Watching the Water Swirl

A warm, dry August wind swirls the otherwise stagnate air.  Just enough rain has passed through with the typical late summer cloud bursts to keep the garden happy.  Fungi of all color dot the forest floor.  Each cool autumnal evening brings with it more color to the hills.

We have been busy with our new life as parents and trying to find a balance between raising Penelope, work, the homestead and our recreational pursuits. Last week we took a short hike along the Superior Hiking off the Arrowhead Trail.  A couple of weeks ago we got back on the Caribou Rock Trail along the Gunflint.  This last weekend Penelope made her second voyage into the Boundary Waters with her grandma, grandpa and auntie.

Watching the water swirl...

It's been a late start to the firewood season.  With the woodshed nearly complete, I have been stacking wood and sharpening the chainsaw for bucking the 5 cords that I hope to process this winter.  Up until recently it's been too warm for chain saw work.  But now it's time to finish sharpening the chain and have at it!

The other day I was lucky enough to find a wasp nest while stacking poplar.  I say lucky because I only got stung once.  It hurt.  My arm remained swollen for days.  Pest are a constant nag this time of year.  Everything is scrambling in attempt to find the best accommodations for the winter.  The "mouse wars" continue.  One died in the car's heater fan.  I also had the pleasure of taking apart the glove box and fan assemblage in order to find it.  There's nothing like a decaying mouse in 80 degree heat to liven up your day!

Other than that we are busy planning our plumbing project, harvesting potatoes, onion, garlic, zucchini, tomatoes.  Our apples are about ready for picking.

Finally, Penelope would like to remind you all to eat your vegetables!

The "locals" are keeping us busy!

The "locals" are keeping us busy!  Our compost design was successfully tested as a bear attempted  to no avail to break into it.  Every night I bring the bird feeder inside.  Seemingly every morning new evidence of marauding critters greets me as I bring it back out.

Bear tracks decorating our property.  Notice how they are raised in relief relative to the ground.  The bear walked over moist ground and compacted the sand grains together.  The uncompacted sediment around the tracks were less resiliant to the coming rains and eroded more quickly than the now silicously-cemented tracks.

Just passing by.  Wolf and bear headed in opposite directions.  To put this into perspective, our 80lb dog's prints are just above the bear's on the upper right corner of the picture.  Compare that to the wolve's.

While temperatures at night have been cold enough to antagonize some yellow out of the brush and even some red out of the maple; August is the beginning of the harvest.  Berries are in the freezer.  The walleye fishing is picking back up.  Lake Trout have been hitting all summer.  The apple trees are beginning to bow to the stresses of burgeoning fruit.  Chard and spinach continue to florish.  Garlic, onion, parsnip and carrot are slowly cresting to the surface.  The peas and beans are delicious.  Our tomatos are beginning to blush.

The first harvest.  Red and Russet potatoes with a lone "test" garlic on the left and the start of our outdoor tomato and bean harvest on the right.

Penelope at 12 weeks!

The sky was full of contrast after a storm swept over the North Shore.