Phenology

Warm, sunny.  Highs in the low 70's and lows in the low 60's.  The early summer bloom is in full show.  Wild rose, ox-eye daisy, hawk weed, columbine, bunchberry, clover, lady's slipper and even blue flag (wild iris) dot the forest floor with color.  The streams are flowing as a solid two inches of rain fell a couple of nights ago. 

Home

A rare late June thunderstorm is clapping over Lake Superior.  We are sitting in front of the churning wood stove as rain is pounding on our metal roof.  Our walls are painted.  The wires in our walls are energized.  I sit here, thinking of the last 18 months of countless hours of work, signing our homestead application on Amy's birthday.  Today it is official: we are moved in!

It started when the ditch that ran the length of the property was filled with a four inch thick piece of metal wire.  Within hours that wire was humming with electricity.  There is not much more exciting than successfully flipping a light switch for the first time on a project that has taken every ounce of comprehension, patience and practice that you can muster.  With that one act the generator was stored in the tool shed and the lights were lit late through the night.

With the help of Amy's moms Jean and Kelsy we painted all of the interior walls, stained the exterior siding, tiled the bathroom, wired the last of the lights, hung the kitchen cabinets in a single weekend.  We followed the next week by building the bedroom and entry way closets and moving our belongings one truck load per day.

Time to relax by the fire...

Cheers to Amy on her birthday and a new home!

Northern Light Lake

A cow moose greeted us right off the landing as we paddled down the Brule River on our way to Northern Light Lake.  Turns out that this calf had two calves that we spotted on our way back.  Apart from that we spotted another young cow just downstream. The water was high and the bugs were thick as a large low pressure mass loomed above.  Osprey and Bald Eagles quarreled over rights to the prominant pines.  Jigs and leeches in 5-10 feet of water produced four perch, three Northern (one decent) and only one "fingerling" walleye.  There were no filets on the grill at the end of the day but it was a great paddle nonetheless.

Looking upstream the Brule Valley towards the Misquah Hills

2nd of four moose

Amy demonstrating the perfect "J" stroke!

Phenology

Wind and rain.  Highs in the low 50's.  The North Shore has recieved two days of constant rainfall.  At last count we have had 3/4 of an inch of rain in the last 48 hours with more to be expected.  Wind gusts in excess of 45 mph have left many downed trees in the forest.  Large swells on Lake Superior have forced the iron ore freighters to follow the "Northern Route" close to the shore to avoid the large open seas.  Two ships visible from the property passed through the area yesterday afternoon.  Fresh wolf scat on the road announces the return of the Devil's Track wolf pack to the area.

Moths of Unusual Size

They do exist!

We spotted this huge moth on the side of the cabin the other day.  It is the size of my cell phone (about 4 inches wide!)  The problem is that we have no idea what kind it is.  Any ideas?

Phenology

Warm, dry.  Highs in the upper 60's with lows in the low 50's.  First wildfire of the season on the Gunflint Trail.  As of now the Forest Service will simply monitor this small 6 acre fire in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. The fire is on Gaskin Lake which about 25 miles to the northeast from the homestead.  A bear tore down our bird feeder.  Spotted a firefly in the air last night.  Fireflies are winged beetles that produce light from their abdomen through a chemical reaction called bioluminescense in order to attract a mate.

Going underground...

Anticipation is running high.  If the nerves are going to get you at any point in a project such as ours it's now.  As I write there is a 2-3 foot deep trench running down the length of our property.  The trench will be home to the strand of wire that will soon conduct the flow of electrons to our lights and refrigerator; bringing us the luxury of modern appliances that I have taken for granted (until now). 

With the help of a friend we dug the trench in the course of a long June summer evening.  Minnesota code mandates that the conduit-clad wire must be no less than 24 inches deep.  Anything less requires a layer of concrete over it for protection.  This means more material which means more money so we dug as deep as we could.  The digging, however, was better than I had anticipated.  We hit bedrock at most of the predictable spots, but for the most part we dug through 6-9 inches of black silty clay loam, iron red clay loam and red porphyritic rhyolite.  

I have assembled the materials from which we will wire the whole mess together and some day very soon flip a switch.  Then we will be able to read under something other than a candle or oil lamp!  In the shot above you can see the spool of conduit and transformer in the background.  In the foreground is the socket meter (in the box) and the 4-wire aluminum direct burial service entry cable under the tarp.

A view from the transformer looking at "the castle".  Notice the bobcat parked behind the truck.  This piece of equipment did the real work.  Also note the trailer.  The trailer houses a blower that we used to blow cellulose insulation into the attic.  This worked very well.  One person kept the blower full of material as the other handled the hose and deposited a uniform blanket atop the ceiling. 

The spool of conduit and transformer.

Meanwhile inside the humble abode:

With the walls and ceilings all painted we finally unwrapped the appliances and started to get the kitchen situated.

It's starting to come together. Since the attic is insulated we have begun to move storage items out to the property and are beginning to switch gears into "move mode".  Now let's just hope the underground work goes as planned...

Phenology

Gorgeous summer day on the North Shore.  Highs in the upper 60's/low 70's with lows in the  low 50's.  A black bear tore down the bird feeder last night.  The first hatch of black flies and mosquitos as come and gone (awaiting the next round).  The summer flora is in full bloom.

Phenology

Stormy.  Small, swift bands of uncommonly intense storms have swept over the North Shore in the past few days.  A tornado was spotted just 60 miles away down the shore!  Streams are still running high as a result of the rain.  Highs in the upper 60's and lows in the low 50's.  Blue bells and columbine have taken to flower.  Wild strawberry has sprouted along the road.