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.
In a whirlwind, I have been on planes, trains, automobiles, and ferries. We’re making a grand tour to catch up with family at summer’s end.
It began with family, beach, and lobster in Maine. Despite increased shark activity, even I went swimming.
Union Station in Washington, DC, where I visited my daughter, had this one footed pigeon walking around…to the delight of one, but unnoticed by most.
In New York, we visited the World Trade Center Memorial and took a peek at the new Perelman Performing Arts Center.
Then we boarded the SV Frank Sinatra to stay at lodgings outside the city.
Frank competed with jet skies to get to her destination.
The view from the other side of the Hudson River was spectacular.
Finally off to Long Island to play with monster trucks and grandkids.
Then back to work before our next adventure !
We enjoyed a fabulous afternoon listening to Paul Winter Consort at Hill and Hollow, a stunning property in the Adirondacks. He played music inspired by and with wolves, whales, and a wood thrush. His soloist, Theresa Thomason, and ensemble were world class. We laughed, we cried, then we almost died.
We were headed home on the Northway when we saw police lights fast approaching. At first, we thought they were where they should be, on the other side of the highway. Then we realized they were coming straight at us, while we were all driving 65 mph. And they were chasing another car.
Tim slammed on the brakes and pulled over. I closed my eyes and braced for impact, but we avoided it. A head on collision occurred between two pick up trucks right next to us.
Two troopers jumped out of their cars, one with his gun drawn, as he approached the wrong way truck and got a man out of it. Sheriffs and EMS were on the scene immediately. One of the trucks caught on fire a few times.
It did not turn out well. A helicopter arrived, but then was not needed, because a passenger in the truck next to us succumbed to her injuries.
We sat for several hours while they cleared the stopped traffic behind us and eventually let us turn around, and drive the wrong way for miles on the Northway to the first crossover to the other side.
We bought two lottery tickets on our way home.
Today, I plan to listen to nature songs. Life can change in a flash.
While the rest of the country and world broil, we have had a cool, damp summer in the Adirondacks. I read that based on historic trends, forests in temperate climates including those in New York may experience less stress and more vigor due to the warmer and wetter weather that climate change is bringing. It is certainly true here.
Look at this heat map from one day this summer. The brown area had heat warnings.
Compare it to a map of the Adirondack Park from the Adirondack Almanack.
All those trees are keeping us cool – and wet.
How wet? As of today, we have already had a total of 23 inches of rain. The annual average is about 38” over the past twenty years.
So wet, the frogs want in.
This very little frog hung out on our window all day. How little?
So little! That’s him compared to a pen.
How cool? So cool the last time I swam in my favorite pond, I had to cut it short due to an ice cream headache and concern for hypothermia. I thought I was done with pools for the summer. But then we headed south for a family event, to Rockville, MD.
I brought my swim stuff, just in case. And lo and behold, we found this beautiful facility.
8 lanes, 50 meters long! And underused. That’s something we don’t have in the Adirondacks.
Now I’m back home and sleeping under two blankets again.
It’s time to work on indoor gardening. We may have a cold, dark winter, without fresh veggies. My friend Brad has been experimenting with many hydroponic growing mediums and recommends hemp mats or coco coir. He gave me a sample to try.
I’m sold. Wet the mat, soak the seeds, keep covered and misted until they sprout. Remove the cover, water from base and Bob’s your uncle. You can’t have your pudding if you don’t eat your greens! Or was that meat?
An adorable fawn, until it starts nibbling on my garden.
Hopped right by me.
Bees at work.
Red skies at night.
We packed up Ravioli, our Rav4, named by the grandkids, and headed north to camp along the Gaspé peninsula, which is located south of the St. Lawrence River, east to the Atlantic Ocean.
The Canadian campsites run by SEPAQ were beautiful, private, and pristine. We only car camped one rainy night with a tent gizmo that failed. The air mattress also died but not on that trip.
SEPAQ offers much more comfortable options. We spent three nights on our own little lake, complete with rowboats, deep in a forest preserve in a fishing and hunting cabin. There was even a place to weigh our deer.
The Ranger told us the lake was too warm for fishing and it was too shallow, for my taste, to swim but Tim swam anyway.
We had an adventurous 10 mile detour suggested by Apple maps that put us on a dirt road running under transmission lines, interrupted by a fallen tree and so narrow the brush was scratching Ravioli! We debated Apple vs. Google maps a good part of that day…after we managed to turn around and retrace our miles.
When we arrived in Gaspé, we took a lovely hike up to the tower on top of those cliffs. The views, when the fog lifted, were stupendous.
SEPAQ offers several ready -to-camp options, which may include cots or beds. Tim opted for the teardrop shaped Oasis, set just off the Atlantic ocean beach, in Gaspé proper.
How cute is that? Oasis, not me. The first floor had a table that converted to a double bed and above there was a trampoline that could support 165 pounds. We each had a floor to ourselves. Guess who got the upstairs?
I finished the trip by booking us in a plush resort on the way home. We had a delicious dinner, slept in a real bed, and headed home recharged and ready for anything.
Island and North Country Life 