Annual BWCA Trip - part 1

This past week was what has become a near annual camping trip into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA) Wilderness.

The usual foursome of Jenny, Julie, Brian and me drove up north on Tuesday. We spent the night in Jenny and Andrew's cabin on Gust Lake off the Grade (road). We paddled in on Sawbill Lake from Sawbill Outfitters.

There is a very long and, looking back, funny story on how we ended up where we did but I'll make the text of this post short and post the photos that I took. There will hopefully be more photos when the others get theirs off their cameras and phones.

Paddling in on Sawbll

Around the campfire grate

Fire grate and some of our cooking gear

A Jack Pine pinecone. The Nut Hatches really like these.

Dramatic sky while paddling. We did have storms during this trip.

A double water lily. We saw lots of these on our river paddle.

We love to swim in the lakes. We always where our life jackets.

A dramatic sunset. The reflection off the lake is always a winner.

One of our campsite sitting rocks.

We all happened to wear our Gust Lake t-shirts!

Annual peony post

One of the interesting things with keeping the blog is tracking the posts from year to year. For example, last year the peony post was 2 weeks earlier than this year. A demonstration of the difference in each year's weather.

This year Spring has been cool and wet so the blooming flowers are later than last year's hot and dry Spring.

There is a new peony in the garden this year. I don't know where it came from and there are only two stems and each has a pink-toned blossom of the single type peony. Pretty crazy.

Miss America

One of the old fashioned red peony that came with the house

Miss America

A pink sngle type variety. This one just showed up this year

One of the red peonies that came with the house.

Burr Oak at 10 years

The Burr Oak has grown so much that I had to prune off several very large branches. It is exciting to see the backyard changing because the oak tree is getting so tall and broad.

The oak tree is now 10 years old which means the backyard patio project was done 10 years ago.

Ten years ago I was working for IBM and travelling nearly every week. Peonies were blooming this week in June 2019. This year the peonies are close but at least another week before full on.

Check out the Burr Oak from 2011 and from 2013 and when first planted in 2009.

Window project

A project I've been wanting to do for a long time (actually, I didn't really do anything except order and pay for it): Replace the upstairs windows - the bathroom window and the window above the steps.

The windows were vinyl double-hung casements with exterior storms. To get air I had to open the inside window then open the outer widow then pull down the screen. The widow above the steps was too precarious to do all that.

They are both now replaced with awning windows. They crank to open. The screen is fixed on the inside. These are Renewal By Andersen windows. The screen is virtually invisible.

Sergei, my installer, was very patient, courteous, diligent and industrious. Like everything in My Old House, there were challenges. The awning windows are actually substitutes for the original idea to have casements. The window openings were too small for casements so we switched to awning style.

Back to the install... The windows had to be set deeper in the frame than normal. Sergei devised a way to make it work and look good. And he asked me for my input.

The photos are in reverse order.

Finished

The frank (bottom center). Locking mechanism (left and right). Locking mecha (left and right)

The old window is gone

The old vinyl window

I can highly recommend Renewal By Andersen. They handled everything including the permit, lead testing and abatement, removal and install, clean up, scheduling the inspector, and even carbon monoxide and smoke detectors for code.

Winter to Spring

The time of year when it is usually warm enough during the day to enjoy the sun but still cold enough that the ice is still on the lakes.

It was chilly today but sunny. Some trees are definitely showing signs of Spring.

ice on the shore edge

stark beauty (Sony camera)

stark beauty (Windows phone camera)

Indian Wells

Kept forgetting to post the photos from March trip to Indian Wells with Chris. Such an enjoyable trip and adventure to see more professional tennis.

We stayed in Palm Desert at the Hilton Embassy Suites. It turned out to be a good choice as the hotel provided free busses to the tennis which was about half hour away.

The weather was cool to warm. Generally always needed a jacket in the evening. The days were sunny.

The Indian Wells Tennis Center is quite impressive. With our day pass tickets we could venture pretty much any where except Stadium 1. It was perfect for us to see big names and up-and-coming players.

We also got in some of our own tennis and a spa day thanks to Chris' generosity. And I introduced Chris to vegan/plant-based meals.

tennis at the Embassy Suites

With our Ambassador

John isner

Mertens and Sabelenka

Cozumel for Dave's Birthday

This was a quick and short trip to Cozumel to celebrate my friend, Dave's, birthday.

Got in the water every day but this trip was more about the land. We took a guided nature tour at the golf course. Besides dodging golf balls, we go to see many native birds and plants.

We drove to the east coast of the island twice to see the Caribbean Sea. The seaweed is mostly being left on the beaches in an effort to reduce erosion. The east side of the island is dramatically different these last few years because of rising sea level and increased wave action.

Got to visit with another dear friend from Guthrie days, Shirley Venard. She is staying on Cozumel for several weeks and joined us for Dave's birthday dinner.

We did eat at several new restaurants this time. Cozumel is becoming a foodie place.

 Seeds of change

Dramatic iguana

Green iguana

Stilt birds

I think it looks like honeysuckle

Passion flower

Two Old Men and the Sea

Duck in a tree

Dear friends, Shirley and Dave