Casa Blanca: “It is spring again. The earth is like a child that knows poems by heart.” ― Rainer Maria Rilke

Can you smell them? They are so sweet!
One day my own lilac bushes will produce gems like these.

Celeste Joan White turned 5 this month!

Celeste loves Papaw Rusty's playtime.

A pretty dress for a pretty girl.

Hugs from GiGi.

We had an Irving Middle School Reunion picnic. It was great to see folks from my teaching career.

How did we all get so old? ...and fat?
(I'm in the back row with a light-colored ball cap.)

Rusty and I took our annual spring trek to the north country, BWCAW. I'm going to post pictures here because we love to look back and remember the good times. For those readers who are tired of seeing pictures of water, rocks and fish, skip to the end of the blog. :)

Ice-out was still in progress when we started out trip, so we again hired Steve Johnson as our guide. He does many things for us (catch fish, fillet and cook fish, find firewood, start the fires, cook dinner, etc.) His primary job, as we see it, is to save our sorry asses if we tip the canoe in 38º water. Steve lives off the grid, a mile from Echo Trail, and is well-known as an excellent guide.

How many people do you know who only need their first name on the mailbox?

Campsites are designated spots that have to have three things:

1) Sit logs, usually forming a square around the fire pit.

2) A fire pit. I left this firewood for the next visitor.

3) The OUT. This is usually located far into the woods. I never want to go back there after dark.

“When spring came, even the false spring, there were no problems except where to be happiest. The only thing that could spoil a day was people and if you could keep from making engagements, each day had no limits. People were always the limiters of happiness except for the very few that were as good as spring itself.”
― Ernest Hemingway, A Moveable Feast

We spent five days in the wilderness and saw no people!

All essentials for living in the wilderness have to be brought in by canoe.

Those include:

A place to sleep, including thermarests, sleeping bags, pillows, etc.

Food! Each bear vault holds 10 # of food. 3 meals/day for 5 days.

Fishing equipment. We always hope for fresh fish.

Cooking and eating utensils. Can't fry that fish without a good frying pan.

Dry socks and shoes after the boots come off.

Warm clothes and rain gear.

A saw and axe for chopping wood.

A good attitude!

PORTAGES
When we are not paddling, we walk across land, making 3 trips to get our gear from one lake to another.

The trails through the wilderness can be obscure, rocky, muddy, or wet.

Our portage trips include one canoe, two, 50# packs, 1 30# pack, 4 paddles, a bow bag, a thwart bag, fishing net and poles. All need to be transported across the trail.

Which way should we go?

After a 2-inch rain the previous night, this trail was submerged. Rusty put me in the canoe and pulled me across.

Many trees had fallen over the trail during the winter months. Since we were the first people on the trail after ice-out, our travel was frequently stalled by the need to chop or saw through trees.

Sometimes we find amusing things along the way. Our camp sight on Crab Lake had chairs!