Home Sweet Home

It really feels good to be home! The beach and warmer weather is great but Bruce and I are really tied to this spot of earth. At this time of year we have a fire in the fireplace every night. Here is a picture of the other night.

From the accumulation of ashes, you can tell that we use it lots and lots. When we build the house, there was a very short discussion about putting in a gas fireplace. With gas we would not have to gather firewood or split it or stack it or bring it into the house. There would not be a mess of pieces of dirt and wood on the carpet. But we also would not have the smell of a wood fireplace or the sounds of a wood fireplace. The decision was obvious to both of us.

When I took the picture, the two chairs we fall asleep in were intentionally omitted. Between the warmth from the fire and the lack of anything worthwhile on television, it is easy to doze off a bit. Crossword puzzles and Sudoku help to keep us awake. Also many nights the television is not on. When we were first married, our only television was two poorly received stations from Canada. You better like Hockey Night in Canada if those stations are all you get. All the news was Canadian too. As a result, we really got out of the habit of watching the tube. We both read a lot and occasionally play a game of Scrabble. The won/loss record is about even.

This time of year is also deer hunting in our area. Here is a picture of Bruce butchering our deer.

We both enjoy venison and have several favorite recipes for fixing it. Bruce does the major cuts. I do the trimming and wrapping. This year we switched to one of those vacuum sealers. The birds also enjoy it when we cut up venison. I put all the scraps out for them. So yesterday there were Canada Jays, Blue Jays, Hairy Woodpeckers, Downy Woodpeckers and Ravens in feeding on the scraps. It beats putting all that stuff in the garbage. We don’t have a dog to get into it all so this works well.

We are getting some cold weather. Yesterday it was about 24 degrees but we had a cold northwest wind coming in over the lake. It felt like well below zero. We also got a dusting of snow and then a little more snow overnight. Today it is 15 but it doesn’t feel nearly as cold because the wind is not as strong. The ponds are pretty much frozen over and the small lakes should freeze soon. Gunflint will not freeze until into December. It is too big and too deep to cool down very fast. Today the lake was steaming so it is cooling down. The steaming happens when the water is warmer than the air.

Tomorrow Bruce and I are off to Missouri to spend Thanksgiving with Robert, Miranda, and Zach. While it will be nice to see the older ones, make no mistake – Zach is the star of the show. I have been thinking about things we can do with him. We will be home on Dec 1.

These may not be the best of times but Bruce and I still feel we are very lucky with where we live, with our extended Gunflint family, and with our children and their families. We hope that your life is as blessed as ours.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you.