A Hint of Fall

What a beautiful Sunday afternoon we are having. In the morning and early afternoon there had been a chilly wind off Gunflint Lake. The brush on the shoulders of the road is beginning to change color. It is dry enough that even a few poplars have yellowing leaves. These are just reminders that fall is coming our way. Even in August there are signs of what is coming.

We still have lots of guests. The dining room and bistro have been especially busy. I think the guests on the patio particularly pleased. Every time I look there are people at the patio tables. Maybe one day I will go out there and sit, but it doesn’t seem to ever fit into my time schedule.

We have a family reunion of 18 staying with us right now. They all have been participating in the naturalist activities. The most fun one was “Make Your Own Boat and Float It Down the River.” The river in this case was the creek running between Cabins #3 and #1 which unfortunately is dry right now. So, everyone took there boats and floated them on the lake.

Another family of guests helped entertain the ducks. Their son practiced his trumpet each day on the dock. For some reason all the ducks enjoyed his playing and would gather round to listen. When he stopped, they would all quack for more.

Tucker has been enjoying the water. Bruce and I were up at Chik-Wauk last week with Tucker. I threw sticks into the bay for him to bring back. When I threw one stick, he caught sight of a low flying seagull. As the seagull passed us, Tucker took off chasing this flying bird and barking all the way. He then spotted a lone duck and swam out to make friends. The duck let him get within five feet and then flapped along the top of the water out of Tucker’s reach.

Many guests are already making plans for next summer. I heard Lee talking about the schedule of several cabins. The repeat guests are stacked in, one party right after another. It is so wonderful to see these families year after year. Many of them are almost part of the family after all these years. Some of them even take trips with Bruce and me.

The Sunday paper is calling me so it’s time to close this blog. Pretty soon I’ll even get to watch football on Sunday afternoons.