a bump in the road

In case you are wondering like the poet e e cummings, I have decided to forego using capital letters. My reasoning is very practical. Two weeks ago I fell asleep driving to town and put my car in the ditch. The car is a mess but only my left wrist is broken and it will heal. Also my ego is badly bruised. As I look back on this, the computer is smarter than I am. It is automatically adding capital letters. There will still be plenty of mistakes that I can make hunting and pecking on the keyboard.

We have just finished one of our busiest junes ever. Luckily we have also been blessed with one of the best staffs ever. There is extra staff at the outfitters because advance reservations were strong. Bonnie and sheryl are keeping them all running. In their spare time the gals are keeping beds changed and cabins cleaned. Down at the lodge food is flying out the kitchen as guests are flying in the front door. It is all very exciting and fun.

Meanwhile guests are having fun exploring the northwoods. I talked with a couple from Indiana the other night in the dining room. They took their 2 year old daughter and 8 year old son on a canoe trip. The four of them and their dog fit nicely into our new 24 foot canoe. The only one who didn’t enjoy the woods was the dog. He was part lab and part coon dog with his nose coming from the coon genes. The dog just wanted to hide in the tent. We figured that all these strange smells (bear?) were just overwhelming the young dog. The little girl loved exploring the campsite and the boy told me all about the fish he caught. I am sure that this only the first of many family canoe trips.

Yesterday I walked down to the lodge as I am becoming more mobile. It is amazing how the wildflowers have burst out – lupines, hawkweed, buttercups, just everything. My favorite at this time of year are the daisys. Their clean lines of white and yellow look so refreshing.

Wild strawberries are ripening right now. Bruce has hit some of his favorite honey spots. He goes and picks a one cup margarine container each time. It goes into the freezer. When he gets 5, I make jam. He says that raspberries and blueberries look good too.

I understand that the cool, rainy weather we had last week was great for fishing. The guides and their guests had great days on the water. It all sounds like heaven from in front of my computer.