Evan and Me

Tonight Evan and I are sharing an evening while his Mom goes to her 20th high school accompanied by his Daddy.  Chris figures on playing with his cell phone while she talks to everyone.  

Evan and I watched "Wild Kratts", "Garflield" and some other kids' sitcoms on Netflix. Most of the shows are pretty silly, perhaps a step down from Scooby Doo, which is sad.  I did like "Wild Kratts" because in each episode, the Kratt brothers explore some animal. Those were informative.

Next Evan made supper for us, peanut butter on toast.  It was supposed to be peanut butter and honey on toast but there wasn't enough honey for both of us so he thought it would be better not to have any. We had banana toffees for dessert. It wasn't a well balanced meal but hey, he's eight years old and was doing the best he could

Now Evan is playing Monster University.  His little monster just got hit by some kind of blast. "Didn't see that one coming," says Evan. He's been playing this game for two days, he says, so he isn't very good yet.

He has given up on having me play.  It takes me way too long to learn a game and my reaction times are too slow.  Last time I was here he told his parents I was "woefully ignorant" when it comes to computer games. He was right.

Where we will meet will be at bed time when I get to read him his stories.  I am very, very good at that.

Zen Driving

I have to spend a few days in Seymour.  I wanted to discuss a new book with Wade via Skype this afternoon, watch grandson Evan tomorrow so his parents could go to a reunion, celebrate friend Susan's birthday, and set up our local writers' book stand at the farmers' market.  So at 9:30, I left Stevens Lake to make the two and a half hour drive. The Subaru was low on gas so I had to get to Laona to fill up.  It would make sense to follow the route to Highway 70 to Highway 139 to Highway 8.

Me, follow the sensible path?  Never happens.

When we checked out the bridge over Mainline Creek yesterday, we found that the Stevens Lake Road ended at Thrasher Road.  There was a sign that pointed to Long Lake, six miles away. Long Lake is on highway 139. I drove that way.

Thrasher Road led to Long Lake Road, but which way to go now?  I figured if I kept the sun over my left shoulder I would be heading south, but had no idea if that would lead to Long Lake.  After a long long time, I decided I was probably driving away from Long Lake.  I thought to turn around but then noticed the "McArthur Pine Road" sign.

The McArthur Pine was planted as a tribute to General Douglas McArthur I knew. Part of it is still there though some vandal tried to destroy it some years back. It is listed as one of the sites to see in one of the National Forest's guides.  What the heck, I would still be heading east toward Highway 139, though it turned out to be yet another curvy road through a forest. Keeping the sun on one's back doesn't work all that well when the trees hide the sun.

I drove for a few miles along McArthur Pine Road.  I never saw a sign for the pine and finally came to the end of that road.  Now what?  Should I turn right or left?

With no clue I went back to Zen driving.  I turned left.  In another mile I came to a fork in the road.  As Yogi Berra once said, "When you come to a fork in the road, take it."

Well, I turned left last time, I might as well turn right now, onto "Double Curve Road".  There was indeed a double curve but then I came to civilization.  Houses, people and there beside the road an ATV driver.

"Where am I and how do I get out of here?" I asked.

"Where do you want to go?"

"Laona."  This was a small town but there was no sign of a gas station.

"Go through the next to stop signs and turn right."

I followed his instructions, discovering I was in Newald.  I had seen the sign for it for years but never visited it.  Sure enough I came to Highway 139 and about twenty minutes later came to Laona and according to the Subaru's instrument panel, would have had enough gas to go another 40 miles.  I

I finished the rest of the trip on the usual route and was here at Mathom House with ten minutes to spare before Wade Skyped in and we started to figure out what we need for our next short story collection.

I have no intention of giving up my wandering ways.  When I get lost, I always learn something.

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Wade finished Part 2 of his latest Michael and Corncob story at http://blackcoffeefiction.blogspot.com
with an explanation about weird weather patterns.  

Canoeing on Stevens Lake

It has been a terrible summer in many ways. I wanted sunshine, days at the beach, a peach-colored tan, and paddling in the canoe.  Instead we had oppressive heat, rain, cold, wind and endless mosquitoes. I was ready to write the summer of 2013 off and bravely face winter.

Then 2013 threw us a curve with a near perfect day.

We packed lunches, put on our bathing suits and went to the bank where Gary had tied up the canoe. The banks are high so I had to slide down on my rump to get to our vessel. Then we were off.  There's a little electric motor on the canoe but that's no good when there are weeds.  Then paddles are required.  Stevens Lake is only 12 feet deep at the deepest part so there are many weedy places.  Gary called it the Sargasso Sea. We watched for the weeds and adapted as necessary.

About half of the lake shore is in private hands and that means vacation cottages with pontoon and speed boats tied to docks.  The other part is national forest.  All lakes and rivers belong to the State of Wisconsin.What amazed us is that our little canoe was the only craft on the this 300 acre piece of water on a sweet and sunny day. It will likely be busier over the weekend but for this day, we had our private lake.

We skirted the north part of the shore and spotted an eagle half way up a dead tree. A bit further we saw his aerie but there were no signs of chicks there. The eaglets had already flown away. The nest appears to have been used for years. Perhaps next year we'll come earlier to watch the show.

Kingfishers flew here and there. If one missed his fish, he flew back to his perch and chattered angrily.

Along the shore there were more reeds, weeds and fragrant water lilies.

We found the inlet that took us to Stevens Creek, where fresh water feeds the lake.

We had never taken the canoe out on a river this year.  The Wolf River was flooded for much of the spring with the water too high and dangerous even for these two old fools.  Now I was getting my river cruise. Sure enough, we soon startled a pair of mallards.  Gary was looking the other way when a great blue heron erupted from the water.  We knew he would keep on going upriver so it was just a matter of our progressing at the same rate.  Once again, I saw a bit of him as he went around a bend, but finally we caught him and Gary could see him in his S-necked glory.

A flock of cedar waxwings were feasting on the berries of the labrador tea plants beside the creek. It's too early for the berries to ferment so they were sober.  Either that or, as Gary says, they are members of Waxwing Anonymous.

I am always so taken with wildlife I forget to photograph them.

The creek became narrower. Gary called it the Zambezi, which is in a different geographic location entirely than the Sargasso Sea, but never mind. "Time to turn back, Rosie Old Girl!" Gary called. "Yes, Mr. Allnut," I called back.  We could look ahead to the entrance to the lake. "Time to meet the Louisa."  We talked about fixing torpedoes to the canoe as our little African Queen charged full paddle into the lake. All we found was a little painted turtle resting in the reeds.

Later we consulted with Frank and Tracy, our neighbors in the campground.  They've been coming to Stevens Lake for years.  Frank told us the outlet of the lake, Mainline Creek, could be paddled as far as the bridge on Thrasher Road.  So after supper we were off again to check that out, but the water was low.

Once again, the motor was no good so Gary had to paddle.  In time the creek became a bog and the channel almost disappeared.  Twilight was no time to get lost.  Mr. Allnut turned the canoe around.

It was easier to drop me off at the dock since the banks are easy enough to slide down but not so easy for this old lady to climb.

As Gary turned the corner to return the canoe to its mooring spot, I took this final photograph.

There could be one more adventure today.  Frank tells us that most evenings a bear comes down the ridge behind our camper to go over to the lake for late night fishing and splashing. I will watch through the window for that.

Rain and High Winds

We sit in the camper here at Stevens Lake listening to the weather radio.  Storms are tearing through much of Wisconsin but so far the worst has gone around us.  There was one really loud clap of thunder but now there is just the downpour.  There's a little gully beside us that will probably turn into a moat before the night is over.

This business is supposed to continue until 11:00 pm (or 2300 hours) so it looks like a late night.

It is just as well.  I am still working on today's crossword puzzle.  I started it when I got up this morning. What I am finding is that unlike sudoku puzzles, which get easier the more you complete, crossword puzzles get more difficult because the final words are the ones you were stuck on all along. I finally asked Gary for the solution.  He is a walking dictionary.

He is going through real estate listings, still looking for properties. I am ignoring this since he will be the one making the decision, not me.

The generator is running so we have light and power for our computers. We are high and dry and in fine shape, until the weather radio alarm goes off, the signal to take cover. The only place that would give us any protection at all is the campground toilet.

I expect I would take my chances here in the trailer. I am fatalistic about things like that.When camping alone,  I always stay in my tent in the worst storms.  If the loons, mergansers, otters and eagles can ride out a tempest, so can I.

It's going to be a late night though.

Stevens Lake

All day yesterday and this morning, Gary packed up all the camping gear so we could move from Lost Lake to Stevens Lake.  My few things took fifteen minutes of stowing in the car and I was off.  I had to take the drive to Stevens Lake first.  The road is graveled and curvy.  There was no point in Gary pulling the camper on that bumpy surface if there were no campsite available. Most national forest campgrounds don't take reservations.  So I was the scout on this expedition.

Not only were there sites available but the one we wanted, site 1 had cleared on Sunday, according to the only other campers, a little family on site four.

Gary, arrived, backed in the camper, and we were all set.  He doesn't plan on staying here more than a few days so won't put up the cook tent and all the accouterments.  I will be leaving for a few days starting on Friday so he will be here alone.  From here we will progress to Lake Ottawa for a longer stay.

Our new lake is 300 acres with good fishing.  Most of it is surrounded by vacation cottages but the national forest has a small corner.  Our spot is against that old forest.  The trees are so tall I expect to see Ents coming out to greet us.

We didn't spend much time there over the afternoon.  The lake breezes called.  If the wind blew, we were in heaven.  When it stopped, the mosquitoes came tearing over to plague us.  Lucky for us, the wind was pretty steady.  We sat, read and chatted while noting our neighbors:  loons, kingfishers, mergansers, black backed woodpeckers, and eagles.

I spotted something unusual out on the water. Gary got out his binoculars and we were surprised to see it was an otter out fishing.  Otters always seem to be having such a good time.  What a joy to watch him!  I commented that it had been several years since we had seen otters on the Wolf River.  "Yes," Gary said. "It is unusual.  I guess that makes him a significant otter."  (Groan may be inserted here.)

I had to forgive Gary for that because this is a special day:  his 19th anniversary of sobriety.  Those have been celebration years for me, too.

I told Gary we should make a point of visiting every lake in Wisconsin but he said it would take us the rest of our lives just to visit all the lakes in Vilas County.  He is probably right.

Iron River shopping

Today we were in Iron River again doing some shopping.  There are some places we simply have to visit whenever we are in town.

Bigari's Ace Hardware is a must see for any guy who thinks of himself as an expert do-it-himself-er. For starters it is huge.  I took this photo from the center of the store, facing north.

This second photo faces south.  Because the store is so enormous, the clerks tear around on scooters. It's the only practical way for the staff to get around.

It was love at first sight for Gary. We can't visit Iron River without looking for some necessary or unnecessary item.  To make things even more interesting, it is one of two hardware stores, the second being adjacent to Angeli's downtown.

Why so many?  Gary says that just about anyone that lives in the area has to do home maintenance, plus these stores service Crystal Falls, Amstrong Creek, Florence and any homeowners between Iron River and Iron Mountain to the east and to Bessemer to the west.

Even I find it fascinating.  Is there anything Bisari's doesn't carry?

Another essential stop is the St. Vincent de Paul store. This week was their annual $2 bag sale. I found four jackets and two shirts today, all like new. Three of my buys were name brand items. The Eddie Bauer jacket originally sold for around $99.  The L.L.Bean shirt was $20.  The C.J. Banks jacket retailed at $49.99.  I figured I had over $150 worth of clothing for $2.  Everything will be used, replacing worn out clothing I also bought at St. Vinnie's. My annual clothing budget is about $50 and that includes two pairs of shoes.

Finally, we stopped at Family Dollar and Dollar General. We were looking for crossword puzzle books. I do sudoku puzzles every day to work my brain but Gary said I should also consider crossword puzzles.  When Chris had a paper route over twenty years ago, I took the Appleton paper and did the crossword puzzles every day but when he went on to other jobs, I stopped the paper and started getting my news on line.

I knew that it is important to exercise our brains as we age, so I agreed.  Family Dollar had the puzzle books, but they were $2.99 each and marked "easy" which I thought defeated the purpose.  Dollar General had two books that looked right for $1 each.

I have been working those puzzles all afternoon.  Gary was right. I am getting  good mental workout.  This is harder than I thought it would be.  So now my daily workout will include a dictionary, a pen and those darned books.

Back in the Woods

The red winged blackbirds are leaving or have left most of Wisconsin.  The Department of Natural Resources  blog says the migratory shore birds on on their way south.  Those are the early birds.  Here at Lost Lake the Northern flickers are still calling.  We can hear the soft tap-tap of the black backed woodpeckers.

Out on the lake, two ospreys and an eagle are doing some evening fishing.  The eagle is a bit shaggy so he must be a juvenile.  No white head yet and probably won't be until the season after next. 

While I was gone the last gasp of camping was going on.  Gary counted 22 filled campsites on Saturday night.  As I drove here this morning, I met what seemed to be an unending caravan of RVs, campers, pop ups and rooftop carriers heading south. Tonight only nine campsites are filled here. In the next day or two, we'll pull up stakes and go north to welcome autumn.  We may be in tiny Stevens Lake Campground if a spot is available.  

It is that time of year. The shaggy manes made an appearance this past week.  Not our favorite mushroom, but I am planning on making some pasta so it would make an addition to the sauce.