Boundary waters: False starts and hesitation

I am not sure how to progress in this story.  I could do this by day, I could do this by subject, I could do this by campsite......  so many ways.  So hard to choose.

Breath-taking sunset - belies the miserable night sleep that followed!

Rose and Emily

Misty Morning

Oatmeal, baby!!

Amazing rocks

Towering trees

Pad Thai for supper

T-shirt printing

All bags of food came with inventive and amusing descriptions!

SO I will think about it a while, let it flow and until then here are a couple pix to get me started, and hopefully to find just the right angle!  Or at least one that will be entertaining.

And I hope you can find a little joy here!

Down they come....

Last year we had a nasty lightening strike in the trees near the house.  WAIT, make that 2 years ago!!  Wow, time passes quickly!  So, two years ago, we had a nasty lightening strike in the trees near the house.  Not only did it eventually take out a total of 5 trees (who by the way, had survived the tornado of 1985!) but also took out my new front-loader washing machine AND (God forbid) the receiver of the DISH network!!  It was a sad day at the Oswald house, let me tell you.  We are fortunate that no one was hurt, nothing more than those two electronic items were damaged and we all know it could have been worse.  However, the result 2 years later is 5 trees that need to be cut down.  They are already dry and brown and crunchy, so they would have been degrading as it is.

This is one of the jobs that the Mad-Accountant revels in.  Of course, as many of you know, he is a well loved and trusted member of the community (and I sincerely wish people would stop telling him how wonderful he is, it makes it very hard to live with the guy), but he is a lumberjack wanna be.  And a farmer wanna be, etc.  He loves being outside every moment he can after he sheds his accountant clothes and dons the denim, basically is doing something every moment from after supper until dark. Which leads to fairly uneventful evenings, but I digress....

So this night being no different than any other, found the MA outside with chainsaw in hand.  The first of those 5 trees was going down tonight.  He was gracious enough to wait for me to get back from my walk before cutting down the first one- I am sure he knew of my need to photograph the whole thing.  When I got home, he was already working on the stub of the tree that had tipped over in a storm this past winter.

You can count the rings if you want to!  Let me know.....

This is going to really change the way the yard looks when it is done- those trees have been familiar friends to me.  There **WILL** be a few other changes in the landscape that will certainly improve things, but I will leave that until the event actually happens. <insert dramatic music--duh duh DUH!> It is amazing how you can become attached to a tree or a group of trees, but that is me, I guess.

Beginning the wedge cut

You can see the first cut complete- and is beginning to work on the high cut in the back

Anyway, back to the chainsaw- after the limbs of the tree are all zipped off, then the largest portions are measured in 100 inch pieces and cut.  100 inches is the size that a pulp truck needs the tree parts to be, if that makes sense to you.  Once that little tree was down, it was time for the first big one.  So apparently, the MA is getting pretty good at this tree felling thing, as he told me exactly where he was going to put it and that is where it went.  I urged him to avoid one little dead birch tree that I knew had a nesting nuthatch in in, and he did.  We all understand though, that trees often have a way of going down the way that you are not expecting, so I really was prepared for the little white birch to be mooshed.

And down it goes

Notice the intact white birch tree in the back ground.- one relieved little nuthatch is in there!  

Jacpot was not amused!  The ground shook when it landed and the horse tore off across the field

So now the BIG job of limbing begins and unfortunately if you are hanging around, even if you are the official Mad-photographer, you are pressed into service.

Y'all can count these rings too!  Let me know!  lol

First brush pile

100 inches

Yes, it was chilly, and the mosquitos prompted the full body fleece!
That trailer is just one of the next things to go!

So, yes, there are 4 more trees to go down.  I hope they are as easy to deal with as the first 1.5 were...   All because of lightening.

And of course, you KNEW that there had to be some artistic shots!  And you would be right!

Everything zen

You just never know what sort of adventures life will hold for you!  Be prepared and be on the look out for some joy!  AND be a joy giver- someone will appreciate it... mwah

One of those days....

Oh it was one of those days that you should have just stayed in bed.  The day started off great, I was somewhat distracted by various electronic devices, was slightly later to school than I like, but that wasn't a big deal.  It was when I got to school that things began to fall to pieces for me.  Nothing earth-shaking, nothing awful, but a pile of stuff that was covered with yuck. Then I felt really bad for being so mad at kids being kids on the 11th to the last day of school. And then my melt-down began.  But I picked myself up, dusted myself off and was promptly overwhelmed with the noise that occurred at the other end of that school. Oh my goodness.

THANK HEAVEN for the gym, I can not explain how lifting weights makes me forget about the troubles of the day.  It has helped keep me sane this year- something I have needed a lot of help with.  I felt pretty good when I was done, in spite of the fact I forgot my HRM, my protein bar, my usual shoes and my outfit really didn't match.  Told you I was distracted this morning!

It was threatening to rain all afternoon and I was a little bummed that I might not be able to take a walk.  I decided that I would walk one way or another, even if it was sprinkling or raining.  I certainly am not going to melt! The woods seemed like a good idea. I managed to remember my camera and went on my way.  The leaves are coming along nicely, even if they are not full sized yet.  They are filling in enough to start interfering with cell service.  One of the not so joyful parts of living in the woods.  Not that I needed to have cell service back there, but it is part of the whole tree discussion, so stay with me here.  The green of those trees was just the salve my soul needed!

It was pretty out, in spite of the clouds and the wind.  The clouds were a good foil to my lingering dark mood, the wind in my hair is awesome.  I love windy nights, for nothing else other than they blow away the mosquitos that are searching out their next meal. I do like the sensation of walking with the wind in my face, especially in the woods where it is accompanied by the sounds of the trees, birds Somewhere along the way, I remembered that I had not checked my kiln.  So after helping the Mad-Accountant with some wood - I hate stacking wood, btw- we took a ride to school to check on the kiln, which was fine.  Then we drove out to the Butternut Lake Resort to make a second attempt to deliver some random paperwork and I found myself with a camera, on a gorgeous windy lake.  Now THAT is fortuitous!  Beautiful wild night, very fitting for the day.

A load of wood that eventually goes to the S-I-L.  

Hello pretty little lily growing in the creek!  Where did you come from?

Butternut Lake near Dick and Joan's Butternut Resort

Docks at the resort

Trying to catch some whitecaps

Lying in wait

This was a nice way to end a trying day. My art brain needs to be soothed when it is over-stressed and this photography session did the trick.  When I got home, I had a lot of things to catch up on, but that made the evening go fast and now a new day can begin.  Fridays are ALWAYS better than Thursdays, so I have great hopes for today.


Wind Child

The Wind has a voice,
A sad, sweet voice
I've heard it sing
Long and beautiful
Like Wind should be,
Carrying forever

The singing Wind is rarely heard
It's quiet and soft and
Unnoticeable

I am a Wind Child
I hear the Wind as
She sings her sad, sweet song
I am a Wind Child
And I sing with the Wind
Wind Children are rare as
True Hope
Special as Love
Wind Child
Is me 

Sahar Alive

Sometimes your joy just has to wait until the end of the day to blow on in- hold on, it'll show up!

So FAR behind!!!

Ohmygoodness, it has been so so long!  i didn't blog about the play, I haven't blogged photos, I haven't told you (not that most of you don't know this) that I have entered a new weight zone!!  eesh.

SO!!  I am beginning with a quick picture post, since that is my passion.


These are a series of pix from Phillips, WI, the town next to ours.  I had a ride down with the MA who had to copy and collate a bunch of tax returns,  surprise - surprise!  I went for a great walk by Lake Duroy.  Photo shoot, walk, climbed a tree!  Lol, you just never know what life is going to present to you.  And what obstacles you might encounter.  And what fears you might conquer and what risks, large or small you are willing to take. How you can reinvent yourself.   AND what joys you might find tucked in there along the way!

I "may" have climbed up THIS tree!!  Lol

Until next time, which should be pretty soon, as I try to do a little catch up blogging, find YOUR joy.  Be brave