Fall Projects

It is a beautiful fall day today. We have a south wind and the temperature is probably in the high fifties. I never look at a thermometer so that is a guess on my part. All of us are starting to get the itch to start fall projects. Dave Schudy is out today cutting up firewood. He said the phone is not too busy and he just wanted to be outside. Steve Gibson from the dock is also at the woodpile. He is splitting the firewood. Here is a picture of the two of them.

Dave is in the back with the chain saw. Steve is at the splitter. The red truck is backed in close so Steve can just throw the split wood into the truck for delivery to cabins.
I saw them up in the outfitters parking lot when I took this picture.

It is of a 24’ Voyageur canoe that we just bought for next summer. The canoe can hold about 10 people. It came with paddles and the little shed you see. Next spring we will move the whole thing down closer to the dock. I have never ridden in one of these canoes so that is something to look forward to.

On Tuesday the horses left for the winter. Mandy and Jacob have been busy cleaning everything up for winter storage. Yesterday I found them in the outfitters. Every saddle is washed, oiled with Neatsfoot Oil, and stored in a plastic bag. Today they are working on the saddle blankets. They both are people who have a place for everything and everything in its place. During the winter Mandy will be a server in the dining room and Jacob will help with outside chores and in the kitchen.

Jason Merrill, our head of maintenance, has lots of projects too. Today he moved the smaller dock across the lake. We store the entire dock in one piece back in a bay where the wind can’t get to it and the ice just melts out around it in the spring. Here is a picture of Jason pushing the dock across.

We push the docks just like you would a barge. The first time we tried to pull them and almost pulled the entire dock apart. After this weekend, Jason will move the main dock over too. That dock is so large that it is only moved on a day when there is no wind and the water is like glass.

The birds seem to be getting ready for winter too. This last week we have seen the snow buntings migrating through for the first time. The hummingbirds are gone. The loons are pretty much gone too. You still see an occasional one but they aren’t calling on the lake any more.

We are even seeing a few more partridge. If Bruce and I could get out hunting, we might even have a partridge dinner. As with most families we have a favorite fall dinner with the partridge. It starts with slow roasting the birds in the oven with cream of mushroom soup covering them. I wonder how we ever cooked before Campbell’s came up with cream of mushroom soup. Then we must to have wild rice with mushrooms and onions. The final addition is acorn squash baked in the oven with a little butter and brown sugar added at the end. I am ready to start eating now.

Bruce and I were in town last night for a political meeting. Not my favorite but we have to participate, I guess. At any rate we drove home after dark. We saw three fox and four skunks. Luckily everything was well off the road. I hate to come across dead skunks because the whole road stinks. The skunks should be about ready to hibernate soon.

As soon as I finish with the blog I am going out to harvest carrots and potatoes. Those two are about all that is left in the garden. We will be using some of them for the wine weekend dinner on Saturday night. I know I will be filthy after the harvest. It seems the only way to get potatoes is to get on your hands and knees and dig them out. Carrots are a little easier but not much. I will bring them down to the lodge along with the acorn squash, butternut squash and onions for the dinner. Whatever is not used Bruce and I will eat over the winter.

So by the end of the day, all of us will have made a good start on fall projects.