Spring Projects

Spring is starting to look mighty fine around Gunflint. The ice on the lake is white in the morning but quickly turns black as the sun warms it. There is open water along the shore for a couple feet. Over where the Cross River comes into Gunflint, there is open water to the first cabin at Moosehorn. These bits of open water don’t seem like much but they are vital. As the wind comes and goes, it shifts the ice against the shore rocks and breaks it up. Except for a few bays, the ice does not melt off big lakes. It is driven against the shore where the rocks break it up and the sun quickly melts it. Bruce and I are holding to our projected May 3rd or 4th ice out date.

Around our house, Bruce and I moved the picnic table out by the kitchen windows. We even had an iced tea break there before the weather changed. The next three days were rainy and drippy. I can’t really complain because we need the water. We also put out the chairs on the north porch overlooking the lake. This is the preferred spot for a break on a hot afternoon. It is shaded and any cool breeze from the lake is caught.

Now is the time when I can open the doors and windows and let some fresh air in. Off the kitchen is a small screened porch. The door to the porch is open all summer long. It is the first thing I open every morning. Warm afternoons let me open it now. Lee and Eva’s cat, Diva, stayed with us last week for a bit. She loved sitting in the porch.

My garden is also showing the affects of warmer weather. I counted 15 rhubarb clumps that are starting to pop out. The chives are about 2 inches tall. The strawberries have leaves coming out all over. Of course, the grasses are also coming out. This afternoon I am going to start on spring weeding in the chives and strawberries before the grasses overtake them. By evening I will be glad that the hot tub is working.

Another afternoon project is removing burlap that has projected small maples and lilacs from the deer. We have not seen any deer in yard for over a week so it is time to get rid of the burlap.

I will also be dividing a spider plant that one of the neighbors gave me. One part goes back in Fran’s pot and three parts go in pots for the cabins. In our kitchen there is a 12-foot, south facing wall of windows. Bruce and I hauled in some cement blocks to put along the windows with 2 x 6’s on top. This sunny spot is where I am gathering the plants for cabins after I transplant them into new pots.

Of course, my pots are a real hodgepodge. There are two six-gallon crocks with peace lilies. Bonnie picked up 3 large pots when visiting her mother. They also have peace lilies in them. Spider plants are going into an old lard can and two enamel pieces. That still leaves me with an oval tin pan, a large metal ice bucket, a minnow bucket and several other pots to fill.

Another spring job is to get out the brush king to cut brush between the house and the lake. Each year we have cut some in hopes of getting a lake view but still leaving plenty of cover. This spring I intend to attack the raspberries that have grown up everywhere. Bruce also has a few more balsam trees that he wants to take out. Generally he does that when I am not around. I hate to cut trees.

There are still few standing dead trees left over from the 1999 Blowdown. We have slowly been cutting them down each year to use as firewood. There is a huge pine tree and a big birch that I can see while lying in bed. My goal is to get them down this spring. Then there are two more birch between the house and the lake. Bruce cuts and I haul to the wood stack.

Pretty soon we will have to get the rototiller into the garden. We brought a Mantis last spring and just love it. It is small enough that I can handle it but still really churns the dirt up. Previously I would turn all the gardens over with a shovel. This is much better.

While writing this, I stopped to water my orchid. It has 5 blossoms on it and more to open. Right next to it the Christmas poinsettias are still showing lots of red leaves. Out my office window, the iris have come up about two inches. Itis time for their spring snack of bone meal. That’s got to go on the next town list. I also opened the door. It's a still day with no wind. I can hear the birds in the trees.

This should be the end of my list but there is still a lot more work to do outside. It is probably the same way around your house when spring comes.

April Ice

We are back to the perennial spring question – When will the ice go out? At this point I would not be much interested in walking out on the ice. It’s not black but gray. Still we have some time before it will go out.

Our best gauge for ice out was developed by a man named Don Brazell. For many years Don delivered freight and then mail up the Gunflint Trail. He was a very observant guy as he drove up and down the Trail. This is his system as it was passed on to me.

The first sign of the ice going out is the North Brule River when it is clear of ice and running freely. Within a week after that the beaver pond on the Round Lake Road leading to Tuscarora Lodge will go out. After another week, Gunflint Lake will go out.

I went to town on Tuesday and there was still ice on the North Brule River. It is my guess that within the next couple of days, the ice will be gone on the river. That would make the ice out on Gunflint Lake about May 4th or 5th. We will see how accurate this is.

Meanwhile I have a little story to tell you about driving a truck on the ice at this time of year. About 15 or 20 years ago in April, we had a load of firewood to deliver to Charlie Cook who lived on the Canadian side of Gunflint. Shari Baker, who was then a young college student, had split the wood and loaded it into the pickup. She was a little nervous about driving across the lake so Bruce said he would do it.

Everything looked great as the pickup disappeared behind the point of Charlie’s bay but they never came back out. After a long, long time a single snowmobile came putt-putting across the lake. It was soaking wet Bruce on Charlie’s machine. Bruce had driven the truck over some thin ice just off Charlie’s dock and the truck started to sink. The plow on the front of the truck kept it from totally sinking. Then he and Charlie had found some old boards to further hold the truck up.

Of course, the question was what to do now? Eric Thompson came over from Borderland to help. The three of us gathered a come-along, ropes and a set of pulleys and took off for Charlie’s. Justine was not thrilled to be left behind so she went over to the bridge at Cross River with her binoculars to watch.

Shari and I laid out the come-along and pulleys. Bruce and Eric attached everything to the truck and a tree on shore. Before the truck was high enough to be totally out of the water a rope broke. Now it was Mom’s turn to help, she drove up and down Gunflint Lake borrowing chains – two from the ambulance, one at Gunflint, one at Borderland, another one at Heston’s – until they linked from the truck to the tree on the shore. Finally we were able to raise the truck completely out of the water and onto long boards to keep it out of the water.

The next problem was to get the truck home. Every day the ice was just going to get worse. The guys decided to wait until we had one last hard frost which came in a couple of days. They went over at first light and used the boards to lay out a track to drive on. Once Bruce got going, he never stopped until he was on shore at the lodge.

The moral of this story is that even locals who know everything should stay off the ice in April.

Back Home

Bruce and I have been running around the country for several days. First I spent 2 days at a trails conference for the Gunflint Trail Historical Society. In addition to the museum going in at Chik-Wauk, we will have a system of hiking trails. Since this is all starting from nothing, Kathy Lande and I went to learn how to do it correctly.

Then on Friday Bruce and I made a flying trip to Missouri to pick up some Adirondack chairs for the lodge. Robert had found an Amish man who made them several years ago. Lee ordered 30 more. After three days of driving and with a full van we arrived home about 8:00 p.m. last night. It sure felt good to get home.

The Trail is very quiet at this time of year. We saw more animals than cars. Two fox and a partridge were joined by a moose. We have seen very few moose this winter. Don’t really know why but the light snowfall allowed the moose to easily go anywhere in the woods. Also there was very little salt put on the bare road. Moose generally like to lick the salt off the road.

At any rate I had just commented to Bruce about if we ever going to see a moose again. Then around the corner we saw one. It was a last year’s calf standing right where the picnic table is at Swamper Lake. He looked rather bedraggled and lost. The setting sun was directly behind the moose so we didn’t get a really good look at him. Also because of the curves, it is not a good place to stop. I have never seen a moose in that spot before.

We got home and started unpacking the van. Before we could finish the fox with the short front leg appeared to welcome us. I ran in and found some food for him. Don’t know what we will do when I run out of food. You just know that the animal doesn’t hunt as well with that short leg. Who knows, he may get some leftovers. At any rate there will be no food in our garbage for a bit.

So now we are settling in again. There is lots of work in the office to catch up on. It’s back to walking and trying to lose some weight. Bruce is down at the lodge now to see if he can start on one of his fireplaces this afternoon. I hope to get the greenhouse going later this week. Just like at your home, there is a endless list of projects.

Minnesota Springs

Spring has come and gone on the Gunflint. In fact, fall and summer have too. We are back to winter. On Tuesday and Wednesday we got 6-8 inches of snow. It was probably one of our biggest snowfalls of the season. Bruce says it would be beautiful in November just before deer hunting opened. In April it is not so pretty but there is not much to be done about. To add insult to injury, the temperatures have dropped too. Each of the last two mornings we have had a reading of 3 degrees. Eventually, spring will truly be here.

Two fox have been coming in regularly. They are both small but one has a short front right leg. We think it may have been caught in a trap but it is hard to get a good view of the leg. Certainly the animal moves around very well.

It is the second animal that has us wondering. We think it may be a female who is pregnant. Her lower middle seems to be dropping down. She seems very broad in the beam. Also she is very brave about getting food. She will take food from both Bruce’s and my hand. She is very gentle about it but also comes right up to us. There is a small, heavily wooded tree area between our garden and the road. That is where she goes with her food. Perhaps there is a den in the woods. We seem to think that kits come early in May. It would be fun to see them out sunning in the garden.

Not all the other animals in the neighborhood are happy to have the fox around. There are noticeably fewer squirrels and chipmunks. The other day we watched a squirrel cautiously poke his head out of his hole in our rock garden. A few minutes later he looked out from another hole. Then there was a final hole he looked out of. When he finally came out, it was to stand on his hind legs and look up at the rock garden behind him. This is the first time we have seen that kind of activity.

Today we also had a frozen, dead chipmunk outside the kitchen window. I enjoy watching the antics of chipmunks but wish they would just disappear in late June and July. That is when the garden strawberries are ripe. Chipmunks love to move in and take one bite out of each strawberry. I am not very willing to share with them.

During the snowstorm I ordered my garden seeds for this summer. One of the sales clerks was very apologetic. Their order department was so busy that they could not ship my order for two weeks. I told her not to worry. I wasn’t going to be planting anything for some time yet.

The snowstorm did bring one project to a dead halt. The weather had been so nice that I was agitating to get the garden furniture out. There were several days when it was nice enough to eat lunch outside. That dream will have to be put off for a bit yet. Instead I hauled in more wood for the fireplace.

Trail Excitement

For many years Bruce’s mother, Justine, wrote a column for the Cook County News Herald. It started in the 50’s as a way to keep seasonal residents informed about what was going on along the Trail. She would let them know that the snow load was getting pretty heavy and they better have someone check their cabins to see if they needed shoveling. Or she would comment that the ice is off a particular lake.

One of Mother’s more interesting challenges was getting her weekly column to the newspaper office. During the winter months of November through April, mail was only delivered three days a week. Even when we got daily delivery, it seemed she was always looking for a way to get the column to town. For fourteen years the most reliable way was to send it with Robert or Lee on the school bus. By the time they were out of school fax machines were in use and the problem was solved.

By April, Mom was always running out of things to talk about. There was not a lot of activity on the Trail. I can hear her voice on the phone asking, “Have you got anything for the fish wrapper?” Today I feel in much the same position. The most exciting thing I can think about is when Bruce and I burned the brush pile on Saturday night. It’s that quiet around here.

Actually it was fun. In a city you don’t get to burn leaves and brush any more. I can remember doing it as a child in the Chicago suburb I grew up in. Well, Bruce and I have a spot in the west yard where we pile up stuff all year. Every spring we give it a good burn. By now the pile is ten feet tall and bone dry.

Saturday was kind of a rainy, misty day. I went over to Gunflint Pines to get a burning permit. Then I called the sheriff’s dispatcher to inform them that we were going to burn. The only hours you can burn are between six at night and eight in the morning. After dinner Bruce went out to start the pile. He uses an “old Indian fire starting technique” to start the pile – gasoline.

By the time I loaded the dishwasher and got out, the entire thing was blazing. You couldn’t get within 15 feet of it because of the heat. By now it was gently raining and still the fire burned on. I know our neighbors, Bob and Sharon Baker, could see it all from their house on top of the hill. We watched the fire burn for about an hour until the ground was wet all around from the steady rain. Once a fire starts to die down a bit, then you have to start poking at it with a hoe or a rake to get all the little bits going.

Sunday morning the fire was out. It had rained lightly all night. The big logs were burned to nothing. Bruce will get the bobcat to re-arrange the ground. In a couple of weeks we will start another pile. The intermittent rain on Sunday and even today assured us that the fire was dead out.

So that was a thrilling activity for the weekend. We have also had a few animal visitors. On Saturday we had two pileated woodpeckers right next to the house. Yesterday the lame fox was begging. He/she has a right front paw that is shorter than the other three. I found some old freezer burned meat (I am sure you have nothing like that in your freezer) and put it out.

Next time I will try to find something more exciting to write about -- I hope.

Animal Brushes

Sheryl called yesterday to tell us about an otter she had seen in front of the lodge. Apparently there is a hole in the ice by the dock. This otter is having a great time going in and out. Otter are some of the best fisherman among our local animals. We speculate that this otter is finding some very good meals down his hole.

It is not unusual to see otters along the lake shore. Bruce and I have a spot we troll along to get lake trout in early June. There is occasionally an otter there. They are not frightened off by a boat trolling past so we would see the animal on every leg of our trolling pattern.

Another neighbor was recently telling me about her encounter with an otter. Marcia likes to take a swim in the lake around 3:00 every afternoon. About three years ago, she was in the middle of her swim when something brushed her leg. Immediately after the brush, a loon popped up beside her. Each day thereafter, she would see a loon swimming back and forth in front of her dock as she went in for her daily swim. This has continued for the past three years.

One day something else brushed her leg. Up popped an otter! Marcia was out of the water like a shot. She felt somewhat intimidated by the otter’s teeth. The otter has not reappeared but the loon is still there.

Bruce can relate to Marcia’s experience of being brushed while swimming but his brushes have occurred while diving in the Keys. Sometimes it is a shark going for the freshly speared fish in his dive bag.

A couple of years ago we were down for the opening of lobster season in the Keys. Bruce was asked to spear fish for dinner along with getting his limit of lobster. He popped up rather early during the dive and quickly motioned for us to come get him. A shark has taken an interest in his bleeding fish. Bruce had hit the shark on the nose twice to back him off but decided to get out of the water rather than fight a losing battle with the shark. The fish tasted great for dinner.

Coming Home

Bruce and I arrived home on Wednesday. As we turned in the driveway, right at the top of the hill, Freddy the Fox was sunning himself on a warm rock. He lazily turned his head to look at us and then stayed put as we drove down the hill.

Since we have been home several other forest creatures have come to visit. The deer are all over the yard looking for any tender shoots that might have appeared. Pileated woodpeckers have regularly flown by. Last night an owl was right out our front window hooting his greeting. I turned on the outside lights but couldn’t spot him. We even saw a wolf along the road.

After two weeks of restaurant food, it is time to shed those unwanted pounds. Daily walks are now on the agenda. Yesterday was just wonderful. The temperatures were in the 60’s. The road was dry and ice free. The air smelled fresh and clean. It just felt good to be outside. Today is not quite so nice was we are getting frequent rain showers. The lake level is low and we need the rain so I can’t complain. Actually, I love spring rains.

As part of our walk we stopped in at Cabin #24. Jason is remodeling this cabin. Bruce’s job is to build a fireplace. The two guys discussed when Bruce should start, the kind of fireplace, the location of the fireplace, etc. Then we walked down to the lodge.

One of the most obvious changes this year is the remodeling of the front lawn of the lodge. The present deck is going and will be replaced by a patio that is 35’ x 80’. Access will come from a large door on the east side of the lounge. That’s just before the wall that separates the lounge from Justine’s. We are finding that the bistro needs more seats. I think eating outside overlooking Gunflint Lake will be wonderful but then I’m probably a little prejudiced.

Those of you visiting us this summer will also see more trees. Lee is determined to plant lots of trees on the grounds. We have them coming in all sizes from 12 inches to 6 feet. Birch trees are going in to help define the path going west between 4, 5, and 6 next to the lake and 7 and 8 just above them. Ronnie Smith and the dock boys will be watering them all summer to help get over transplant shock.

One of my more interesting projects is with the white pine seedlings. For years I have planted these little 12-inch buggers with very poor results. A year or so ago I talked with a man whose family had run a tree farm. He told me to plant the seedlings in a special bed of sandy soil about 8 inches apart. For two years see that they get lots of water and are protected from nibbling deer. At the end of that time they will have a full round root ball. Then it will be time to plant them around the property. So in the spring of 2009 you may see tiny little white pines planted around.

It is good to be home. My own bed feels great. I am ready to get back to Kerfoot comfort food. Except for a canoe trip in August we plan to be around all summer. There are too many visitors coming for us to leave. Maybe we will see you. Be sure to stop by to say hello.

Future Trips

Only a couple more days and we will be returning to Gunflint. It is that time during a trip when I could drop everything and just go home. We have been lucky to spend two weeks with two sets of very good friends but I am starting to miss my own bed. On the 21st I am going to just snuggle down in that bed and remember our great trip and be thankful to be home.

One of the interesting things we have been doing on this trip is to plan some future trips. Our friends Ron and Pat and Don and Dorothy will be coming with a bunch of other friends to Turkey this fall. Then the six of us will fly to Egypt where Doug and Patty and Tony and Diane will join us for another part of the trip. Both in the Keys and in The Villages we have been talking about itineraries, flight schedules and what to bring. This process will continue through phone calls and e-mails until we leave this fall. Also during the summer months we will be scanning the TV schedule for programs on these two countries. I already have my Lonely Planet guide to Egypt plus a map to figure out where everything is. By the time the trip is over, we will have enjoyed it for several months of planning before we even leave.

When we get home, the canoe maps will come out as we plan a canoe trip with our friends Tom and Melissa. There are always lakes we (even Bruce) haven't seen or would like to go back to. As with any Kerfoot trip, planning the menu will take a great deal of time. The only sure thing is that it will include freshly caught walleye for dinner. Because we are all in our 60's, we don't fit the profile of average canoers but we have a wonderful time. Exploring the lakes along our route offers us an endless variety of experiences. Interaction with the birds and animals of the northwoods cannot be predicted but will occur. This is definitely a trip where sleeping in my own bed at the end will feel wonderful.

The next time you hear from me it will be from Gunflint. Then Bruce and I will be starting the hard part of any vacation – taking off those extra pounds we put on during the trip.

Retirement Plans

Bruce and I are experiencing two very different styles of Florida retirement. Last week we re-visited owning your own home in the Florida Keys. It is a style we have known quite well. Most people live in their own home or mobile home. This is changing, however, as more and more small, tight condos are being built. Originally the development was started for people who enjoy water sports – fishing and diving. Canals were dug to provide more water access for all the boats. Now many people live on a canal and never go out on the water. There are lots of shops and restaurants. There is also a mix of ages in the population. Because living on the water has such a huge appeal, prices for homes are very high in the Keys.

This week we are in The Villages about one hour north of Orlando. This is a huge community built by one family starting about 20 years ago (a guess) and built on old farmland. Everyone is of retirement age. There are now 25,000 single resident homes with more on the way. In addition to all these homes, there is every kind of service and recreational facility you could ever want. All of this is connected by roads and golf cart paths. Just about every person has a golf cart to get around the area. We are talking about thousands of carts. Everything is immaculately maintained. Prices are reasonable and affordable. Homes vary in size and price.

So yesterday we spent over two hours driving around the area on golf carts. Bruce and I were luckily following Tony or we would have been thoroughly lost. Today we may rent a pontoon boat on a nearly lake and tour the chain of lakes. On Sunday we are planning to go to an international polo match held at The Villages.

Yesterday we learned of a huge flea market held in a nearby town on Monday. This one has 4,000 vendors. There is both a retail and a wholesale section. It opens at 8:00 a.m. and closes at 3:00 p.m. Bruce loves flea markets so I am sure that’s where we will be. Luckily we are flying home so we can’t buy much.

Both the Keys and The Villages offer very different life styles than what we are used to on the Gunflint Trail. Bruce and I are still looking forward to returning to our own home on the Trail. Meanwhile it is great fun seeing how others live.

Still Down South

Bruce and I are still enjoying the Keys.

The day before yesterday Bruce had one of this more disasterous dives. It was nothing dangerous but everything went wrong. We got out to Kemp Channel. As he was putting on this flippers, the strap on one snapped in half. He managed to jerry-rig it together. Then the tide was running much stronger in the channel than we had expected. It makes it just that much harder to explore an area. Once under the water he kept have trouble with his flippers. Then when he decided to give up, he could not inflate his BC because the regulator didn't fit properly. He swam over to the bank and stood up on the bottom. If he had been in a place with deep water all over, he could have just dropped his weight belt and popped up. By the end of the dive, Bruce was thoroughly disgusted with himself. No lobsters on the dive just added insult to injury.

Yesterday a third couple joined us. Today the three men are going out diving. By the time they got all the gear on the boat, there is no room for the three women. So we are going off to Key West to look around for a bit. One of my favorite shops down there is Fast Buck Freddie's. I love the name. They have really nice merchandise that is attractively arranged. Of course, just walking the streets in Key West is entertainment. Who knows what we will see.

We did have one disappointment today. Yesterday all three gals bought three tickets for the $6 million Florida lottery. We didn't win. Well, we almost won. Pat got three numbers on one line and she won about $5.00 with no extra zeros. Pat and I have always bought lottery tickets together when I am in Florida. It is the only place I buy them. Our deal is that we will split the winnings. Even though we have never won, we have had great fun spending the money over the years.

If you read the last blog, you know that one of the great discussion areas is where we are eating dinner. Last night we ate in and were forced to eat lobster and stone crabs. Tonight we are going out. We will meet the guys at our favorite Cuban restaurant in Key West. It is in a residential neighborhood on a back street. Ron and Pat learned about it years ago because the wife of their airplane mechanical was a waitress there. I already know what I am going to have - roast pork, yellow rice, black beans and fried plantain. The meal will cost about $10 and is more than I can eat. Afterwards we will come home for dessert -- Pat's Key lime pie that you heard about in the last blog.

I hope that you are having as nice a day as we are.

Greetings from the South

We made it down to the Keys. I finally figured out how to write a blog from a computer other than my own so I thought you might enjoy hearing from me.

For those of you who don't know, Bruce and I owned a second home in the Keys for about 20 years. The first house was on Summerland Key and the second was on Cudjoe Key. Both Keys are located about 20 miles from Key West. We spent our time down here diving, fishing, and maintaining a house. The saltwater environment demands lot of maintenance. Eventaully we sold because we decided it was more fun to travel than to maintain a house.

Like any change in your life, there were pluses and minuses to selling the house. For Bruce and I the biggest minus was our porch. We had a 40 by 12 screened porch that looked over the canal. On each end of the porch, a bedroom had a sliding glass door opening to the porch. In the middle was a four-wide pocket slider that practically doubled the size of our living room. We ate most meals on the porch, we relaxed with the newspaper, and we watched the sunrise. Today we are going over the visit our neighbors and will look at the porch.

Bruce and Ron went out yesterday in the boat. Bruce did one dive but the visibility was terrible. He had about 5 feet. He tried to spear a fish but missed. The lobster were nowhere to be found. So we went down to Key West for dinner.

One of our great priorities while down here is figuring our which restaurant to eat dinner in. Last night it was a Half Shell Raw Bar. Between us all we had conch chowder, Oysters Rockefeller and grouper sandwiches. It was wonderful. After dinner we went over to a local ice cream shop. The ice cream was good but watching people walk by was better. Key West is a great place for people watching especially sitting outside on a warm night.

Today the wind has shifted to the north. It is not a good wind for diving. Bruce and Ron are going to fix something on the boat. There is always something to fix on the boat. Maybe tomorrow the wind will die down and we will all go out. The guys dive and Pat and I are the boat tenders. After 20 years we have lots of stories to tell about these activities.

So I hope you are all enjoying winter at Gunflint. Lee tells me they got another two inches. As I sit here in shorts and tee shirt with bare feet, I feel rather detached from the snow.

Cool Snow and Warm Seas

I know that most of you in Minnesota are digging out. We got more snow too. All it did was turn the Gunflint into a winter wonderland. Once you are dug out, get on the phone and make plans to come up. All the trails are in glorious condition. It is so wonderful outside.

Our animals still continue to amuse us. The wolves have been really after the deer. So the deer have figured out the best place to lie down at night. It’s in the sled dog yard! The sled dogs are, of course, chained with some distance between them. The wolves don’t like coming in among the barking dogs. The deer have figured out where the middle ground is between all the dogs. Pretty smart animals.

Meanwhile down here at the house, Freddy Fox, Jr. has a girl friend. They both appeared outside out kitchen window last night. She is a little shyer than he. Lee came down for dinner and we had just finished making pigs of ourselves over some walleye. There was one small piece left. Bruce threw it to Freddy who gobbled it up. Next we were throwing some of Tucker’s treats which seemed to go down equally well.

We assume that Freddy and his girl friend are paired up for the delivery of spring fox kits. I don’t know exactly what the gestation period is for a fox but assume about 6-8 weeks or somewhat like a dog. In the May we often see young kits sunning themselves on the warm pavement of the Gunflint Trail.

Bruce and I are about to take off for two weeks this Monday. On Tuesday we will fly to Fort Lauderdale. Then we drive down to the Keys for a week with friends. The second week will be spent with friends north of Orlando in The Villages. I am having real problems convincing myself to pack summer clothes.

The Keys are one of our favorite places. We owned a home there for about 20 years. Bruce is an avid diver especially when hunting lobster or spearing fish. I snorkel some and tend the boat. The whole area is so laid back that we practically live in shorts and sandals. Being Kerfoots, we are planning meals in our favorite restaurants.

Not too many years ago we were with the Red Cross in Florida for some hurricane. The group we were with decided they wanted fish for dinner. Their idea of a good fish dinner was Red Lobster. Bruce almost died. The next time we went out for fish, we picked the restaurant. It was a little local place that just served fresh, local fish.

Don’t forget to come up to play on our ski trails. We will miss seeing you but the skiing is so good that you won’t miss us.

Experiencing Eagles

We got a little snow on Thursday. It looks like more is on the way for later today or Sunday. About 6-8 inches would be great.

I have been meaning to tell you about part of our trip to Missouri. On Saturday Miranda, Sandy (Miranda’s mother), Zach and I went over to Truman Dam. They have a nature center at the dam that is set high on top of some cliffs overlooking Truman Lake. The view is spectacular from large curved windows all along the cliff side of the building.

While we were at the windows, a bald eagle soared into sight from the left and continued right in front of us. He then went almost out of sight before coming back and disappearing where he came from. Because the nature center is set to high, the eagle was soaring at our eye-level. What a magnificent way to observe the animal. There are several nesting pairs of eagles in the cliffs below the nature center which is one reason it was located there.

On the Saturday we visited the center, they had brought in two live eagles from the Springfield, Missouri, Zoo. One was a bald eagle named Phoenix and the other was a golden eagle. I can’t remember the golden eagle’s name. These are the only two types of eagles found in the United States. Every hour they presented programs about the eagles. Zach and I were in front seats for the 11:00 program.

Phoenix is a 17 year-old bald eagle. She was part of a complicated attempt to release 8 bald eagles into the wild to re-establish nesting pairs in Missouri. For some reason she was unable to forage and almost died. When her radio collared indicated no movement for two days, the monitoring staff went and found her. They brought her back to health and have used her for education ever since.

Seeing this 15-pound bird perched on the arm of an attendant just 5 feet in front of you is impressive. The eagle sits on the attendant’s arm which she rests on the crook of a stick about as tall as her shoulder. There is a rope attached to Phoenix’s leg so she can’t fly off. After fifteen years of being part of programs, Phoenix was very relaxed in front of the audience.

The golden eagle was taken into the zoo as an adult. The bird’s wing was injured so that it no longer has any ability to fly long distances. While Phoenix was comfortable in front of people, this golden eagle was not. He glared at us and twitched and was in constant motion.

The talk about the eagles was very interesting. Their eyesight is so sharp that could an eagle read, if you placed a newspaper on a football goal post, the eagle could read it from the opposite goal post. When the bald eagle picks up food or prey, the gripping strength of its talons is 2000 pounds per square inch. When the golden eagle dives after prey, he divides at 200 miles per hour. All the various facts and figures about the eagles were fun to hear but the really bonus was to just see these animals right in front of us. Zach sat still and was totally captivated during the entire show. I was too.

So if you are ever in Springfield, Missouri, try to find time to visit the zoo. If you are lucky they may even have a program featuring the eagles. If you are down by Truman Dam in Missouri, visit the nature center. Maybe you will be able to see one of the wild eagles in the air.

A Glimpse of Forest Life

Lee was down at the house with Bruce and me. We were waiting those last few minutes before Brian, Lisa and the grandchildren arrived. Part of Brian’s favorite dinner, roast partridge breasts, were waiting in the refrigerator. Bruce had taken all the bones off. The meatless carcasses would be dinner for the fox, or marten or whomever.

Suddenly, young Freddy the Fox appeared. He walked right up to those meatless partridge bones and picked one out. After hopping back to the ground, Freddie sat right in front of us and proceeded to eat the entire bony carcass. He couldn’t get the whole thing in his mouth but just sat there and chewed the whole thing into pieces. We opened the door to see better. He looked at us and kept on eating. We could literally hear him crunching the bones. Once he had finished one, Freddie took a second carcass and walked off with it. One by one he carried the remaining carcasses off until all four were hidden somewhere.

The three of us watched entranced by the show. Of course, we were all trying to figure out how to keep this show going so the grandchildren could see it. How would we keep everyone from scaring the fox away? Would the food last that long? Well, you know the answer to these questions. Freddie disappeared with the final piece and the car rolled down the driveway.

Hopefully some other fox will visit during the next few days. Sam, Max and Amy will get a chance to see one of these wonderful animals up close doing something in its natural environment. Between their parents and grandparents and aunts and uncles, we will keep looking around to show them the activities of nature’s animals that are all around us in the Northwoods.

Meanwhile chaos has come to live in the Kerfoot household. Those noisy, delightful, exhausting grandchildren are here.

Let the Games Begin

Everything is in a state a readiness in the Kerfoot household. It’s not quite like Christmas Eve but, for a grandparent, it’s the next best thing. This afternoon the three California grandchildren arrive. Of course, their parents are bringing them but the adults don’t count.

The house is clean and ready to have kid’s games and books spread all over. Their own private indoor swimming pool (the hot tub) is clean and full. We have more snacks, treats, and junk food in the house than any time in the last six months. Kid friendly meals are planned. My only hope is to either eat enough or send home enough snack food so that Bruce and I don’t end up with lots left for us to eat.

Winter in the woods is a great time for kids. Just riding a sled down our driveway, walking back up, and coming down again keeps the kids busy and happy. Luckily their parents understand that the key to outside fun is warm clothing. For California kids, they do really well.

This year I am determined to get more pictures but don’t hold you breath. It’s always more fun to play with the kids than to take pictures of them. Maybe I will remember to get the camera out once. What I really need is Eva’s mother, Nancy, here. She is the all time greatest picture taker.

We have lots of options for things to do. Bruce wants to take the two boys ice fishing. Lee thinks we ought to have a bonfire one night and roast marshmallows. There is skiing and maybe a sleigh ride down at Okontoe. Birds and deer need to be fed. Snowshoes are available. Inside building a fire in the fireplace is guaranteed to please everyone. I think we will run out of time before we run out of things to do.

I hope that there is a special time of year in your life when grandchildren come to visit. It is often nice when that time is not a holiday but just a time to spend with the kids doing ordinary things.