The seeds were sown over 2 years ago when we bought property in Jacobsville. At that time, we had know idea that all that has happened since would. I guess that is a testament to just letting the universe take you where you belong. That should not be confused with the idea of just sitting back and doing nothing, but rather putting ideas and dreams out to the universe to let it nurture them as well as working your tail off when the situation calls for it.
On Friday we closed on Nora’s grandparents home, taking ownership of not just a structure, but a home full of loving memories for Nora and loving memories to be made for Nora, Grace and I. We wasted little time in making our mark on the place, but the real mark happened yesterday, as friends and family gathered at a storage facility in Lake Linden to load most of our belongings into a 29 foot long moving truck and then unload them into the home.
The move went very well. We were able to empty two completely full storage lockers in just over an hour. The truck was about as full as it could get from front to back, side to side and top to bottom. In fact, there are still two storage rack in the one, which will get brought down to the shop tomorrow.
Nora did a bit of unpacking after the move, but mostly to just get things setup so that we could sleep comfortably. She wasted no time this morning getting going on the unpacking and has rocked it all day. The kitchen is fully unpacked and setup and the dinning room is also pretty well setup. There is still a lot to do, but they way she has been going at it, it will not be long before all of our belongings will be just where they should be. The shop? Well… that is a different story. It now has all of it’s belongings in it as well, but there is a ton to do to get it in working condition. Here is a shot I took of the shop about 20 minutes ago when I came in to write this entry. The funny thing is, it looks better in that picture than in reality!
I will admit to being one of those persons that likes to have have his things neatly in their place, so the status of my shop right now is a source of a bit of anxiety, but I also love to put things into their spot, so the anxiety is tempered a bit by the thought of steadily working on getting things organized. The only thing that is a bit of a bummer is that I had really hoped to be able to have the walls and ceilings done before the shop became full of all of my tools, but they will still be able to get done, just with a little extra work.
Speaking of walls, I am looking for some weathered tin roofing or siding. The heavier the weathering the better, but any level of weathering would be fine. My plan is to use the weathered tin on the first 4 feet of the walls and then the rest will be done in rough sawn lumber. The ceilings HAVE to be done in 5/8″ fire-rated drywall because of the apartment above, but I hope to figure out a way to make that fit in with the walls. So if you have, or know anyone that has a tin sided or roofed outbuilding that is falling down or is going to get a new roof, let me know. I know I have been keeping my eyes out as I drive around here, as this area is as good as any to have such material available.
Not a whole lot else happened this past week. I consciously took it easy so that I would be physically rested for the move. I am not sure if that plan worked, as I was the first to poop out yesterday, but I suppose my body has also gone through the most out of every one there! I did spend quite a bit of time working on the new format for the NCN. I have all the cams for the UP done and plan to crunch out the northern WI and NE MN cams before Thanksgiving, as the models are currently making things look very interesting, snow wise, for those areas later this week and next weekend. The current format has really been a thorn in my side and I cannot wait to roll out the new format. It is way more flexible to different formats, as well as way easier to maintain. So gone will be the days of links or cams not working, at least for long periods of time. I will also be getting my Woods Cam going again, but will be renaming it the “critter cam” as it will be in an area of our woods that sees a lot of critters (deer, turkey, bear and even the occasional wolf) come through. If that were not enough cameras to set up, I will also be setting a cam up at my brothers place in Allouez. That will help to show how much snow has fallen in the higher terrain of the Keweenaw. Right now, Calumet has about 8-10″ on the ground, while we have almost nothing. We truly are in the banana belt!
Part of the R/R regime this week was to take some walks with Huck. The woods are not a place for either of us right now, with hunting season going on, so we stuck to the road. On Wednesday we walked down to the Jacobsville boat launch. It was actually a nicer day than it looked, with no strong winds and a few peaks of sun. As we approached the spot where I took that last shot, I saw a bald eagle land in a tree. We were able to get close enough to it that I got a halfway decent shot of it with my phone. However, just after that shot, it decided to fly off and not see what our intentions were.
So I guess that about does it for this one. Next time I write, we might just be grooming the trails up here! Hard to believe that the season is upon us!
Good night from the Keweenaw..
–JD
