More from the Boundary Waters

 Our campsite!  Very beautiful- with a large rock ledge over the water on 2 sides!

 These little frogs were hopping all over the place at one of the landings. I hope I didn't step on any!

Boundary Waters Trip

 At the end of July, Mom and I went on a 3 day paddling trip in the Boundary Waters.....with Arlo.  Arlo had only been in a canoe twice, so this was going to be a bit of a test and training for him!  He actually did VERY well, unless the flies were biting him....or a big fish jumped right in front of the canoe.  He also really wanted to chase a few dragonflies- so he needed a few reminders.  But, overall, I was pretty impressed with how he did.  He was able to swim at every portage, and I think he had a great time!  We started out at Poplar lake, portaging to Liz Lake, and then to Horseshoe.  We found a really nice campsite there, were we set up a base camp.  We then checked out a couple more lakes that day before retiring for the evening.  Day 2 was our big day!  We checked out Winchill, which was a bit colder, but had great swimming. We continued our cribbage tournament, which we never were able to finish.  Let the record show, that for our tournament, we were tied for games and were working on a tie breaker.  Mom had 60 some points and I had 83....I would have won that game.  Hmm...since we quit there, I guess technically I DID WIN!!

 Day 2 continued with a lot of portages and a different route back- through Jump lake, Allen and a few others.  I guess I would have to look at a map again to remember where we all went.  We were both really tired by the time we got back to camp. Day 3 had us packing up and trying to get out before the rainstorm hit.  We got wet, but paddled ahead of the lightning, and it was nice and sunny again by the time we got back to Poplar Lake.  Seeing as our water filter had taken a dive and wasn't giving us much at all, we stopped right away at Trail Center and got some water and cold pop right away.

 This is Arlo on Day 3.  He was pretty tired by the time we got back- with all the swimming, and chasing squirrels from camp. He slept pretty good on the way home!

We visited some beautiful spots, and the bugs weren't bad at all on this trip.  We had a great time!

A drainfield!

 looks like a bunch of packing peanuts to me....but this is what goes into the drainfield!

 yes, this is the big digger, right inside my orchard.  Amazingly they maneuvered around all my baby trees and they all survived!

A few weeks ago we had our drainfield installed for our septic tank. We had been getting it pumped this last year when it was full- so one less continuous expense to be paid!!  I used my tax refund for this project, and Jim paid the rest- one more thing in place!  Of course now our yard is all ripped up again, but the grass is coming through in spots where it had sand loaded on top, so it is not as bad as it was! 
Close to the same time, we also had a driveway put in! So- come on out and see our place- you won't get stuck anymore =) They used their machines to also smooth out a few areas of our yard, so now the lawn mower can get in more places...hmmm...that would be if the lawn mower was working right now.  With my new weedwhacker I bought this year also on the fritz, I am a bit fed up with my yard right now.  It is turning into a jungle! But, we are paying for things out of pocket, and seeing as I took out no loans on our house, we are doing alright!! I am trying to pay off other loans, so then we can start saving for a bigger house someday!

Touring the Irving

Last month, on our way back from Canada, Jim and I stopped in Duluth and took the tour of the Irving-a cargo ship that was retired about 1979 and now rests in the harbor.  After touring this massive boat, it is hard to believe it was actually retired for being too small compared to the ships that are out there today! It has been about almost 8 years since I have lived in Duluth, but I still miss the sound of the fog horns from these ships out on Lake Superior!

Arlo's Birthday!!

Aww.....he used to be small enough to curl up on my backack!  Well, on August 3rd Arlo officially turned 1 years old, and is no longer a true puppy =(  He is now a short, but very stocky, big headed, beautiful and very sweet dog.

 To celebrate this momentous occasion, Arlo got to go to the river with me and mom, and partake in his favorite activities of chasing dragonflies/ butterflies and swimming.  Afterwards, he received his birthday present from me....his very own ice cream cone!

 It was a big hit.

 Later that night, when Jim got home he got another birthday present- a large raw pork chop.  He was a bit unsure of what to do with this, but eventually figured out how to eat it....very slowly.  I have never had a dog who ate so daintily.

Of course, Arlo had to be sung to on his birthday.  This happened several times, but ended with a duet with Jim on the harmonica and Arlo howling.  Arlo gets very excited about the harmonica and joins in every time.  We find it quite amusing...and now have 3 harmonicas in our house.

Visiting a Canadian Wind Farm

 Jim and I are currently in Thunder Bay, Canada! Jim was hired to install one of his data loggers onto one of the big cranes that are used to put up the turbines.  So, we drove up yesterday, and woke up at 5 am EST to get out to the site, North East of here.  We couldn't get our safety training right away, so we took a very quick visit to visit the "canyon" before 9.  We then got our safety training, got our passes, and headed up the hill to watch a wind tower get put up.

 (where we got our safety training)

 driving to the turbine site

 This is just one of the blades that goes on the turbine.  This picture shows the height well, but doesn't do much to show the 150 foot length.

 one section of the tower

 The site is planning for 48 turbines.  We saw at least 10 already up. I passed one sign today that said "stop the turbines".  I have to wonder specifically what the objection is....as this farm is in an area not open to the public, viewable by any open road, or even heard by anyone not employed at the site.

 The site we were at today.  We watched the generator being placed on the tower, but then nothing else happened....for a VERY long time!  While wind farms look for windy sites, they can't be erected in much wind....and there was too much today, though you wouldn't guess it standing on the ground, because the trouble wind was way up in the air.  So, we waited and waited for it to dies down.....and I worked on something for my brother's wedding =) To get an idea of the scale of this turbine, notice the bright turquise porta potty well in front of the blades on the ground.

 This is the crane Jim was to work on.  We were waiting for them to put up the rotor for the turbine, so then the crane could be boomed down for Jim to do his install.

 Our watching post

 A finished turbine that we visited while waiting....just down the road.

 I got to go inside the tower!

 My pass.  About 7 (almost 12 hours after arriving) it was decided the rotor would not be put up today.  So, we headed back to Thunder Bay and ate at a delicious Japanese restaurant called Wasabi =)  We ate sushi rolls and Pad Thai.....so good!  And our first real meal since an early breakfast, so we were hungry!

Pretty nice place!  Pretty nice fiance! I'm glad I have been able to join Jim yet again on another adventure!