Saturday, January 31, 2009
Epiphany
The operative word for today is epiphany. Isn’t that a beautiful word? I can’t say it enough, four beautifully flowing syllables that reflect the meaning of the word when you say it out loud. When you say it, you feel something new, feel re-born, like you realized or have seen something for the first time or had a life changing event. There are very few words in the English Language that musically say what they mean, but that is one of them. There is little I can say positively about the French, but their language is a musical one that perhaps has no equal. However, there is one word that we share that rises above all others, “epiphany”. Actually, I don’t know what the French equivalent of it is ---probably, epiphany. Nevertheless, I have had several today, and could care less about the French.
My first epiphany is that my beautiful deer pets are more complicated than I first reported. As we laid out corn for their dinner and watched them nibble in peace for the first few times, we viewed an idyllic Walt Disney Film with Bambi in it. However, as the winter drags on and food gets scarce, they come down and become very territorial over their food. Today I witnessed the biggest Momma Doe rise up on her hind legs and fend off 7 other deer including a small buck and other Momma Does with their yearlings. Big Momma Doe allowed her yearling to come in and feed at will, but woe to the competition! I could not believe how aggressive she was---rearing up on those sharp hooves and boxing with them! I never want to be on the other side of that!. One epiphany is that Darwin is definitely right, the fittest survive. That’s probably a good thing, we don’t want unfit beings running the show. That would not be good. But then, that led to another epiphany, with all the options we have for unfit people to lead, they do rise to power and weakly run the show into oblivion. I think of Jimmy Carter for one…..but, I’m not forming analogies yet….well, actually, I think Jimmy Carter is a strong human being with a great faith and is a likeable guy, but let’s face it, he was a very weak President. He wouldn’t have been president of the forest out there feeding on deer pellets if he was with Washington, Lincoln and Reagan and only one could survive.
But the biggest epiphany of the day was my daughter “Ellie” calling me asking if I would be upset is she ended up in a different career than the one she has been on path for the last 10 years or so. She said she has realized that the competition for those spots in her job are very fierce, and would rather be in something she could enjoy going to work each day for and not have to cut somebody’s throat for in order to get a paycheck. Making a living at this new career would be a plus. Well, I thought, after seeing the deer, this is much better than having to face the big Momma Doe with the hooves raging at her. She had quite the epiphany, and thankfully so at a much younger age than I, she is seeing the big picture. She is looking ahead at a time with wisdom much beyond her years. That is another epiphany for me, seeing my daughter for the first time perhaps as an adult. I wish I had so much insight and wisdom at 20. Plus, here she is calling and asking me for advice. Now, that was a pleasure and treat beyond belief!!!! It was one of the most pleasurable moments of my life, to have my beautiful daughter, who has an IQ way above mine, call and ask me for my advice.
It is very clear to me that Ellie will continue to be the fittest to survive. She is beautiful, intelligent, dedicated and loves her family and the LORD OF ALL. I have always thought these things about her, never doubted her. However, tonight I had another epiphany, my loving baby daughter, is now a WOMAN. A gracious, loving, incredible woman who is not only my baby daughter, but my friend…..isn’t that an awesome thing to think about…. What a moment, what a joy when your baby girl also becomes your friend and confidant. What a joy, what an epiphany!!!!
My first epiphany is that my beautiful deer pets are more complicated than I first reported. As we laid out corn for their dinner and watched them nibble in peace for the first few times, we viewed an idyllic Walt Disney Film with Bambi in it. However, as the winter drags on and food gets scarce, they come down and become very territorial over their food. Today I witnessed the biggest Momma Doe rise up on her hind legs and fend off 7 other deer including a small buck and other Momma Does with their yearlings. Big Momma Doe allowed her yearling to come in and feed at will, but woe to the competition! I could not believe how aggressive she was---rearing up on those sharp hooves and boxing with them! I never want to be on the other side of that!. One epiphany is that Darwin is definitely right, the fittest survive. That’s probably a good thing, we don’t want unfit beings running the show. That would not be good. But then, that led to another epiphany, with all the options we have for unfit people to lead, they do rise to power and weakly run the show into oblivion. I think of Jimmy Carter for one…..but, I’m not forming analogies yet….well, actually, I think Jimmy Carter is a strong human being with a great faith and is a likeable guy, but let’s face it, he was a very weak President. He wouldn’t have been president of the forest out there feeding on deer pellets if he was with Washington, Lincoln and Reagan and only one could survive.
But the biggest epiphany of the day was my daughter “Ellie” calling me asking if I would be upset is she ended up in a different career than the one she has been on path for the last 10 years or so. She said she has realized that the competition for those spots in her job are very fierce, and would rather be in something she could enjoy going to work each day for and not have to cut somebody’s throat for in order to get a paycheck. Making a living at this new career would be a plus. Well, I thought, after seeing the deer, this is much better than having to face the big Momma Doe with the hooves raging at her. She had quite the epiphany, and thankfully so at a much younger age than I, she is seeing the big picture. She is looking ahead at a time with wisdom much beyond her years. That is another epiphany for me, seeing my daughter for the first time perhaps as an adult. I wish I had so much insight and wisdom at 20. Plus, here she is calling and asking me for advice. Now, that was a pleasure and treat beyond belief!!!! It was one of the most pleasurable moments of my life, to have my beautiful daughter, who has an IQ way above mine, call and ask me for my advice.
It is very clear to me that Ellie will continue to be the fittest to survive. She is beautiful, intelligent, dedicated and loves her family and the LORD OF ALL. I have always thought these things about her, never doubted her. However, tonight I had another epiphany, my loving baby daughter, is now a WOMAN. A gracious, loving, incredible woman who is not only my baby daughter, but my friend…..isn’t that an awesome thing to think about…. What a moment, what a joy when your baby girl also becomes your friend and confidant. What a joy, what an epiphany!!!!
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
The Winter of Snow
Folks around here remember a lot of cold, snowy winters. It seems as if during every storm I hear from an old timer that: “this is nothing, you should a been here during the winter of…” However, even the old timers will say that this one ranks right up there. Somewhere here there should be a picture of my front yard if it uploaded, so please refer to it.
Lake Michigan is frozen as far as you can see with my telescope. The berm you see out there a few hundred yards are the rocks of Millicoquins Reef. As the waves splashed against the rocks they froze and marked them. That’s generally as far as we go out skiing, pretty safe inside the berm. All the tracks you see in the snow by the trees down there are deer hoove marks. This will become important in our little story in a moment. Anyway, the drift behind our little garage is about 5 foot high and the walkway has four foot snow walls from the drifts. We are enjoying snow-shoeing and cross country skiing and making the best of it, but deer are taking it particularly hard. I have noticed a doe and her yearling around our house a lot and so I started buying corn and leaving it out for them. They have been regular visitors to our house and I started talking about them to my wife a lot. It wasn’t long when she said “you know that you took an interest in these deer soon after Abby (our pet boxer) died.” That really hit me, I had said that I would never get another pet, but it looks as if I have two new ones. I was telling a neighbor about the deer, well, let’s me digress a bit and talk about that term neighbor as it applies here. This nice neighbor lives about ¾ mile away but he’s one of my closest ones. Neighbor here generally means anyone within a few miles of your house. OK, that being said it turns out he’s been feeding those two deer apples. They are regularly seen in town and along our road. He also relayed that another neighbor is feeding them sugar beets. Well, that would explain why our Naubinway pet deer look so healthy with full coats and speedy legs while other deer I have seen are looking pretty scrawny. So you see, these deer make a regular loop every day, hitting our house for corn and then the neighbors for apples and beets. Another neighbor I saw in the barber shop told me that this will be good for me, as next hunting season they will be ready for the “harvesting”, nice and plump venison. “Well, uh, nah, I don’t think so” I said. “These deer are kind of becoming pets and would be pretty hard for me to shoot them.”
I am very impressed by the tenacity, perseverance and intelligence of these animals. Our Sarah has taken a lot of pics of them and I would like to include them here but she is out of town for a few days and has her camera with her. So, maybe next time. My lovely wife said that this is all about my “maternal instinct” to take care of something. I corrected her and said I think you mean “fraternal instinct” but that’s her perspective. I reflected on that for hours, realizing that I have always had that. That’s why I went into medicine, I like taking care of living things. The same instinctual “beast” that I complain about, always having to take care of somebody, is at the same time the thing that drives me. It has been a fresh breeze in my day, helping me smile as the folks come in with their ailments, and generally seeing them get better is a joy. I hope you find something like that to make you smile today too. Stop and take a minute and find out what drives you, it’s a lot of fun. Those deer are driven by instinct to survive. That doe will do anything for that yearling and is constantly teaching it the ways of the North Woods, avoiding coyotes and wolves and logging trucks. I held Abby in my arms and petted her and whispered to her during her final breaths. I had a wet towel that I used to keep her tongue and mouth moist. We nurtured her until the end, my lovely wife and I together. I think we are all driven by some degree with the instinct to “doctor”, to nurture, we, the deer, etc., are much closer than we think, aren’t we?
Lake Michigan is frozen as far as you can see with my telescope. The berm you see out there a few hundred yards are the rocks of Millicoquins Reef. As the waves splashed against the rocks they froze and marked them. That’s generally as far as we go out skiing, pretty safe inside the berm. All the tracks you see in the snow by the trees down there are deer hoove marks. This will become important in our little story in a moment. Anyway, the drift behind our little garage is about 5 foot high and the walkway has four foot snow walls from the drifts. We are enjoying snow-shoeing and cross country skiing and making the best of it, but deer are taking it particularly hard. I have noticed a doe and her yearling around our house a lot and so I started buying corn and leaving it out for them. They have been regular visitors to our house and I started talking about them to my wife a lot. It wasn’t long when she said “you know that you took an interest in these deer soon after Abby (our pet boxer) died.” That really hit me, I had said that I would never get another pet, but it looks as if I have two new ones. I was telling a neighbor about the deer, well, let’s me digress a bit and talk about that term neighbor as it applies here. This nice neighbor lives about ¾ mile away but he’s one of my closest ones. Neighbor here generally means anyone within a few miles of your house. OK, that being said it turns out he’s been feeding those two deer apples. They are regularly seen in town and along our road. He also relayed that another neighbor is feeding them sugar beets. Well, that would explain why our Naubinway pet deer look so healthy with full coats and speedy legs while other deer I have seen are looking pretty scrawny. So you see, these deer make a regular loop every day, hitting our house for corn and then the neighbors for apples and beets. Another neighbor I saw in the barber shop told me that this will be good for me, as next hunting season they will be ready for the “harvesting”, nice and plump venison. “Well, uh, nah, I don’t think so” I said. “These deer are kind of becoming pets and would be pretty hard for me to shoot them.”
I am very impressed by the tenacity, perseverance and intelligence of these animals. Our Sarah has taken a lot of pics of them and I would like to include them here but she is out of town for a few days and has her camera with her. So, maybe next time. My lovely wife said that this is all about my “maternal instinct” to take care of something. I corrected her and said I think you mean “fraternal instinct” but that’s her perspective. I reflected on that for hours, realizing that I have always had that. That’s why I went into medicine, I like taking care of living things. The same instinctual “beast” that I complain about, always having to take care of somebody, is at the same time the thing that drives me. It has been a fresh breeze in my day, helping me smile as the folks come in with their ailments, and generally seeing them get better is a joy. I hope you find something like that to make you smile today too. Stop and take a minute and find out what drives you, it’s a lot of fun. Those deer are driven by instinct to survive. That doe will do anything for that yearling and is constantly teaching it the ways of the North Woods, avoiding coyotes and wolves and logging trucks. I held Abby in my arms and petted her and whispered to her during her final breaths. I had a wet towel that I used to keep her tongue and mouth moist. We nurtured her until the end, my lovely wife and I together. I think we are all driven by some degree with the instinct to “doctor”, to nurture, we, the deer, etc., are much closer than we think, aren’t we?
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Grace Under Pressure (Abby's Song)
I wish I could demonstrate and be an example for the term “Grace Under Pressure” but I fall too far short of the goal. Yesterday I realized I am not half the man I want to be as I held my dog Abby in my arms as she took her last breaths and passed away. Although I handled it well during her death for my family and acted as the strong one, cleaning up the mess and wrapping her in her Pokemon Blanket that she slept on when she was in the garage, it was when alone again I realized my shortcomings. I realized that sometimes I loose my temper, sometimes I hold a grudge, sometimes I bite the hand that feeds me and sometimes I’m just a pain in somebody’s side. But, Abby was never any of those. Abby was the best dog I ever had as a friend, really, she was the best dog that ever walked this earth. I’m not just biased in saying that, anyone that knew her would tell you that. Why? Because she exemplified “grace under pressure”, never lost her temper, never held a grudge and loved the hands that fed her even when they ignored her. In short, she was a 60 pound bundle of pure love that will forever be missed. She was a loving and gentle spirit, intelligent, and always wanting to please.
When she was young she would walk for miles with me, “box” like boxers do and wrestle and snuggle and sleep with the kids as they worked thru their nightmares. Her only sins in life, if you could call it that, is that she bit the UPS man when he handed me a package once, and would rather have her butt rubbed than her head. I wish I could say those were my worst sins, and she only bit that man because she thought she was protecting me. Then, she became old, diabetic, fighting liver disease, arthritis, multiple growths and moles and couldn’t even take a walk with us anymore. For awhile, we would do one or two block walks with her for “doggy physical therapy”, but about 7 months ago she couldn’t even do that anymore. In fact, many times in the past weeks we had to help her up the stairs to get back into the house after doing her business. However, because she wasn’t in any visible pain and enjoyed her daily food, I resisted the temptation to “put her down”. She was still happy, despite not being able to see, hear or walk much, she was still happy just being Abby and getting her ears scratched once in awhile. She particularly liked laying in front of the fireplace, so many nights I would make her a fire, and let her lay there enjoying the glow.
When the urinary and fecal incontinence visited Abby I was angry at first, I would yell at her, but I thank our Almighty God that’s all I did---I never spanked her, etc., I knew she didn’t do it on purpose, she simply couldn’t hold it. I then would put her in the heated garage all day and let her pee and poop with reckless abandon. I didn’t enjoy the clean up after a full day at work and I am sure I cursed her many times, but then I would go in and eventually give her the big dog doggy milk bone she knew she would get every nite about 8 p.m. It didn’t matter if I was upstairs of outside or downstairs, she knew when it was 8 and time for her bone and she would find me and nod at me or beckon me or lead me to the cabinet where the bones were. She was so happy and content after getting that simple morsel, I wish I could please my fellow man so easily…
The day before she died Abby was not well, she couldn’t get up without help, she didn’t care about food. The next day she wouldn’t go outside or get up. She was just laying there in the living room, breathing hard, very lethargic. Fortunately, I came home for lunch and Jomay asked me to look at her. As I listened to her heart and chest with my home stethoscope, saw her eyes and mouth, etc., I realized she was in her last stages of death. She had no pain, and when I told Jomay she was dying we just held her together, saying her name and petting her and she seemed so very happy to spend her last moments with us. My son Jeff told me he thought she was very sick and would die that day when he saw her in the morning. What is mind boggling to me is that she lay there, for hours and hours, in her final moments, and would not give up her ghost until I was there. I wasn’t home 30 minutes when she died. You know how we humans hang on for that last son or daughter, etc. to get home before we pass on? Yeah, there are multiple stories about that. Well, my loyal loving dog Abby did that for me---she held on long enough for me to get home and hold her and pet her and tell her it was o.k., and she died in my arms. That is “Grace Under Pressure” and love from an animal that I don’t see in many of us my friend. I don’t think I have it, I am humbled by it.
I did ok until the next night when I had to go out back with the pick-ax and slowly work my way thru the frozen sand and rocks and dig her grave. I haven’t cried that hard since we lost my father and father-in-law, I worked for hours and hours digging away and making a grave deep enough to keep the coyotes out. As I dug I remembered how she waited for me, how she always loved me when I was angry or sad or it didn’t matter what I was, she loved me despite myself. She loved me unconditionally, she loved me in grace under pressure of old age and her dying breaths. She loved me because she was just a loving pet, made that way, lived that way, died that way. I’m sorry, I can never do this again, I can never have another pet. There could never be another pet like Abby. I’m just going to stop there and remember my very loving, loyal friend who exemplified grace under pressure. Imagine that, a heavenly gift from but a lowly boxer, but Wow, what a gift indeed.
When she was young she would walk for miles with me, “box” like boxers do and wrestle and snuggle and sleep with the kids as they worked thru their nightmares. Her only sins in life, if you could call it that, is that she bit the UPS man when he handed me a package once, and would rather have her butt rubbed than her head. I wish I could say those were my worst sins, and she only bit that man because she thought she was protecting me. Then, she became old, diabetic, fighting liver disease, arthritis, multiple growths and moles and couldn’t even take a walk with us anymore. For awhile, we would do one or two block walks with her for “doggy physical therapy”, but about 7 months ago she couldn’t even do that anymore. In fact, many times in the past weeks we had to help her up the stairs to get back into the house after doing her business. However, because she wasn’t in any visible pain and enjoyed her daily food, I resisted the temptation to “put her down”. She was still happy, despite not being able to see, hear or walk much, she was still happy just being Abby and getting her ears scratched once in awhile. She particularly liked laying in front of the fireplace, so many nights I would make her a fire, and let her lay there enjoying the glow.
When the urinary and fecal incontinence visited Abby I was angry at first, I would yell at her, but I thank our Almighty God that’s all I did---I never spanked her, etc., I knew she didn’t do it on purpose, she simply couldn’t hold it. I then would put her in the heated garage all day and let her pee and poop with reckless abandon. I didn’t enjoy the clean up after a full day at work and I am sure I cursed her many times, but then I would go in and eventually give her the big dog doggy milk bone she knew she would get every nite about 8 p.m. It didn’t matter if I was upstairs of outside or downstairs, she knew when it was 8 and time for her bone and she would find me and nod at me or beckon me or lead me to the cabinet where the bones were. She was so happy and content after getting that simple morsel, I wish I could please my fellow man so easily…
The day before she died Abby was not well, she couldn’t get up without help, she didn’t care about food. The next day she wouldn’t go outside or get up. She was just laying there in the living room, breathing hard, very lethargic. Fortunately, I came home for lunch and Jomay asked me to look at her. As I listened to her heart and chest with my home stethoscope, saw her eyes and mouth, etc., I realized she was in her last stages of death. She had no pain, and when I told Jomay she was dying we just held her together, saying her name and petting her and she seemed so very happy to spend her last moments with us. My son Jeff told me he thought she was very sick and would die that day when he saw her in the morning. What is mind boggling to me is that she lay there, for hours and hours, in her final moments, and would not give up her ghost until I was there. I wasn’t home 30 minutes when she died. You know how we humans hang on for that last son or daughter, etc. to get home before we pass on? Yeah, there are multiple stories about that. Well, my loyal loving dog Abby did that for me---she held on long enough for me to get home and hold her and pet her and tell her it was o.k., and she died in my arms. That is “Grace Under Pressure” and love from an animal that I don’t see in many of us my friend. I don’t think I have it, I am humbled by it.
I did ok until the next night when I had to go out back with the pick-ax and slowly work my way thru the frozen sand and rocks and dig her grave. I haven’t cried that hard since we lost my father and father-in-law, I worked for hours and hours digging away and making a grave deep enough to keep the coyotes out. As I dug I remembered how she waited for me, how she always loved me when I was angry or sad or it didn’t matter what I was, she loved me despite myself. She loved me unconditionally, she loved me in grace under pressure of old age and her dying breaths. She loved me because she was just a loving pet, made that way, lived that way, died that way. I’m sorry, I can never do this again, I can never have another pet. There could never be another pet like Abby. I’m just going to stop there and remember my very loving, loyal friend who exemplified grace under pressure. Imagine that, a heavenly gift from but a lowly boxer, but Wow, what a gift indeed.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
I am Still Alive
I am still very much alive. I am so sorry I haven't written much lately. Folks have been asking for a new post. The fact is I have so many things to write about I am overwhelmed by it. Life here is so good and amazing that I can't stop to write about it, I am having so much fun living it. Today we woke up and went to Church. Then we went out to eat at the Cut River Inn for Whitefish, came back and took a nice long nap. Afterwards, Jomay and I went out snow-shoeing on the Big Lake. No wolves, coyotes or deer seen out there today, despite the heat wave. It hit 36 degrees today, too darn warm, really, not kidding. It's amazing how our bodies acclimate to different environments. I can go outside in a T-shirt at 36 now, and it's very warm. I am reminded of a friend of mine who is in Antarctica right now, who told me he acclimates to the -30 degree tunnels connecting the complex about now---and he goes between the buildings in a T-shirt at that temperature!!! Such is life, we are designed to overcome, improvise, adapt, acclimate. With that thought, I am not sure where to start....well, let's stick with FUN!!!
Three days ago the most beautiful woman on Earth and I went Cross-Country skiing on the Hiawatha Club---we went into to woods pretty darn far, enjoying the most incredible depth of quietness and peacefullness that can be found down here on this planet. Have you ever had the joy experiencing a cedar forest in the winter? With the boughs filled with new snow but the trail well-groomed and miles from nowhere? You finally stop after exercising and trailing and just breath in the fresh, cedar laiden air and stop and listen and hear nothing except maybe the snowflakes joining the snowfall. WOW, mesmerizing to say the least, you can hear your ears hear. Then, the next day we go down-hill skiing at Boyne Highlands. What a joy to go parelling down those familiar runs---the lazy back miles, just being with my Main Squeeze (Jomay) again, after so many months of separation due to the New York City Experience. After snow-shoeing today (our His and Her Christmas Presents)---we went into town to join our Church Friends for a movie and popcorn in the fellowship hall---we were about the last to leave enjoying our newfound friends and home and a great movie. The fact is, there is so much continual FUN to be had here, there are not enough hours in the day. People ask me how in the heck can you live up there in the winter? Well, it's true we don't have mall and a Lowes in less than 1 and 1/ hours away, but I do have a Great Lake to travass on and look back at the two miles encompassing my beach and see 4 houses with lights on---that's how many neighbors I have over a two mile stretch. Then, when the winter sun sets, we see new colors with shades of orange and blue and yellow that are different everyday, and this is followed by the plethoric display of stars that dot the winter sky like packing peanuts falling out of your Christmas Present Box shipped by your Mom. You look up and say WOW, see the steam from your breath and then are breathless....
Basketball season starts tomorrow, and back to school. We are looking forward to a lot of fun there, seeing our star athelete Jeffy assume the role of Center for the eigth grade team, and drummer in the Pep Band for the varsity. Our Sarah went bowling tonight in Saint Ignace with a group of girls from Church and had a great time. However, she had to say goodbye to her boyfriend who is off to college tomorrow---we like David a lot, but are glad to have a little relief from having to stay up late and chaperone them! Lorhel is back to college too, settling in to her life of practicing the viola and earning A's and spending time with her boyfriend Nathan. We miss her a lot, she really lit up our life here. It was a realy joy to take Jomay, Sarah and Lorhel to our local bed and breakfast/lodge 4 star restuarant and all eat prime rib next to the fireplace---we actually ate that for two dinners after--they give you so much! It was great as hash for breakfast, etc. Such a nice treat to have such a great restaurant so many miles from nowhere.
We have finally started putting pine paneling on the ceilings in the new additions, so much so that my arms can barely type. It has been an intricate system of levers, pullys, scaffolding and ladders to do finish carpentry on a 14 foot high ceiling, but we are managing it. We realize it will take a long time to finish all this, but at least it is insulated and warm. The Geothermal Heat Pump is working very well, FINALLY, after many well issues. But last month, including electric in a deep freeze of sub-zero temperatures and the heat pump running continuously, the bill was $150. It would be well over $400 if we were still on propane. At this rate it will pay for itself in just over two years. Pretty amazing that water can be your heat source, no fire hazard, no carbon monoxide, etc., plus, it will be air-conditioning in those very hot July and August days when the wind lies down.
Speaking of wind, I have never been so humbled by nature in this season of SNOW. When the south wind blows a gale off Lake Michigan it is very hard to walk the complex----snow blowing into your face with wind chills beyond belief make taking the garbage out an adventure. But then, the next day it lies down to a complete calm. However, it leaves you humbled knowing it can come back and rip cedar trees out of the rock it if wants too. But the place is built so well, inside in the new great room you can't ever hear the wind thru the 2 x 6 walls, incredibly strong and insulated. Sometimes we make a fire in the fireplace just for FUN, and enjoy the extra warmth and glow.
Well, tomorrow I hope to take a bunch of pictures and get them posted of all that is going on here---thanks so much to listening to me. Suffice it to say that life is FUN again, and no, winter is good too---there's so much to do. We are thinking of adding some snowmobiles in the future too. The Hiawathata Club trails spread over 36,000 acres and you rarely ever see anyone else---but yet, if you seek human company that is never far away and the people are loving and friendly and HAPPY. I know all sorts of folks here now, and what's amazing to me is that whether they are poor or rich they are overall very happy to be here and live life. If you are hungry and poor you can still go out and catch or shoot something. Maybe that's what does it, knowing there is always hope and you can live off the land. That's some part of FUN we forget and miss out on living next to a Kohl's and Lowes and a Shopping Mall. Many Blessings, see you soon, Jeff.
Three days ago the most beautiful woman on Earth and I went Cross-Country skiing on the Hiawatha Club---we went into to woods pretty darn far, enjoying the most incredible depth of quietness and peacefullness that can be found down here on this planet. Have you ever had the joy experiencing a cedar forest in the winter? With the boughs filled with new snow but the trail well-groomed and miles from nowhere? You finally stop after exercising and trailing and just breath in the fresh, cedar laiden air and stop and listen and hear nothing except maybe the snowflakes joining the snowfall. WOW, mesmerizing to say the least, you can hear your ears hear. Then, the next day we go down-hill skiing at Boyne Highlands. What a joy to go parelling down those familiar runs---the lazy back miles, just being with my Main Squeeze (Jomay) again, after so many months of separation due to the New York City Experience. After snow-shoeing today (our His and Her Christmas Presents)---we went into town to join our Church Friends for a movie and popcorn in the fellowship hall---we were about the last to leave enjoying our newfound friends and home and a great movie. The fact is, there is so much continual FUN to be had here, there are not enough hours in the day. People ask me how in the heck can you live up there in the winter? Well, it's true we don't have mall and a Lowes in less than 1 and 1/ hours away, but I do have a Great Lake to travass on and look back at the two miles encompassing my beach and see 4 houses with lights on---that's how many neighbors I have over a two mile stretch. Then, when the winter sun sets, we see new colors with shades of orange and blue and yellow that are different everyday, and this is followed by the plethoric display of stars that dot the winter sky like packing peanuts falling out of your Christmas Present Box shipped by your Mom. You look up and say WOW, see the steam from your breath and then are breathless....
Basketball season starts tomorrow, and back to school. We are looking forward to a lot of fun there, seeing our star athelete Jeffy assume the role of Center for the eigth grade team, and drummer in the Pep Band for the varsity. Our Sarah went bowling tonight in Saint Ignace with a group of girls from Church and had a great time. However, she had to say goodbye to her boyfriend who is off to college tomorrow---we like David a lot, but are glad to have a little relief from having to stay up late and chaperone them! Lorhel is back to college too, settling in to her life of practicing the viola and earning A's and spending time with her boyfriend Nathan. We miss her a lot, she really lit up our life here. It was a realy joy to take Jomay, Sarah and Lorhel to our local bed and breakfast/lodge 4 star restuarant and all eat prime rib next to the fireplace---we actually ate that for two dinners after--they give you so much! It was great as hash for breakfast, etc. Such a nice treat to have such a great restaurant so many miles from nowhere.
We have finally started putting pine paneling on the ceilings in the new additions, so much so that my arms can barely type. It has been an intricate system of levers, pullys, scaffolding and ladders to do finish carpentry on a 14 foot high ceiling, but we are managing it. We realize it will take a long time to finish all this, but at least it is insulated and warm. The Geothermal Heat Pump is working very well, FINALLY, after many well issues. But last month, including electric in a deep freeze of sub-zero temperatures and the heat pump running continuously, the bill was $150. It would be well over $400 if we were still on propane. At this rate it will pay for itself in just over two years. Pretty amazing that water can be your heat source, no fire hazard, no carbon monoxide, etc., plus, it will be air-conditioning in those very hot July and August days when the wind lies down.
Speaking of wind, I have never been so humbled by nature in this season of SNOW. When the south wind blows a gale off Lake Michigan it is very hard to walk the complex----snow blowing into your face with wind chills beyond belief make taking the garbage out an adventure. But then, the next day it lies down to a complete calm. However, it leaves you humbled knowing it can come back and rip cedar trees out of the rock it if wants too. But the place is built so well, inside in the new great room you can't ever hear the wind thru the 2 x 6 walls, incredibly strong and insulated. Sometimes we make a fire in the fireplace just for FUN, and enjoy the extra warmth and glow.
Well, tomorrow I hope to take a bunch of pictures and get them posted of all that is going on here---thanks so much to listening to me. Suffice it to say that life is FUN again, and no, winter is good too---there's so much to do. We are thinking of adding some snowmobiles in the future too. The Hiawathata Club trails spread over 36,000 acres and you rarely ever see anyone else---but yet, if you seek human company that is never far away and the people are loving and friendly and HAPPY. I know all sorts of folks here now, and what's amazing to me is that whether they are poor or rich they are overall very happy to be here and live life. If you are hungry and poor you can still go out and catch or shoot something. Maybe that's what does it, knowing there is always hope and you can live off the land. That's some part of FUN we forget and miss out on living next to a Kohl's and Lowes and a Shopping Mall. Many Blessings, see you soon, Jeff.
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