From the frying pan into the fire

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We decided, just in time, that this was not our ideal gig. Just in time, because two planes were already scheduled to fly in, before the weather turned, with 12 barrels of fuel. It snowed a little the day before the planes were due.

Our replacement arrived on the first plane, and we left the next day on the second one.

He was already familiar with the property, is a big ice fisherman, and brought his own augur, ice fishing tent, and heater!

We spent 24 hours together reviewing the systems, the back up systems, and enjoying a few meals together.

Then we flew off – to what we learned is the most dangerous city in Canada: Thompson, Manitoba. The primary employer, a nickel mine, closed in 2017, which created a lot of poverty in the region. Gangs formed, drugs arrived, violent crimes occur frequently, sometimes by “machete kids”. Our replacement never left his hotel for these reasons.

But all the hotels were sold out. So we booked an overnight bus to Winnipeg. When we told the pilot we needed a place to wait until the bus station opened for our 10 pm bus, he said he would drive us and find a safe place to wait.

We did and were fine. Since it was a late night bus, many people were in “good spirits”. But there was a strict bag check policy, and for good reason.

The week before, in the same bus, two guys tried to get on with loaded guns and drugs. They escaped. Even worse, in 2009, a passenger BEHEADED another passenger! Toto, we are not in Kansas anymore. Bring back the bears !!

Our trip was uneventful except the bus had no heat and it was 20 degrees !! We survived. Luckily I was still in lots of layers.

We arrived in time for balmy autumn weather in the Adirondacks. Then we headed south to summer weather in Washington, DC to congratulate my daughter and her fiancé on their engagement.

There’s no place like home.

Did you see it?

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I get excited by nature’s wonders. Yesterday, we got to see a portion of the annular eclipse in the morning. First I made my pinhole camera.

Then I headed outside to wait and watch. The last time I experienced a solar eclipse, we were on Protection Island in the Strait of Juan de Luca. My technique was a little different this time. I used two separate pieces of cardboard.

And it worked. Photographing it with one hand was little tricky.

Then I tried to get a little creative.

When I returned to the cabin, I took another look a half hour later and it had changed to this.

It transitioned from an Apple computer apple to a heart. What a day!

We have come to realize there is no need to rush at anything we do because we don’t have anything else to do. So we can take our time and enjoy. Already, the nights are colder and frost covers everything until late morning.

The days are quickly growing shorter. The sun rose today at 8:22 am and will set at 6:40 pm. This is already 2 hours shorter than when we first arrived in late September.

I thought it was quiet at home, but here the only sounds we hear are made by us, the birds and the squirrels, since there is no one else within hundreds of miles. We got hear a wolf howl one night. I have already begun talking to the birds with a call and response. The other day I had nice chat with a Greater Yellowleg. We are sure to become great friends. The Canada Jays follow us around. And I never realized how versatile a Raven’s call could be. You’re never too old to learn a new language.

What do you have to do to get a glass of water around here?

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Well it’s a long story, made more complicated by the fact the lake level is so low. 2 weeks ago, we were able to back a Polaris on a jetty right to the water. But not anymore.

Now we are using this long dock. First we hand pushed a trailer with an empty water barrel on it to the end. Then I guided Tim as he backed the quad bike to the trailer. He had some real trust issues here.

We kept a sharp lookout but made so much noise, it really wasn’t an issue.

Then we set up a gas pump to draw water from the lake to the barrel. Tim was much more confident in his forward facing trip off the dock.

Last, back to the cabin where we used the water pump to transfer it to three indoor cisterns. From there, we have an electric pump that sends water to the faucets. We have an indoor filter and a Brita jug for the final filter.

I need a glass after all this.

Whack a mole

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As Tim likes to say, there’s no such thing as paradise. We boarded and reboarded the cabins and Lodge the last few days. Today we went for a nice walk on the southern esker. For better or worse, the weather was balmy, in the high 40’s f.

We had checked the doors before we left. When we got back, plywood covering two doors and a window were peeled back like cardboard.

A bear had gotten into one of the cabins and the office. So we boarded them up again. This is all making us a little uneasy.

But I walked to the dock after dinner and still found the views lovely.

It’s funny how perceptions can change. I was relieved to see only wolf footprints on our walk and am hoping for cold weather so the bears will finally hibernate.

Beauty and the beast

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I have finished my first two projects. The first was a shawl/ baby blanket I started at home, called Honey Baby. I like it because it incorporates bees and leaves. It took 3 months and I knit the border once we arrived in Manitoba.

Next is a zipper pull for my weatherproof overalls. I count on these zippers when nature calls. I took a brief Kumihimo course and made a short spiral braid from silk, which in addition to being pretty, is very strong.

I think leg warmers will come in handy. I wound a ball of yarn from wool I spun last year at Acadia National Park.

And then there’s the beast. There’s a huge black bear we have seen three times, both it and we were spooked. Hibernation can’t come soon enough. Here’s a gift it left us.

Provisions

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My detailed food list went largely ignored. That’s fine because the commercial kitchen in the Lodge has almost everything I need.

Today’s task, after we finish boarding up the cabins, is to make and freeze a large batch of applesauce from the carton of apples left behind.

I have already made two batches of yogurt from powdered starter I bought from Amazon, before we left home. We should have enough frozen milk to cover our 4 months.

Sprouts are sprouting. They live by the oil burner and on a shelf that catches sun.

They will be appreciated when the lettuce is gone.

Without a microwave to defrost things, I had to get creative. I want to make a sausage dish and have a large roll of frozen venison sausage. The hacksaw !! helped.

There are fields of lingonberries that I want to turn into smoothies and sauce.

Our stovetop, camping coffee percolator and toaster work just dandy.

We need our energy to enjoy the walks and views.

The Dump…

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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.

And they’re off

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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.