I’ve had a trail-cam out for about ten days, trying to get some shots of the coyote down the road.  I’ve seen him a few times and routinely saw his tracks as he came for some scraps I was leaving for him.

 

The first couple nights with the camera were a bust. I got a poor photo of him looking around for what was left after this huge raven had cleaned out the pile. The next day I left some more as we took our afternoon walk and I wasn’t more than 400 yards down the road before I saw the raven flying with the bread in his mouth.

 

I now call him Mr. Evermore.

 

I have never seen a Raven as big as this one. He could be a meal for a hungry woodsman with some leftover for his hungry friend.

 

I changed the location of the camera and that didn’t work.  Now I see Mr. Evermore waiting for us up in the tree as we depart on our 3:05 walk down the road to Cranberry Lake so I need to devise a new plan.

 

Since we haven’t had any fresh snow in about two weeks it is hard to tell old tracks from new tracks coming out of the woods. Tomorrow that will change with the expected snow.

 

I usually drive to town for groceries, errands and supplies on Fridays but my travel plans changed today after hearing about the storm that was coming. The wind has picked up within the last couple of hours. Right now it is raining but will change soon, making the snow we are in for, heavy and wet.  

 

The forecast is also predicting significant wind, so if we lose power and internet, you might not hear from me for a couple of days.  We do have a generator so we will be fine if it gets that bad.

 

I have prepared the little jugs of brandy for Jack and Needa to hang around their necks if we have to go out and find a lost hiker, wayward snowmobiler, ice fisherman or musician who got lost looking for a gig.

 

They are sleeping soundly but are standing by.

 

I can think of no other place I’d rather be stranded in a snowstorm than Deer Park, MI.  Now we are going to have to wait and see what happens.

Life between the lakes, part 20. Extended edition.

 

And just like that Lake Superior has started to freeze.

I had not been down to the big lake for the last few days and once I stopped hearing it, I figured I should check on it.

When I took this picture, I was standing on what would normally be about five feet of water and the ice shelf I’m on is about five feet in elevation.  The shore is about twenty yards behind me. The shelf goes out about 100 yards but has not built up very much as of yet. We are expecting a warming trend this week so it is hard to say what is going to happen to it. I am guessing it will remain pretty much “as is” since this is the first time some “serious ice” has accumulated this winter.

Over the last couple days it has been bright and sunny; clear skies and great sledding. When I drove through Pine Stump Junction yesterday there were at least 100 sleds.

Thursday afternoon and evening brought a remarkable display of weather. Within about twenty minutes we had light snow flurries that turned into a ten minute sideways blizzard, followed by a crack in the sky that poured gold over the woods as far as I could see.

On Friday a new group of snowmobilers checked in down the road. This is their first winter here after buying the place in the fall. They invited me over for a beer so Jack, Needa and I stopped over and we shared some Two Hearted Ale and some very smooth moonshine. The group also learned almost everything I know about greyhounds. Lol

Later that night the dogs and I were out walking.  It is pitch black around here at night except for when the moon is full.  I have lighted collars for Jack and Needa and I carry a light myself. There was a car coming slowly toward us and it stopped when it reached us. That’s what we usually do around her; making sure everyone is OK, seeing who it is etc.

So the guy rolls down his window and we begin some small talk. After a few minutes I introduce myself and come to find out he’s read my books and claimed that he loved them. LOL. Not only that but he lives in Royal Oak! Small world.

The moon has been full so stargazing hasn’t been great, but still worthwhile. I don’t take this beauty for granted because once I find a house in town, it’ll be gone and then small town life will start.

I’ve hired an editor to help me as I write a new book. She has done editing work for me for several years and I am very comfortable with her. She knows my style of writing and is great at what she does. We got to talk today and she made some great suggestions.

For the first time in years I am enjoying listening to music again and have been spending a good deal of time diving into some of my favorite stuff (all generas.) I’ve also been in touch with a close friend.  (He's not on Facebook, lucky guy.)

We formed a band back in 1994. Unfortunately we did not have a long shelf life and split up harmoniously, when he moved to Arizona.  We recorded quite a bit while we were together and had a limited release EP/Cassette for friends back in the day.

He recently discovered some other material we were working on at the time that I had forgotten about. Over the years he did some work on the tunes . . .and forgotten about them too.

He completed a few of them with vocals and some instrumentation, while others remained in a state of being unfinished and not polished.  They were basically forgotten about until I asked him if he still had them. He sent them this week and I think they still respectable enough for public consumption. As a result, we are thinking of releasing an album of these tunes sometime this year.

Listening to what I was doing 27 years ago is a little sad and melancholy.

And we talked about it.

Part of me is very proud of what we did. Part of me wonders where all the years went. And part of me is sad about the chance that we never got.  We talked about how our failure to get a record deal in the 1990s might have been God's intent to save use all from drowning in our own puke from an overdose in hotel room someplace because of the way the vile entertainment industry chews people up and spits them out. Sometimes the worst thing a person can get is what they asked for.

There’s words, music, wonder, beauty, and hope emanating from my little haven in Deer Park tonight and I hope the same is happening for you wherever you are.

Life between the lakes, part 19

 

 

 

Life between the lakes, part 19

I have been the primary camp chef for about the last 20 years or so at the cabin. It is a role I embrace. Nobody has died or had any unpleasant experiences with my meal preparation--- so I’ve got that going for me.

But now the younger generation is taking on more of the work in the kitchen, which is fine by me. Fortunately great culinary talent runs in the family. Originally I took on the job because the truth is I much preferred cooking to doing the cleanup and dishes.

At the cabin, we have a gas stove (in the old days it was a wood burning stove) and our indoor plumbing is the pump in the corner of the room. Each major meal takes advance planning. We often grill in the summer when Charlie brings up a cooler full of top shelf meat products from Fareway grocery in Des Moines.

My Cousin Charlie’s daughter is the up and coming culinary superstar in this bunch. She is a loveable teenager who rolls her eyes a lot when I crack bad jokes (or good jokes) but she is meticulous and adventuresome, creative and very competent in the kitchen.

I am solo in my kitchen and cook every day for myself and Jack and Needa. They’ll usually have lean ground beef with their kibble in the morning along with a dollop of cottage cheese. They get baked chicken breast for their mid-morning snack after our mile walk.

Dinner will be kibble and sardines or tuna fish or more chicken breast with a low sodium chicken broth or more beef with an occasional cooked carrot and scoop of peanut butter to keep their interest. After our evening walk, they get scrambled eggs and a dollop of low-fat yogurt and then they go to bed. My goal is to take such good care of them that they outlast me. 🙂

Several years ago a family member came up with a nickname for my sister because my sister is just one of those all-time great people you might be lucky to find in your lifetime. Her nickname? Deb the Greatest.

Today Deb the Greatest lived up to her name when I got a message from her telling me to go look outside because a package she sent had just been delivered.

She sent me two pizzas from Loui’s in Hazel Park, MI. I can hardly wait for suppertime. The dogs will get their scrambled eggs tonight, but I’m eating Loui’s. . . in Deer Park, Michigan. . .which is probably a first for both Deer Park and for a Loui’s pizza.

Living on the lake is hard to beat.

Having a sister who sends you Loui’s pizza. . . PRICELESS.

And don't forget to read her "punny message" in the second photo.

#DebtheGreatest: Translation: "One of this sweet world’s rarest finds."