Happy Independence Day + 1. I hope everyone’s holiday was a good one. For the Dee’s it was a great one! Good health for all of us is the number one reason. Living where we do and with such a great community is second and a close third is having family in town visiting. There are some other reasons that will be mentioned as we travel through this entry.
Our company arrived last Sunday and one of Nora’s Aunts left this morning. The other Aunt and Uncle will be leaving Wednesday. Then things will return to normal. Nora’s brother and his wife are here until Wednesday, but they are not company, they have their own place down the road. An as a bonus, her brother brought up his old zero turn motor for us to have. He bought a new one this spring. I was able to cut all of our lawns with it late last week and it is so much better! Way more comfortable seat and best of all, it takes half the time to cut the grass.
The week started out on the cool side with even a bit of rain. We missed all of the significant rain from that activity and are now becoming pretty dry. The cooler and damp weather made for good conditions to do a puzzle, so Gracie dug one out for everyone to do Monday evening.
It was not raining, so Nora and I decided to take the golf cart for a little spin. It was actually the perfect evening for taking a ride on it. Nice temps and no bugs or dust. We decided to test our luck and see if it would go all the way around “the loop” without running out of power. I did not think it would be a problem, as most carts can handle at least 2 rounds of 18 holes before needing charging, but one never knows! There is no battery meter on the cart, so we cannot tell how much charge is left in the batteries, but we made it around the loop just fine. The loop is around 3 miles long and consists of heading east and then north on Red Rock Road, then west on Sandstone Rd, then back south on Jacobsville Rd to Red Rock and over to our house. It is a healthy walk, a moderate bike ride and a nice ride in the cart!
When we returned, the puzzle building was still going on and they had been able to get the outside edges done, as well as a few pieces of the field. I jumped in and was able to get a small section done, as were others. It got late and we all hit the hay around 10:30. The next morning and afternoon found individuals as well as small groups of persons working on finishing it and by early evening on Tuesday, the puzzle was finished. Just in time for the weather to turn nicer!
Wednesday a buddy of mine from the gas company came and hooked up the line from the propane tank to the pool heater and so I got that heater going and we all have been enjoying the nice warm waters of our pool! I think it is going to be a well used feature all summer long. I do plan to keep it going as long as the weather permits. I even have plans to try and use it in some physical rehab for myself. Or at least that is what I am telling myself right now!
Most of the rest of the week was spend having fun with Nora’s relatives. Her one Aunt and Uncle took Grace to the Porcupine Mountains State Park on Wednesday and most of the crew went to the beach on Thursday and/or Friday. There was also some work to be done, as we were hosting the 2nd annual Jacobsville Independence Day Parade and picnic! So Friday, I cut the lawn over at the shop and also our backyard at the house with the new zero-turn and then Saturday I did the front lawn. I also swept the lawn of any leaves and clippings as that is where the picnic was to be held. Friday and Saturday I also built a corn hole game and Gracie and her friend Flora painted each board for the game. No pictures for this issue, but I will do my best to include pics of them in next weeks entry.
So come Sunday at 11 am sharp, the kids all hopped on their decorated bikes and us older folks hopped into our decorated golf carts and then a surprising howl was heard from down the block. That howl was coming from the siren on a firetruck from the Bootjack Fire Department! Flora’s dad is a volunteer on the department and was able to use one of their pieces of equipment to lead the parade! I could not see the looks on the kids faces, but it was a total surprise to them that it was going to be there. It was also a surprise to many of the adults!
So the kids all followed the fire truck on their bikes, followed by some of the adults in the three golf carts and another set of adults in a decorated side by side. Once the parade was over, everyone took to our front yard and spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying visiting with each other and chowing down on hot dogs, chips, fruit salads, veggie salads and a bunch of different sweets. By late afternoon most folks were packing up to go home or perhaps hit the cooling waters of Lake Superior. We did hit 91 for a high during the picnic, but fortunately our front lawn has a lot of shade and there was just enough of a breeze to help keep the heat from becoming too much.
I know Nora and I had a lot of fun and were happy with the turn out of 53 people. That’s probably 2/3rds of the population of Jacobsville in the summer! Just about everyone that I talked to said how wonderful this event is and how everyone enjoys talking to one another so much. Many commented on how it is so much like the summer celebrations of old. Jacobsville is really a special community and I am glad to be a part of it. I am also glad to see new blood being injected into it, that will help to keep the community going strong for years to come.
Have a Great week everyone and…
Good Night from the Keweenaw..
–JD
