I've been off my game lately with a chest cold that wears me out as the day goes along. I'm taking an antibiotic that has been helping but I just don't feel quite right but I persevere. I was up at dawn this morning and I saw a dozen or so ducks moving across a steely gray Island Lake. A few minutes after that a mother and a yearling deer were in the yard picking at any corn left that I put out last night. It's good to see the deer back after all the commotion with tearing down the trailer. But the best show this morning was four otters playing on the dead tree that fell into the water next to my boat. I swear they were playing king of the hill. Every time I think I have seen everything something like this comes along. Who needs TV when I have this show of shows. Too bad I sent my memory chip for my camera phone to Janet to clean up for me...... 

Burner was over yesterday and we took a round about trip to town. On the way to the mailbox there is a huge bee hive in a tree just off the road and I told Burner I wanted it. Next thing I know were parked under it and he is on top of the cab of his pickup truck trying to bend the limb so I can grab it. Grab it? No sweat, the bees were gone and I made a basket catch that would have made Willie Mays proud. When you come to visit I'll show it to you. It's right next to the deer skull next to my Eagle feather......

I've been working not so diligently on my new novel which cuts into my blogging time. I exert so much energy when I write I am almost banging on the keys with hammer fingers and I am zoned out to anything around me when I'm in Trout Falls. I still hope to blog a couple times a week until it is done. A tale of two cities.....

Soon you will be able to virtual fish on Island Lake. Really. I sent my son Jeff the pertinent info on the fish in the lake and the depth, bait to use and soon he will have it going on a virtual fishing site. When it's done I'll let you know how to find it. Just don't fall out of the boat and eat what you catch, eh?....

And this goes out to blue eyed girl...When one of us around here gets zilch in the crib playing cribbage we call it a Channing; Nothing there.....har har. That's a little neighborly small town rivalry smack.......

Go Crimson Tide....

Go Gold....

Easy....

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I was sitting on a mound of dirt by the mailbox that fits like a lazy boy after all these years of pondering. It's not like I'm waiting for the mail because I get little, it's just a way station before I head back home. JJ and Rose, my neighbors, came by and wondered what I was doing and I said nothing. Well, I  did say something but at that point in time I was doing nothing. I do it well...

They asked if I wanted to go to the casino today and see Merle haggard. I thought you had to go to a cemetary to see him but they said he was still alive but I didn't want to go anyway. Then I would be doing something and I've been doing a lot lately like finally bringing down the trailer which collapsed in a heap and now looks like a ramp for Evil Kneival to jump who I believe is still dead....

Island lake is like a piece of glass this morning and that means one thing; I can burn. And burn I will now that Burner has done his work. Oddly enough for a guy with a nickname burner you would think he would be here for a bonfire or two. Nope. Danny boy put his hand on a hot burner one day as a wee lad and if you look close you can still see in small letters the name of the oven top that burned Burner. He stays away from fires like smokey the Bear who puts them out and never dies.....

So. What's up this weekend for you? Cider mill sounds good. Maybe a ride in the country and check out the colors. Eh, Junie? Or how about a high school football game when your grandson runs like the wind and the cheerleaders shreek? Or maybe a visit to see your Aunt you haven't seen in years? She'll be so happy to see you and it will make her weekend a great one. Whatever you do, do it safely and keep the faith, eh?

Easy...

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 It will be five years this January since I was diagnosed with Leukemia and it has been quite the ride. I'm planning a heck of a party on boomer and you are all invited. I'll have my people get in touch with your people as to the details...

I remember the Doctor giving me the news and my reaction was, "So. What are we going to do about it?" Until it hit me up close and personal Leukemia was a word wispered and not said aloud. I knew a kid in grade school who had it and he was here one minute and I was attending his funeral the next. Funny thing was, I never looked at it that way. I took it as a personal challange like when I joined the Marines or when I got married. It did scare me but I always kept that misery to myself.....

I dived into everything written about Non Hodgkins Lymphoma which is what I do when I know nothing about a certain topic. I joined a cancer chat room and racheted up my Christian therapy with the other Janet in my life. It was thru emails and phone calls and I asked her why I wasn't like the 'typical' newbee with cancer and not so much worried about what would happen tomorrow as I was worried about what would happen to me today. I didn't mope. I didn't get depressed. And I think I know why....

Being a hermit was no fun. I drank too much and my life was miserable in a rusty green trailer wasting away my life. I was so angry at myself I had to do something different and Florida seemed a logical place to go considering Michigan winters. I was waking up again after a four year snooze and I wanted more out of life. I had to get away from Island Lake. How ironic......

The last picture taken at Island lake before I left for warmer weather is of me and Kris from behind, arm in arm, and I was looking up and he was looking down. He wanted me to stay  and I wanted to go. I was happy and he was sad. At that stage in my life he was more like the Dad than I was but I was asserting myself again. I wanted an adventure. I wanted a change.....

It took a month in Florida and I got Leukemia. Well. It was something. Something to live for.....

Cancer took away my life for the first couple of years and it was no fun at all but the challenge was enough to keep me going. I won't cry and I won't complain. I remember emailing a friend and telling her that I would not let my own mind ruin a good day. The sadness and the gloomy looks were from the ones looking at my bald head. I kept smiling and believing I would win this life battle....

Alone, I cried in a dark room wondering what God would think of me. Have I been worthy? Is there an after life and how could this world possibly go on without me? I turned over these questions and others to Him and let it go. He would take care of me when I couldn't take care of myself. And He did....

And here I am. Three years in remission waiting for the rain to stop so I can head to town and play some pool. Why do I bring this up today? I do it as a beacon for others in stress and it is good therapy for me. It's part of my life.....

Easy....

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  It was quite the weekend. I did a dipsy doo into Island Lake on Saturday morning trying to get into a kayak which any 8 year old can do. My neighbors laughed so hard one of them fell down the hill and landed next to my dripping feet. I ended up wet and he ended up sore. My cell phone was in my pocket and it took the better part of the day to get that working but my ego wasn't so lucky. Why am I always the story no matter where I go?....

My friends with the tent in the yard have gone back to Detroit and were lucky to bag a doe with the bow on the last hunt. He offered me the heart which I put in the freezer until hunting camp when the guys get drunk enough to eat anything. A heart felt thought. Like everyone else who has seen the penthouse cabin and Island Lake (sigh) they left asking when they could come back. They enjoyed their stay and I was glad to oblige. It was a bit uncomfortable having company for a week but I proved to be a good host and made two new friends.....

The Wisconsin biker dudes hit the Island on Saturday night and they stopped by to tell me to come over for sauna and maybe a glass of that chokecherry wine. I was up for that. Did I tell you that the headlight on my atv is out and it was dark? I used a flashlight to see and even though I went into a neighbors driveway by mistake I made it up the hill and around to their camp. I actually found that when I turned the flashlight off I could see by the light of the moon. It was really cool......

We sat outside on the deck with a ripper of a fire and all was good on Island lake. One of the guys brought out some smoked salmon and it was simply marvelous. I ended up taking a whole slab home as these guys are a decent, generous bunch. One of them calls me LL Hemingway and I eat it up all I can. Remember Johnny Carson when we would say no and his hand was waving yes?...

About midnight they decided to set off some grease bombs in the campfire but I won't go into detail but suffice it to say I'll get my eyebrows back in a couple months. One of the boys led the way back home with me close on his tail and I realized this is the latest I'd been up since....a long time....

On Sunday I filled up 20 garbage bags with junk from the trailer and when I was done the front three rooms are ready to be torn down. Blue was a pack horse getting the bags out to the road to be picked up this morning. When Burner gets here this week we will hook up a chain and hopefully the walls will come tumbling down. It's been fun finding things that I have lost through the years but it hasn't been much fun seeing the way I once lived....

I'm a walking talking example of never giving up and believing a better day is coming. It won't be given to us but it is there for us to make the best of and strive to get this life right. I went from the outhouse to the penthouse in four short years I once thought would never end. I found my faith and I found my soul and it's time to keep on keeping on. I can't wait to see what will happen this week.....

Easy....

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 I stood at the edge of the potato field and this is where it all started in my literary career. The first story I wrote for my book was about Easy and Pete getting stuck in a potato field. It was this exact potato field I wrote of. I've never been lost here but it has a fond memory of my past when I went picking potatos with my mom a long, long time ago. We didn't have much food and I knew my mom was happy and I was happy for her. I was real sensitive back then and that day sticks in my mind. My mom smiling was a good thing.....

The rich black dirt has been tilled and 90% of the potatos have been loaded into carts and carried away to be shipped all over the midwest. Crows fly above angry as usual and as far as I can see it's potatos. A stiff wind blows into my face and the far away trees are faded now with leaves falling faster then I can pick up stray spuds left behind for the picking. So, I'm not stealing potatos. That would be hot potatos for sure. Whatever is left the deer eat and it goes a long way getting them through the winter. Not a spud is wasted. Perfect harmony....

I figured I got about 50 pounds of white skinned potatos that will last me most of the winter. Just more produce I won't have to buy and I can go back tomorrow for more. It's better then buying something on sale. I'll make up bags for my tent friends in the yard and especially for my mom. I'll make another bag and give it to my neighbors JJ and Rose who live up the hill behind me. Gonna be some fried potatos, crisp onions and those brown eggs for breakfast tomorrow. Maybe a slab of bacon well done too. English Muffin toast with butter. Oh my.....

Dream on...

Easy...

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 I've been busy this week being host to a nice couple from downstate who have pitched a tent on my front yard. They are good friends of my parents and I have gone the extra mile to make them feel welcome and show yooper kindness. I have set them up at my bear blind and they have put up a couple tree blinds to hunt deer with a bow. I even took off Tuesday morning and turned over the keys to the penthouse cabin so they could get a little privacy and the comforts of home. Frankly, I found it a bit much to walk through their living room on my way to my bathroom. I also find it more difficult when I wanted to bark at the moon late at night......

I ended up staying at Burners camp which has been my home away from home many times this year. Behind the camp is a huge rock bluff that gives this old Marine nose bleeds but the view is unbelieveable. I sat there for two hours before it got to dark and I slid back down as it started raining again. I swear the rain follows me around. I filled the wood stove with wood Burner and I had collected during the day and wound up a neat little radio that works for 15 minutes and then I have to wind it again. Kind of like me too...

I listened to some of the debate which made me tired and I stepped outside for a minute before I hit the sack and when I went to go back in the door was locked. Locked? Burner hadn't left me a key. Ok. It's raining outside and I'm in my tee shirt, longjohns, slippers and no key or clue how to get back in. I shivered thinking of the consequences of my actions and walked into the woodshed to get dry and figure out what to do. Oddly enough, I thought of Janet. She is of this weird belief that I embellish a tad mucho and I knew she would never believe this one. I thought about putting a demented racoon into the story that I strangled with my bare hands but thought hey, truth is a lot funnier then fiction when it comes to Easy. I love it when I can keep her and you guessing.....

My options were limited. I had to find an open window, break a window or sleep sawing logs in the wood shed. Hey pard, Got a match? I checked each window while rain fell down my neck and found the back window was open and all I had to do was take the screen out and climb in. Climb in? Me of the falling off ladders fame? The same one who is on Youtube telling how stupid I can be? Yup. That's me. Where's that camera?.....

I worked a huge rain soaked wooden ladder into position behind the camp and stopped to say a prayer. I'm not stupid. I just get myself into unusual positions at times. Lord let me get up Jacob's ladder and nose dive safely unto that fluffy bed and I will do a good deed for others. Maybe a young couple in my front yard. Oh wait. I already have. I did firemen proud and safely worked my way in the open window and the safety of camp and high fived myself in the mirror on the wall. Life is really good.....

I'm back at home now and it is a beautiful fall morning on Island lake. A string of nice days are ahead. My friends are out hunting and I'll cook up a nice lunch for them when they get back. Probably some brats and fried potatos with some chocolate cake I baked for dessert...

One thing is certain.  The door won't be locked.....

Be good. Be safe. and go Gold....

Easy.... 

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Payday is always a special day for me. It's as good as a Saturday and even gives Monday a boost. Yesterday was my payday and Burner picked me up early when a white frost was still on the pumpkin I don't have in the yard because it shriveled up and died in August. The picnic table is covered with a diamond tinted frost knowing the summer days are gone.  My mood was good as it normally is and I look at a new day with excitement. I really do. What will happen today? Will I stay within my budget?...

 We drive by the Wizards house (he owns the antique store in town) and I wonder what he has in his garage. We pass by a home that has the huge cow mailbox that Janet had to stop and take a picture of while I wonder what situation comes up for her to pull it out and show her neighbor. We pass by the gold processing plant that is long closed and I wonder if I should buy a better metal detector. I wonder about a lot of inane things everyday...

I won't bore you with the drudgery of grocery shopping but I do find that more people recognize me and say hello then in the past. I even had a lady who bought my book and pulled it out of her purse and ask me to sign it. Sure, I can do that. I really enjoy this part and Burner looks at me and shakes his head that he says is half the size of mine. I think he is jealous. I think I'm a ham. I budget $100 for groceries and only went over $9 so I was satisfied. I always buy Burner a bingo lotto ticket for waiting in the truck and I can still hear him lamenting, "All I need is an Q and it will be my payday, pard"....

With all our work done we take the country road home to Republic and around every corner is a kaleidoscope of fall colors and I'm once again cuddled up next to a 410 listening to some guy sing ballads in Finnish on the radio. I know a few words but Burner's singing is lousy in any language. But, what the hey, it's payday....

 I spend half my time trying to find my cig's or my lighter which might be in one of my 19 pockets. It doesn't take much squirming for Burner to be on to me and he hands me a lighter. I have a tendency to forget where I put things but on payday I always know where my money is...

We stop at Mike Keskimaki's farm and he is pulling up the last of his garden. His garden has tons of good black earth and my feet sink into the soft soil. I'm envious. He offers us huge orange carrots and a bunch of beets. I don't eat beets so I gave mine to Burner who would pass them off to his lovely wife who uses them to beat Burner when he drinks too much. Getting beat by a beet beats all.....

 Mike is the consummate yooper in my mind. I call him the stealth deer hunter. A grizzly, silver beard covers his face and he wears well worn bib overalls with green and yellow Packer suspenders. Stacks of firewood are neatly placed around the farm, chickens peck at my feet and the horns of many deer he has shot are hanging from the garage wall. A small beagle sits in the grass wagging his tail and I rub him behind the ear wondering where my dog is? I haven't found the right one yet and I think of Pippen and I sigh.....

Finally, we pull into the driveway of the penthouse cabin and the half stripped trailer is an eyesore and we set up plans to do some demiliton this coming week. I will do nothing on payday. Bringing in the numerous bags is never a chore and when it is done I pull out the cribbage board and we go at it again. He usually beats me, lol. but I'm getting better. And then, as it should on payday; the sun comes out, the clouds part and all is good in my corner of the world.... 

Have a safe and blessed weekend my friends....

Easy...

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 Annie Oakley came up my driveway yesterday not to go hunting but to take me to town to pick up Blue who I'm sure was missing me. I cuddled up next to her 410 and we were off. She reminded me that it was old timers pool at one and I figured Blue could wait and hour or three. Rain was in the forecast but the sky was blue for now and I was pushing my luck again. What luck? I've been caught in every single storm near Republic all summer. I threw caution to the wind and a buck for the entry fee, Fast Eddie....

I had twenty bucks in my pocket and I was a rich man in a poor town. All I needed was to get that pool stick to sing. Bank shots, left spin English and a behind the back shot with a cigarette hanging off my lips. Green felt and the smell of cigarettes and stale beer. Bob Seger is lamenting everything is still the same in Republic with only the names and faces changing. The beat goes on....

The owner's wife of the other bar in town cooked up some scalloped potato's and ham. The potato's were freshly picked from Arvil's farm up the road from my place. Six people paid up to play but all bar customers could grab a plate too. Ticky came in looking pale and in a week or so he will have to have bypass surgery and I feel his pain. I know my kindergarten bud is having a tough time. It comes to us all. The miners call it our time in the pit. Us boomers are retiring now and it's about time, eh? We all have our trials and our happiness and when I lost two quick games I was out of the tournament. I grabbed a plate of ham and spuds and sat in the corner eating away my misery with a smile on my face...

It was blue skies when I hit the road home and a chilly 46 but I was well prepared and I enjoyed the ride. Didn't even get wet. Huh? God does shine on me these days and I'm thankful for prayers answered and blessings received. Not more then 10 minutes inside my cabin the rain started to fall. Am I on a roll or what?....

Easy.....

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 Tuesday was a day to stay inside but that has never stopped me before and wouldn't now. The rain was pelting down and the temp was trying to get to 50 on the last day of brook trout fishing and Blue was ready to go. The right front tire has been fixed, the tank is full of gas and a new decal says, 'Almost Famous'. I wore long johns, heavy jacket, gloves and an old helmet that goes over my whole head to keep me warmer. I had my fishing pole, worms, hooks and sinkers and all I needed was the courage to hit the road. It's obvious I am a bit strange and I have a silly ritual I do to acclimate me to the cold. I sit here at the command post with the window open to get used to the cold. When I start shivering it is time to go....

If I had windshield wipers I could make it all the way to Trout Falls Creek but I don't so I find myself sitting under a huge Maple tree during another down pour. All good things are worth waiting for and I would go a mile or two and end up under another tree getting soaked. There was no lightning or thunder so I was thankful for small favors. Finally, I noticed blue clouds and the rain stopped and it was a wet piece of cake getting to my special fishing hole. On my first cast, I caught a small brookie and I'm a big believer that fish bite during and after rain. In the next hour, I caught two more fish that are in my gallery and in my belly now. I might be dumb but I'm not stupid and I gave up on fishing. I dripped my way to Republic and the warmth of the Pine Grove and the coffee was hot. There was six guys in the bar and none had gone fishing and I wondered what is wrong with them? Ok. I couldn't sit down because I had swimming suit itch and if you don't know what that is think of sitting in the car on a two hour trip home wearing a wet swim suit. Sheepishly, I grabbed some talc used for pool league and hit the mens room to alleviate the pain. No, I'm not weird......

Burner stopped in the Grove a bit later and he offered to give me a ride home and it was still raining I said sure and slopped my way to his truck and squirmed all the way home. lol. I will have to get a ride to town today and bring Blue home and there is rain in the forecast so this should be fun. It seems like I've spent quite a bit of time under trees this summer getting wet but the way I look at it; it's better to get caught in the rain then sitting at home watching tv or playing full tilt poker passing idle time. I'm going to ride Blue and my remission for all I can until it, Blue or I am gone. It's the only way I know....

An hour before dark the skies cleared and I was comfy warm when a beautiful rainbow arched over Island Lake. I took a pic of it and sent it to Janet with a note, "God is great". What an end to a wonderful day, a free meal and a last gasp at summer.....

You can catch the rainbow in my gallery. Have a great day!!!

Easy....

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