Northwoods Journal
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Up and at ‘em at 0 dark thirty this morning. We had a pretty easy drive up, despite the rain that started around Flint and poured all the way to Atlanta. They’ve had about three days of rain now, so lots of standing water everywhere and our road was a semi-quagmire. We bought a new hitch-hauler for the FJ and the cooler and large tote were covered with mud when we went to unload!
The logging equipment was gone for our road, which was a pleasant surprise. I held my breath, thinking maybe they had moved up here to Steven’s Spring, but they haven’t come this far yet.
The temperature hovered around 50 degrees, so we immediately turned on the electric heaters. Ignoring the rain and the chill, Mark started on the deck as soon as we finished unloading. He had it all torn off within an hour. While he labored, I finished unpacking and setting the place to rights and getting out all the bird feeders. We quickly had 2 pair of rose-breasted grosbeaks, chickadees, white-breasted nuthatch and blue jays. A pee wee looks to be building her nest in the roof rafters at the back of the trailer.
After three hours with the two electric heaters on, the temperature in the trailer had not climbed above 62 degrees so I finally broke down and started a small fire in the wood burner. I don’t like being cold! It’s forecast to be fairly chilly for the entire holiday weekend. Tomorrow’s high is only supposed to be in the 50’s again with a low down in the 30’s!
Since Mark was busy with his building project, I sat down with my laptop, intending to work on the final chapters of my novel. Suddenly I was overcome with exhaustion (getting up at 4:30 a.m. after not sleeping well all night does that to me!) and so stumbled back to the bedroom and immediately fell asleep, despite Mark’s pounding and sawing. After an hour-long nap, I was once more good to go and went outside for some invigorating fresh air and to carry boards for Mark. He had gotten all the support posts set and the bottom framework in place. With my assistance he got about a third of the top decking nailed on so we could once more use the front door.
The rain moved out around lunchtime and by mid-afternoon the sun even managed to break through and we saw some blue sky. Our woods have returned to their jungle-like state; the norm here for the summer months. Mark has battled in vain against the growth, only managing to keep our small yard and fire pit area from being overrun. As I sit here at the kitchen widow and look out, all I see is a solid wall of green. Most people want a cabin on the water – and I would like that, too – but I’m content to be tucked away here in the woods, feeling isolated from the world.
Daisy was begging for her walk, so Mark finally took a break and we headed up Steven’s Spring to the ATV trail. They’ve had so much rain that the spring was actually running beneath the road. The marsh marigolds have faded away but new flowers have bloomed, including trillium, fringed polygala and dog violet.
We should have worn our waders because the trail was filled with giant puddles. They didn’t bother the dogs in the least. We saw a yellow-bellied sapsucker and a pee wee but not much else. Some of the blueberries are blooming, which is wonderful news. I am a blueberry fiend and picking time is my favorite time of the summer. Because of the drought last year, we didn’t get a single blueberry, so I’m looking forward to a bumper crop this year!
Mark grilled steaks for our supper but didn’t dawdle at the table as he wanted to get as much of the porch done as possible. While he was working a hummingbird buzzed his head so he came in and told me to mix up some nectar and hang the hummingbird feeder out.
Near dusk he finally packed up his tools and we went for a short drive looking for wildlife. We only saw 5 deer and a turkey, but we now know where they moved the logging equipment, farther up our road several miles.
There is a huge full moon rising but it’s too cold for sitting outside. We are both tired and tomorrow will be a very busy day, so it will be early to bed.
45 Degrees North 