the smoke stayed aloft and so we could not smell it and the visibility at ground level was also not impacted much. Still a really weird experience and a first for me, at least to that magnitude.

Later in the afternoon, we got into a lighter variety of the smoke, so I mentioned to the clan that we should go to the beach again and catch the sunset, because with the smoke, it could really be dramatic. As luck would have it, some clouds rolled in as we were headed to the beach, but we decided to hit the beach anyway. We were met with the overcast skies and a fairly stiff breeze out of the northwest. Luckily we had all dressed to be prepared for the cooler temps by the lake that happen so often up here and were able to enjoy things. Grace even ventured to the waters edge to play in the sand. It did get chillier and chillier as the sun set further and further and after Gracie had balanced a few rocks on the picnic bench to make a mini-cairn, we headed home to warm beds!

Saturday was the annual Pasty Fest and parade in Calumet. I missed last years event for some reason, but I remember folks commenting on how it was a cold and rainy day. I do remember 2 years ago, when a severe thunderstorm hit just as things were getting going and really caused some problems. Winds as high as 75 mph picked up some of the tents and carried them away a bit and heavy rains fell as well. This year, the weather could not have been much more perfect. Temps were in the low to mid 70’s with a mix of clouds and sun. This past school year, Gracie was in an after school program that the Keweenaw National Historic Park puts on called Jr. Rangers. They go over to the park visitors center and learn about the regions history, natural wonders and other things. She loved it and I was really impressed by how well it was run. One of the perks is to be able to march in some of the local parades up here. So Grace took part in the parade Saturday in Calumet with some of her other Jr Ranger friends and the park rangers that are involved in the program.

It looks like another week of beautiful weather. Some rains later tomorrow and then clear skies, comfortable temps and humidity the rest of the week. A similar forecast is in store for much of the Midwest, with the rains early in the week to give way to cooler and a little less humid air. The early look at next weekend sees some rains scooting across the north late Friday and early Saturday, but otherwise fairly dry and also hot. So those of you wishing the heat and humidity was over, will have to wait a bit longer, but just look at the calendar, not too much longer!

Good night from the Keweenaw..
–JD

Greetings from a steamy Keweenaw! We are currently at 84 and climbing. I doubt that we will hit 90 today, but there is a reasonable chance that we could get there tomorrow. If we did, it would be the first 90 degree temp we have had all summer so far and the first time hitting 90 or warmer since June 10, 2017. All of these temperatures are from the airport, as that is where the data is archived in a manner in which I can get it, so it is certainly possible that some areas up have already hit 90 for the season and upon further review (checked my own weather station data while I was typing), I hit 90 degrees on July 4th of this year. The airport hit 89 that day and has reached 89 a few other days so far this year.

The dewpoint has also been pretty high the past few days, with readings in the upper 60’s to low 70’s. So we are getting the old “double whammy” of heat and humidity, at least for the UP! I realize that these numbers would make someone chuckle in areas to our south, but for us, its pretty hot. I’m not complaining though. Overall, this summer had been a dandy. Take out the Father’s Day flood in June and I think I could easily give this summer an “A”.

Even though our daytime highs have been running up into the 80’s with humidity quite a bit, it still manages to get down into the 50’s and low 60’s at night, so by around 7 pm, we are opening up the windows and sleeping under the covers. The house is insulated enough that most days we do not need to run the AC, by closing the windows at around 8 AM when things start heating up for the day.

We are also fairly dry. Not in a drought by any means. Our rainfall total since June 1 is 14.45″, which is about 250% of average for that period, but take away the 6.25″ that fell during the Fathers Day Flood and then the 3.02″ that fell on July 10th and our total since June 1 drops to 5.18″. Which is below average by almost an inch. The woods are still plenty green and I am not worried about any wildfires threatening us.

We are certainly in late summer mode up here. I have friends that are in the hospitality business up here (food and/or lodging) and they are starting to get that late season dazed look. The one where they are grateful for the busy season and financial rewards it has given them, but they are also just about out of gas and will welcome the more relaxed pace that the lead up to the fall color show gives.

All of Grace’s summer activities have ended as well. Her Saturday morning art classes ended yesterday and the other summer time activity she does Monday through Friday for a few hours ended on Friday. So she will now be home all day with dear old Dad, which should not be too much of a problem. As long as we keep the semi-trucks pulling in with their loads of books, all should be good!

The sun is also waiting until almost 7 am to rise and sets around 9 in the evening, which lends to the late summer feel to things as well. All of these things have had me thinking more and more about summer ending and autumn approaching and it has me a little excited. I am not climbing the walls in anticipation of summers full departure as I was in the past, but have had my fill and will be content for it to give way to the beautiful weather we have in the first half of autumn up here.

That beautiful early autumn weather also is the start of outside work season for me, but I do not have nearly as much on my plate as I did a year ago at this time. A year ago, I was getting ready to add the utility room to the back of the house, whereas this season, all I have planned is to put the siding up on that addition, as well as do a general wrap up of things and get ready for the snows to pile up.

Nora has been out of town since midday on Thursday. She met up with her good friend from lower MI. They met up in the eastern UP, as that is about the halfway point. So it has been Gracie and I the past few days and the house is still standing! Yesterday evening we went down to a bonfire at some new friends place in Jacobsville. They are homesteaders and have a really neat setup, with a large garden and farm animals. They have a daughter that is around Grace’s age and Gracie loves to go there to to play with their daughter and hang out with all the animals.

There were several other couples there and some of them also had kids who were Grace’s age. It was such a joy to see all the kids run around and have tons of fun. It sure did remind me of when I was a kid and would get together with other families that had kids my age or just hanging out on a summers evening with all of my friends, inventing things to do and just basically run around being a carefree kid. That is the one downside to living where we do. Our closest neighbor is about 1/4 mile away and the closest kid her age is probably over a half mile away. During the school year Grace is involved in enough things that she typically is not in too much of a need of things to do, but in summer, Nora and I really need to spend a lot of time with her to keep her from feeling too lonely.

It was nice to meet the others at the bonfire and make new friends myself. Lots of interesting folks all living the dream of calling the Keweenaw home, or in some cases…calling it home for the summer. It was a perfect evening for things, with the temps cooling off enough that sitting next to the fire felt good and made for some good “fire poking”. As with all good things, the bonfire had to come to an end, but I snapped this shot of the setting sun casting a red glow in the skies of the Jacobsville before we loaded into the truck and headed home.

Today we headed up to Eagle Harbor for the art fair they have there. It was getting steamy there, even down by the lake, so we went as early as we could and did not stay too long, but did take in all of the artists booths and even picked up something for Nora while we were there. Grace spotted a good climbing tree and it was not long before she was up amongst it’s branches.

Nora arrives home tomorrow and it will be great to have the entire Dee clan back together. I know that Nora has enjoyed her time away, but is also excited to get back to be with us as well. Hard to believe that in 2 weeks, we will be prepping for the final week of summer! Perhaps that itch will grow into a full fledged fever by then!

Good night from the Keweenaw..
–JD

9 years and around 23 hours ago, my life changed forever. A little girl was born in Denton TX and I became her father. When I think back to the events of that time frame, some are a total blur, like watching a movie in fast motion. Yet others are a vivid as they happened yesterday. One of the moments that remains vivid is the first time I saw that beautiful and innocent face. That picture speaks many words, especially when it comes to the expression on Nora and my faces. It is perfectly clear what is going on in Nora’s beautiful mind by the look on her beautiful face. Mine? Well…honestly, it looks like I might have just messed my pants or were about to pass out, or both! I will also accept the answer from those that say I look scared.

Over the past 9 years, I have loved looking at that shot and enjoyed everyone’s different response to it, including their description of my face. The cool thing is that for the past 9 years, I have not corrected anyone, at least not harshly! However, I have never really said what was going through my mind at the time. Not because I was embarrassed or anything negative like that, just that I felt like I wanted to keep it private. Even though she was about 2 hours old at the time, I have always believed Gracie knew exactly what I was thinking. She opened her eyes, looked straight into my eyes and then slowly closed hers again, all the while still looking into my eyes…As if to tell me that all was good.

We can read all the books we want, take classes, talk to friends and family, even do some practicing, but there is NOTHING that will fully prepare someone to become a parent. It is single-handedly the most important task we will ever be given in life, but yet there are no instructions…at least complete instructions. The loving part comes easy, except when it comes time for hard love. “Having to tell your daughter something that will break her heart”.   Lets see….nothing in the Table of Contents…nothing in the index…Sorry you are on your own there pal. Good luck!

Or what about that fine line between just making her happy, and spoiling her? With a child as sweet and loving as Gracie, that line tends to be extra, extra thin and is also always moving. That is why I have been blessed with a wonderful partner in the role of raising Grace. There are times when the line to cross or not to cross is extremely thin for both of us, but at those times, we know we have each others support. We also know we are going to make mistakes along the way and when we do, we are sure to let Grace know it.

Grace has her challenging moments too and I am getting better at recognizing when Nora needs me to stand by her and support her. I still have a considerable amount of improvement to do on that, but am moving in the right direction! Nora? she is getting better at not worrying about every little thing that could go wrong, or needs to be taken care of. Nora is extremely intelligent in the ways of the world and can see potential problems long before the rest of us common folk can. So I have learned to trust her intuition. Well….most of the time. That is a work in progress as well!

So here we are, 1/2 of the way between her sitting on my lap for the first time and the age in which Gracie becomes what our society considers an adult. She may very well stick around here and go on to further her studies, but there is no avoiding the fact that even those “kids” have begun to spread their wings and will soon be off on their own in the world. Pretty amazing to think about, but also a bit sad.

It’s been an interesting week in the weather department! We have had everything from chilly enough to think about turning the heat on and hot/humid enough to need to put the air conditioning on. Friday morning was quite chilly out, with an early morning low of 42. The changing of color in the not so healthy trees has also begun right on time this year. That is from a tree in our woods, but along the side of the road. The other 98 percent of the trees are still a deep summer green and will be that way for another 6-7 weeks, but those “early turners” do signal that we have made it into August and are getting closer to the end of summer!

The Keweenaw got great news on Friday morning. That being the help requested from FEMA was approved and the region will be receiving grants to repair the rest of the damage from the Father’s Day Flood. That is also good for our trail system, as it means all of the damage done will now be able to be done as soon as possible. Because of that, I went up to the site of some of the bigger washouts to do some looking around and figuring out what might be suggested to the DNR as “priority fixes”.  I still highly doubt that the trail from Dollar Bay to Lake Linden will be open for this year, but I would really like to see folks be able to get to the turn-off for Lake Linden via the trail from Calumet to Lake Linden. As it stands right now, there is no trail that will directly take snowmobilers from the trail to town. They would have to ride some sections of road. The trail from Lake Linden to Gay will be open, but that still leaves folks several blocks from downtown Lake Linden.

So my main goal Friday afternoon was to go and see how much work would need to be done to have the Calumet to Lake Linden trail open to the point where the access trail to Lake Linden is. It did not take me long to realize that it was going to be more work than I had thought. There were a few washouts where I had been told by some that there were none and then there were a couple of doozies like this. Just for a size reference, the black dot on the left-center of the picture is Huck and the white dot on the right-center part of the picture is Millie.

It’s hard to say when all the differing things that need to be repaired will be done, but it is nice to know that the money will be there to allow it to happen as soon as the engineering, material, permits and anything else needed is obtained. It will also be a nice little jolt of money into our local economy up here. So stay tuned!

Gracie’s birthday was yesterday, but we surprised her with a horseback ride on Thursday as part of her birthday celebration. It was a long haul from Keweenaw County to the Alston area, but well worth the trip. Grace was so pumped up for it, I think she could have run along side Nora vehicle the whole way and still made the final dash to beat us! I was a little worried that she might get a little over confident on the horse and not listen to all she was told to do, but I was proven wrong. She was confident, but also very attentive and followed exactly what the instructor/guide told her.

Before long, she was all set and ready to mount-up! She swung the right leg over and was all set to ride! Both Nora and I thought that she would take to horses very well and she sure did. The guide had us all ride around in the corral for a bit to get used to handing the horse and for the horse to get acquainted to what kind of a hack they had on their back! At first Gracie was matched up with Tilley, because she was the most laid back and well mannered of the bunch, while Nora got a pretty spunky horse. After some time in the corral, it was determined that Grace would probably enjoy the spunk of the horse Nora was on and Nora would enjoy the more laid back attitude of Tilley. So they switched and Grace did a great job of keeping a horse that really wanted to go from doing what it was not suppose to do.

Soon we were out of the corral and riding down the trails around the area. For a little while, we were even on snowmobile trail 109, as we passed several trail signs for the snowmobiles. We all had a blast and it was especially fun to be doing it as a full family, but also just us three. Nora and Tilley were best of friends by the end of the ride! We all agreed that we were going to do all we can to get back on the horses before the weather turns and there are even thoughts being tossed around of getting involved with horses. So much fun to have…so little time!

Good night from the Keweenaw..
–JD