aka, Walmart, where we find useful stuff. This is the most recent place to dump household trash but, as you can see, even the wolves, ravens, and Canada jays don’t like broccoli.
After 40 years, it has become a vast dump but surprisingly organized. There’s even a special area for the (very large) wolves:
That’s Tim’s foot, guest blogger of the week.
After a 2 day delay, due to weather, the last of the work crew left today. Tim spent a good part of the past two days sending weather conditions to the pilot.
We were happy to receive a 45 gallon can of JET A fuel (diesel fuel with an additive to prevent freezing) for our heating system as a parting gift.
Then we were on our own to wrangle it off the dock and onto a trailer to bring it to the cabin. No can do. We were able to roll it off the dock but couldn’t lift or roll it onto the trailer.
So we had to collect a smaller barrel, to offload half the fuel into, and the somewhat finicky fuel pump, fondly referred to as “old red”, so we could get two “lighter” barrels onto the quad’s trailer.
In the end, we got it done. Pizza was a nice finish to the day.
This is one of them.
It has taken me a week to absorb it all and be ready to write about it.
We are in a cabin in northern Manitoba on the southern shore of Egenolf Lake in a wilderness area that spans 6 million acres. Just like home in the Adirondacks. Except it’s not.
The nearest road is 250 miles away but travel is made easier, for some, in the winter, when the lakes freeze. We met one man who rode a snowmobile 6 hours to get here one winter.
We are in an off the grid cabin, designed to provide most of the comforts, in the harsh Manitoba winters. How harsh ?
There is a column in the cabin with the low temperatures marked for several years dating back to 2003, entitled, “The Bushmen Will Survive.”
And we are pretty sure they did.
Every system has at least one, sometimes two, back-up systems, and we have spent the week learning them all and thinking of many of the what ifs. We have had a great teacher, who has spent two winters here and who will continue to provide advice and support from afar. We have internet! And satellite communication.
Right now, the place is buzzing with activity as they close this vast fishing and hunting lodge in the wilderness. On Tuesday, that will change when they all fly off.
This is not our cabin. It’s an old trappers’ cabin near the lake, where two trappers once weathered -60 degrees and lived to tell about it.
The moon was beautiful last night as it rose to the northeast.
And a stunning sunrise greeted us this morning. We have hiked the esker that is behind the lodge and look forward to skiing and snowshoeing it. We’ll use a snowmobile and gas powered auger to get our water once the lake freezes.
Should be quite an adventure.
As summer comes to a close, the sun is setting further south and can finally be seen dipping below the horizon here. Sunset is a very busy time at Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse. Everyone hopes for that perfect photo. One night people abandoned their cars on the road so as not to miss it since the parking lot was full. If I sit in the living room, I can see people running down the hill to catch their photos.
Rather than join the crowd lately, I have enjoyed my own views.
Sunset and bell reflection, and shadows on the bell house.
I march to my own drummer. This seems to be especially true when I swim. My watch tracks my path when we swim in Echo lake.
It’s almost a wrap and I am enjoying the beauty of these last few days.
The bees around the lighthouse are busy pollinating the marigolds, beach roses and ragwort. My neighbor spotted a few bees at my hive. I suspect they are merely robbers but time will tell.
We took the Maine DOT ferry to Swans Island last week with bikes and had a grand time despite all the hills. One stop was the Burnt Coat Harbor Lighthouse. It shows what a community working together can accomplish. From about 2007 to now, they restored it to its current, pristine state. Well worth the stop.
After another hike, we drove Acadia’s Park Loop Road. We saw first hand some of the parking issues elsewhere in the park. There was a mile long line of cars parked alongside the popular Sand Beach.
We found some quiet spots anyway – not at Sand Beach
As summer rolls by, many beautiful boats pass the lighthouse.
They make us wonder, for a moment, if we would like another boat, besides Sparky.
Just for a moment.
The hammock offers a peaceful retreat from the crowds. There is usually a breeze and it rocks me right to sleep.
While the sunset is beautiful, we discovered you can’t actually see the sun sink below the horizon from the rocks, in summer. It’s a winter spectacle when it sets further south.
There were two, mildly rotten, weed filled, half barrels at the lighthouse when we moved in. I freshened them up and filled them with veggies and flowers and they are flourishing.
With all the fog and rain, I have only had to water them twice in 6 weeks!
A ferry and bike ride let me get a new perspective of the area.
I succumbed to the most popular photo of the lighthouse, besides selfies, taken from the rocks.
You can see why it’s popular and the light isn’t even on yet.
This week, I found the perfect setup for my hammock; hidden from the masses but with a beautiful view.
While I formulate my own plan of action, spending time in nature and sharing a national park, with all its wonders, helps.
Look for his book sometime in the future. He is the sweetest dog, charms all the kids and pet lovers and hikes like a monster. So brave, so cute. He became a Bark Ranger because he followed all the Park’s dog rules while his handlers became Junior Rangers, because they completed their activities in the Junior Ranger book.
Today I chose a different perspective. I took a boat tour to understand the layout of the islands seen on my horizon. It left from Bass Harbor and was terrific. Conditions were perfect and I learned more about lobster and fish conservation practices, the lighthouse, marine wildlife and geology. We saw harbor seals, grey seals, a bald eagle, guillemots and cormorants.
We also drifted in front of the lighthouse.
Nice place to think.
My to do list is getting shorter. We leave in a week to become caretakers at Bass Harbor Head lighthouse. If you are one of the 100,000! people who visit annually, please say hi.
The National Park Service acquired it from the US Coast Guard in 2020 and we will be its first NPS caretakers! Mount Desert Island is technically an island but we can drive there.
Time to clean the fridge. Meals become interesting as we eat through its contents.
Time to finish projects I can’t take with me. Actually, I will take my latest with me in its finished form. Back in March, I started weaving a queen size blanket made of alpaca silk yarn. I planned and calculated but still ran short of yarn 2/3 through and could not find more. I found some similar though, waited for it to be delivered, and made do.
I wove about 10 yards of fabric, cut it into three panels and, poof, we have a blanket to take to Maine.
Tim is in full form so I no longer am responsible for EVERYTHING!! Of course, he is already doing too much.
Sparky is sporting a new windshield but won’t be making this trip with us. He is strictly a lake boat. I found a great guy in the north country with a can do attitude and he did it!
We plan to bike the 45+ miles of carriage road in the park and I converted Tim’s bike to fit me, while he had a new recumbent bike delivered to Maine.
My car may look like the Beverly Hillbillies because I also fixed my roof rack just in case.
Off we go.
Tim and I have been caretakers in every season and weather around the world. It’s a fabulous life. I have a chance to reflect on this today while I warm up and drink my tea. I just finished snowblowing the homestead after we received an additional 14” of snow. And I may have to do it again.
Tim had a minor procedure and was told, “no heavy lifting”.
Last year, while we were at Schoodic Institute, where our one major task was to hand shovel 20 doorways, he broke his wrist, again. And we got lots of snow….I shoveled.
Two years prior, he broke his wrist in winter…I snowblowed. He had also selected the elm trees he wanted cut down for a future project. After a quick chainsaw refresher lesson, we snowshoed into the woods.,,I chainsawed. We brought them home on a sled, where they dried until he was healed and could build our bed.
It’s becoming a blur to me. Something happened just before we ordered three cords of wood…I stacked. And something else before a hill of sand blocked the road on Deal Island…I shoveled. Maybe his timing is just right! We make the perfect team.
