The sun has finally popped out on Island lake and my chippy is clucking for seeds outside my window. The coons knocked down my feeder again which is a given. I need a new plan. My almost a victory garden is getting enough rain and my tomatos are doing well. I think I may try canning this winter. Cucumbers are slow as is the lettuce but the radishes are tall and so are the carrots. I'm hoping the first frost will stay away so I can see how the Big Max pumpkins will turn out. They will be excellent deer feed. I'll do better next year from what I've learned this summmer. Mother Earth is good to me if I listen to what She says......
It is clean up day around here and suffice to say it needs it. I have lots of nervous energy this morning as my Dad is still in the hospital and going through a bone marrow biopsy today to find out why his blood platelets are so low. His surgery went ok but the Dr.'s are confused as to what is wrong with him now. Sadly, it reminds me of my time with Leukemia and the all important blood tests. If you are a member of the bone marrow biopsy club you have my utmost respect. I fear that test more then I fear relapsing. Even sadder to think that I can't be considered if he needs a bone marrow transplant. Please keep him in your prayers.....
I sent Ismoor48, Linda, a copy of my book recently and she mentioned that I had put all of my boomer friends in the dedictation of my book, "Trout Falls Chronicles". I did it because all of you on boomer have been a big help in the turnaround of my life and living. I love to write and the positive response I've received here gave me the courage to let go of my manuscript and send it off to the printer. Janet, SavedByGrace, did a top notch editing job and the rest is history. I was hindered by not doing anywhere near the promoting of the book I should have done but it is a lesson learned. I still think the best is yet to come for my writing career and I love sharing it with my friends on this site. Thanks to one and all. Your simply the best and thanks Linda....
I woke up sore this morning on the couch at Ticky's black river camp. The day before it was at Burners home. I've been on the road all week with three different beds in four nights. It's a modest trailer set back into the woods to replace the original camp his Dad, 'Whiskey Bill', built back in the 30's. I had helped him yesterday skid some trees out of the woods that he had cut down last week. The whobbly tree escapade. It was my job to attach a chain to the sticks of wood and he would pull them out with his ATV. It was hard work in the dense woods. It is always a good deed to help a friend with firewood and as you will read I ended up getting a favor done for me later.....
Ticky didn't drink coffee so I headed out about 9 for town on a glorious summer morning. I was cruising along when I met a wasp coming the other way and he stung me in the upper lip. Wammmmm. I picked out the stinger and didn't even stop. It only took minutes for it to start swelling and I'm telling you it hurt. Throb. Throb. Throb. My eyes started watering and my nose began running and I was afraid to stop because I figured the pain would be worse standing there thinking about it....
I'm getting tired of enduring pain. My recent collarbone fracture tested my limits and I want to cry but I don't. I think being a Marine plays into that too. So, I plodded on and hit the old railroad grade turned ATV trail and my right rear tire sprung a leak. Must have hit a nail. I babied it the rest of the way to town where I parked it and went into the Pine Grove for a hard earned java to fornulate a plan. I love making plans. I had planned on going home and taking a nap in my bed for a change.....
I was whining with a lisp to a guy who I didn't know pleading my plight concerning how I would have to park Blue until I could get it to the only tire repair place called the Busted Knuckle. I don't make up these names folks. Unfortunately, it was down the road a mile or so and I knew I would ruin that tire driving it there so I went for another cup of coffee and plan B. My new friend said he had to go and 7 patrons said bye in unison and that's the way it is in Republic...
I went back out to see Blue and circled it like I could fix my problem and get me 'home country roads'. A crowd started to gather like it does in a small town and I like that too. "I got a compresser in my truck, eh. We can pump it up and see where the hole is". Allright. Then the guy who left the bar came back with a patch kit and his compresser. Wow. One guy put air in the tire and the other one found the hole and plugged it with one of those fancy dandy tire fixer plugs.....
And just like that I was back in business. I could almost hear Blue's carburator 'sigh'. With that resolved I realized my lip was still throbbing to beat the band. It had taken a more important crisis in my Easy life to make me forget about it....
You know the moral of the story, eh? Good deeds are rewarded...
After perusing some old maps of Republic, I set out yesterday to find the Black River school which opened in 1904 and closed in 1918. I was looking for old coins and relics which I find is a fun way to waste a day. I parked Blue at the base of a hill east of town, gathered my backpack and gear and started climbing up through waist high ferns, fallen trees that were hidden and slippery, and it was pure gut work climbing. I finally got to the top and stood on a rock bluff we are famous for trying to catch my breath and swatting flies that buzzed my head. I was on the top of the world and it felt good.....
It took me almost and hour to find my first metal but I knew I was on the right track. What I found was a weird looking six sided star of some type. Maybe a hub off the wheels of a wagon. I was estatic and have posted it in the gallery for you to see. I moved on and then I saw the foundation of the school. The square cement blocks formed an outline of the school and were covered with green moss. The bricks were only on three sides of the school. The front side is open. I figured it was a good time to take a break and found a cozy spot to sit down and ponder my find and give my aide de camp a quick call to share my joy......
It had been a one room schoolhouse and I wondered why it had been built at the top of such a big hill but then remembered that the Indians always built on the high ground and I guess it still holds true. Now, I could almost imagine the teacher sitting at her desk and a bunch of eager school kids staring back at her from those little desks with a hole for the inkwell. I could imagine a high chair in the corner for the dunce... Tom Sawyer. I sensed good vibes from this place with the birds chirpling and a soft wind slashing through the young Aspen trees that have those shiny leaves that glitter from the morning sun. I was glad I'd showed up for school....
Getting to work, I hit the back side of the school and found it was probably a dumping area and came up with square nails, rivets and assorted metal from the building. It was hard work with the mosquitos attacking my sweating neck and head so it was time to pack up and find my way down the hill and back to town. Before I left, I took a walk around trying to figure out where the kids would play and where was the outhouse? Looking down the hill I saw a small pond and wondered if it was a swimming hole for the kids. And where was the road? It had been over a hundred years and I knew this wasn't going to be easy but it sure would be fun....
I love a puzzle. I love looking into the past. I'll be going back to that school in the coming days but coming up tomorrow is the annual fishing derby in Republic. It's fair game on the Michigamme river with $1,000 for the largest walleye. I plan to set up a table and hook a few readers to buy my book....
Imagine that scene in 'Jaws' with those boats running into each other chasing the shark and you will get a picture of what it will be like in Republic this weekend. I'll post a blog on how that went next week......
I was out in the woods with my bud Ticky when he decided to cut down a dead tree that seemed to touch the clouds. I figured leave the poor tree alone, it already has enough problems but he needed firewood for winter and I can't begrudge him for that. Chainsaws scare me, make a heck of a racket and even though my family has been in the logging business for a hundred years I want no part of it. I've seen that 'Axe Man' show on cable..... I couldn't stand back far enough from that big boy without seeing Tick. He would saw a bit and then circle it figuring out which direction it would fall and then he would saw a bit more and I was backing up to the cheap seats. I have no pride. A brisk wind blew in my face and I felt more uncomfortable then a squirrel who would be dead if he was under this hunk of wood when it hit the ground. Does a dead squirrel hear a tree when it falls in the woods? I backed up a little more...... beep beep...beep beep...... Then Bonanza began to wobble at the top and Ticky somehow got the chainsaw stuck in the tree. Allright. This is getting fun now. Ticky backed up and I came forward so I could hear him say, "The friggen saw is wedged in". Sounded good to me. When is lunch, Tick?..... Ticky took a well deserved but ill timed break and sat on this huge rock that was the size of a VW and pondered while I looked for fossils thinking this rock was way old. I wonder if anyone else does stuff like that? Wouldn't it be neat to find a fossilized squirrel in that rock? Tick asked what I was doing and I said, "I dropped my lighter" and he said, "Were going to have to go back to camp and make a wedge and pound it into the tree so I can get my saw out, eh?" I said , "Got a light?"....... I felt another breeze in my face and and said, "Wouldn't it be funny if a gust of wind comes up and blows this tree down?" He looked at me like I was from another planet and most times I am but that is another story. Then that tree started wobbling again and we backed up like a hand grenade had fallen in front of us not wanting a tree to fall on us. I'm glad I am here to tell you that tree fell the other way with an enormous thud that shook the ground and registered a 3.8 on the Richter scale in Los Alomos. Luckily, it didn't fall on us but I wonder about that squirrel and who was going to cut up that cord of wood. It sure wasn't going to me and the next time he brings up chainsaws I'm going to tell him I'm going fossil hunting..... The breeze is in my face and it feels real nice..... Easy.....
It's a cloudy, cool morning on Island lake with a rabbit munching grass in the front yard and a chipmunk eating seeds the birds drop from the feeder. It is a day of rest today after a week where I left every morning about 9 and getting home before dark. I've been loading up Blue like a pack horse with my fishing pole, metal detector and the supplies needed to get me through the day. I guess I've gotten tired of sitting here in front of the computer and staring out the window watching summer go by. That is a winter time activity and Lord knows there will be enough of those days of my winter of discontent.....
In my travels I've seen many wild turkeys, lots of deer with a few fawns mixed in and scenery that leaves me gasping to explain how beautiful Upper Michigan can be. I've been finding more coins, catching more trout and even stopped at a friends farm where he loaded me up on fresh sweet snap peas and lettuce from his garden. In return I gave him a few brook trout from my creel...
My dad is having surgery a week from today and my suitcase is packed in case I have to make a quick trip to Detroit. Kris is wrapping up a week at a country music festival in Wisconsin. He lost his cell phone again and I've gotten to know "Austin' who has been holding it while I try to get in touch with one of his friends in attendance. Kris leads me 3-2 in lost cell phones and it is true the apple doesn't fall far from the tree....
I'm learning much about myself these days and I find it is easy to look into the mirror at my need a shave face, deep blue eyes and ruddy complexion that is showing my age. I'm sitting on rocks in the middle of nowhere without a care in the world and no fear of the animals that can ruin my day in a heartbeat. I've picked off ticks, slapped mosquito's to no end and my body is covered with bites and bruises. I've smelled the sweet aroma of the wild flowers and I've heard the wind whipping through the trees. I've not looked at the time knowing I'm not punching a clock or hurrying to get to an appointment. I feel free. I mean really free...
Free from my Leukemia. Free from the boredom of the lonely days alone. Free in the land of the free and the home of the brave and not so brave. I take chances. I don't know what is around the next corner nor do I care. It has taken me many years to figure this life of mine out and I like what I see and feel. I like who I am. And at night I collapse like a long distance runner reaching for the prize at the end of the rainbow. It's not a pot of gold but worth much more then that. It's living life like it should be lived....
Today is Kris' last day here and I sure am going to miss him when he leaves. What else is new? I am sun burnt, sore, full of critter bites and it has all been worth it. It's been non stop action, gourmet meals, a time to remember the past and to have high hopes for the future....
Our 15 acres and lake front property has been finally put into Kris' name because of my parents age and health concerns. My brother wants no part of having his name on the deed and with my Leukemia it's a bad bet to put it into my name. I try to imagine what the penthouse cabin will look like in 25 years and how will the 4th be enjoyed here and by whom. What I do know is that Kris will make the right decisions and hopefully the property will never be sold....
I shaved my head bald again and it is not a pretty sight. I do it for the obvious reasons of cleanliness and care. It will grow back by winter when I will need it for warmth but now it is burnt bad under my hat line like it was back in 67 when I went through Marine Corps boot camp in San Diego....
I've lost more then a few pounds and that will concern my Doctors and I guess it concerns me too. I write it off as the hunger is not there when the temp is so hot. I almost feel like I don't have time to eat with all the fishing, metal detecting and adventures Kris and I have been into. That will all change tomorrow, a day I'd rather not see....
Kris has a new song that reminds him of me and with help I'm going to put it at the end of this blog. If i did it wrong check it out on youtube.com. It's about the love of a son for a father in our own particular way. It's called "One wing in the fire" by Brent Tomlinson. Hope you enjoy it...
Another picture perfect summer day and I think it's Saturday, right? I took a road trip yesterday which included a stop in Republic to mail out a package. Oops. I knew it was the fourth of July but without no festivities in town it looked like any other non dedescript day on Quartermain street. I had laughed only a few days ago when a friend went to the bank on Sunday and the front door was locked. Who is laughing now?
I was fired up when I left town because I was going fishing for the day at my favorite trout spot. Check out my gallery for my catch of the day. It was the first time I'd gone there this year and it brought up great memories of last summer with Janet and the wonder dog Pippen snd all the way down to picking wild, red roses off the side of the road. Not many places where the roses are free, eh? I poked myself in the eye with an errant branch working my way through the jungle to the stream. It is tough sledding for sure and the well used path Kris and I made over 20 years ago is all grown in and mother nature has taken over. Funny how time goes by. I can hear the running water before I get to the stream and it is music to my ears and blinking eye...
Fishing here means jumping from rock to rock and finding the good holes where the brookies lurk. Kris and I know every single hole in this 200 yard stretch of water and on my first cast I felt that jerk on my ugly stick and pulled up a nice 8" brookie with the orange belly that shows it is a native. I put the fish in my creel and said like I always do, "Can't catch three until you catch two". Superstition, I guess....
The mosquito's weren't taking any prisoners but I was because I left my bug dope with Blue by the side of the road. Not to worry. I found some mud muck by the edge of the water and covered my face, hands and arms. It may not be pretty but it is what the Indians did 200 years ago and it still works. I caught my limit, 5, in a couple hours and that includes throwing back many. This stream never stops giving and I will never stop coming to my little secret spot in the middle of nowhere and somewhere in the western part of Upper Michigan...
Have a great weekend and can't wait to read how your 4th went. Take care and do good deeds....
The incessant nose bleeds.. When someone said he was going out on the limb he meant it... Sleep walking...dah.... only lumberjacks come to visit... Screech owls on the table.... no one can leave until Autumn... green people love hugging the house.. branching out means falling down... Termits don't pay any rent.. One word.....Chainsaws...
Top ten things said at a 4th of July picnic:
Does this Mayo smell bad to you? I'm sorry. I can't control the kid.. Are the mosquitos always this bad? Billy is going to Harvard. Trying to find himself... I don't think he is bleeding that bad.. Anyone seen the blue horseshoe? Tia normally doesn't have gas.... I'm going to take a walk in the woods..(drinker)... Like...really... like he said...like...I don't like him. Like...really... I think that car is parked far away enough from the softball field..
It is a wet, windy Sunday morning and the camp owners fill the lake front properties and I darn near need a traffic cop on Easy street. Kris is taking a nap after up and fishing just before six and if that isn't dedication I'm not the Mayor of Island Lake. I am the official mayor, duly bestowed, of Island Lake and for about 7 years I have also been the anonymous 'Island Lake reporter' who leaves the latest gossip in your mailbox or screen door. With it comes responsibility and wisdom and I have half of that but mainly I'm an arbitrator of complaints and opinions from folks who want to change things....
My job isn't brain surgery folks. I'm a cordial and amusing guy who tries to keep everyone happy and hopefully not getting lost in the badlands. Garbage left out by the mailbox overnight is a constant hassle because those that sneak out Sunday late toss bags by the one can and guess who picks it up. Not me. Da Bears...Then I end up picking it up because it is a reflection on me and Island Lake....
Another problem is the loner on the other side of the lake who plays his stereo too loud and it really carries across the lake. People come here for the quiet not the noise in the kids bedroom back home. The biker gang will once again have the 4th of July topless babes flyin around in a boat full of drunk guys and gals. Not that there is anything wrong with that.....
I sell tickets for that show and offer front lawn seats with optional binoculars for a modest rental fee. One holiday Bennie that old retired miner got drunk and mooned the babes and everyone got sick staring at his boney behind and then he fell over and broke his wrist... On the same day we have the annual hit the golf ball to the island contest which I have won most years. Being the only contestant some years may be why but it is much fun and turtles like to sit on the balls deep in the muck...
No one has ever hit the Island on the fly which would be a prestigious smack but my neighbor Mark did find a golf ball on the island facing my cabin so I've started bragging I hit the moon shot of the century and is talked of over campfires of Island Lake lore....
Were in one of those cycles where the camaraderie is great and most of us get along just fine. We help each other and we get together for a party or two. We talk of what we have seen and what we've caught. We talk of our kids and grand kids and show pictures and get mayo on your chin eating a burger off the grill...
We celebrate a birthday and a country we love. A time to put the gas prices and foreclosure talk away and brag of a son who who made the all star team or a daughter who won a piano recital. Alas, someone will drink too much and their will be a commotion that mars the fun of the day....
We all just have to get along and enjoy our holiday alone or with a crowd. A time to sit in the lawn chair and read a good book or sit near a campfire watching those red embers dance up into the night sky. Happy holiday my friends and have a safe and satisfying 4th......
