A Time to be Thankful

So many wonderful things have happened since my last blog.  I am so thankful for our many gifts, especially that of family and friends and a life of wonder living in the middle of a forest.

 The shop and the sauna, completed last fall, got two coats of stain this summer.

Cool weather is settling in and we both enjoy a nice, hot sauna!

My cousin, Linda and her friend Joanne came to visit us at the cabin for several days in August.

Rusty shares a map of the area after we’ve enjoyed a nice 4-layer cake.

Linda and Joanne enjoyed a day at the International Wolfe Museum.

We hiked to the Kawishawi Falls which are low in the summer, but still impressive.

Rusty and I paddle and fish on our lake many days.  

Some days, like this one, take my breath away!

I’ve found several different people to ride my bike with.  On this particular day, we parked our cars a good distance up the Echo Trail and then rode a big loop on gravel.  Unfortunately, the van drove over a screw on the drive out and I came back from my bike ride to a very flat tire.  These wonderful folks helped out.

Alas, the hole was too big.  I inadvertently locked my key and my phone in the car, so the valiant Rusty had to drive a long ways to rescue me. 

In August, ten of my Lincoln biking friends came to the North Shore to do the Sky Blue Waters tour with me.

Ray, David, Annette, Gina, Di, Mary, Susan, Francie, Gerry (and Clayton)

The Gitchi-Gami ride was 35 miles of steep hills and gorgeous vistas.

The trail basically follows the North Shore of Lake Superior.

Our group home-based in Two Harbors.  It’s amazing to see these huge ships!

…and pretty lighthouses.

Our guide, David, is part of a volunteer group that is restoring the old railroad station at Knife River.

David, Francie, Gina, Gerry, Mary, Ray, me, Susan, Clayton, Annette

One day we road to Duluth, about a 40 mile ride.

Rusty and I hosted the bike group for dinner on the back deck of our Duluth home.
We talked and laughed until after dark!

In mid September Susan Streich joined me for her very first trip into the BWCAW.

We had warmer than usual temperatures, full sun, and no wind!

As is our custom, we hired Steve to be our guide.

We base camped on Crab Lake and day-tripped each day.  Here Susan is trying to maneuver her pack and herself under a fallen tree.

We ate good food every day with plenty of fish, but my favorite was the lobster mushrooms that we found on the portages.

There were frequent eagle sightings, including the one that perched just above our campsite.

While paddling up Korb River, we had a delightful encounter with two adult otters who were trying to lure us away from their two babies.  I was so engaged with their chattering at us that I didn’t take time to snap a picture.

The woods, the trails, …it’s all so pretty!

I caught more fish on this trip than I have in quite a while.

In four days we traveled over 16 portages (2,627 rods), 11 lakes and paddled 15.5 miles.

While carrying my canoe on the very last portage, I slipped and fell on an incline that looked much like this one.  I’m still doing PT for my torn ligament in my knee in hopes of full recovery.

Meanwhile, back in Lincoln, it was so sweet of my Loveknotters friends to raise a glass to me!  I look forward to their visit next fall.

I’m more engaged than ever before in promoting women, their rights, their equality, and their opportunities for education.  I attended the “Unhappy Hour” where drinks were reduced to reflect the reduced pay of women.

We had a very nice visit from Anna and Kate in September.

We toured the Dorothy Moulter Museum.

Shopping in Ely—what fun!

We went paddling on White Iron Lake.

Anna enjoyed snuggling with Gretchen.

In late September the fall colors began to appear.  They were beautiful this year!

Our driveway is between the red trees.

I’m involved in a project at the Ely Folk School making mittens for children in Ukraine.

Once a week we gather to work on the mittens.  Our goal is 500 pair.  So far we’ve sent 300 pair to the Ukraine.

Our friends Steve and Kate joined us for dinner one evening.  Kate brought this nice gift of maple syrup.

Steve and Kate spent many days tapping hundreds of trees on her property in Connecticut.

In preparation for winter, Rusty portaged the canoes up from the water’s edge and we stored them under our porch.

I joined a book club with ladies on Sunset Road.  We read Eleanor Oliphant.

Beartooth Tree Service came out to clean up our property.

They created about 20 burn piles.

We are trying to get them covered for a burn this winter, but the snow is getting ahead of us.

I “capped” about 3 dozen small trees to protect them from the deer over the winter.

Duluth has some nice trails and I especially enjoy riding along Lake Superior.

I bought a Kona so I can ride in Duluth.

The Mesabi Trail is now completed into Ely.

Raffle tickets for this quilt were sold for an entire year to raise money for AAUW(American Association of University Women)

I won the Equality Quilt!

The back of the Equality Quilt depicts women protesting to have the right to vote.

Since this picture was taken, we’ve had about 7 inches of snow with more in the forecast.  Winter is here!