Fort Juniper

Sorry it’s been so long.  I just got back from Christmas in Wisconsin.  Three Christmases in one week.  That’s a lot of wine, cookies and cheese!

The furthest south we went was to my parents’ house in Clintonville.  They had no snow.  The more we drove north, however, the snowier it got.  Watersmeet had quite a bit, and the snowmobilers were flocking.  I saw lots of trailers at the Casino Hotel there.

We even got some snow here!  According to my little shovel, there is 7-10 inches in the woods.  Snowshoeable, but I hiked today.  Mostly because I didn’t realize how much snow fell while I was gone.

We’ve had lots of snowmobilers up here too.  Even on my one block walk to get the mail, I couldn’t keep track of them all.  I’m grateful for the economy boost, but I’ll miss the peace and quiet... and the fresh air.

Today snowed all day.  It just dumped.  So I decided to start building my snow fort as my first adventure back in da Harbor.  The snow was glorious to pack.  I mean, it was bricks and mortar all in one!  Very sticky and sturdy.  I built walls for about four hours today, and this is what I got.

Fort Juniper and my little red shovel.

Fort Juniper, I call it because it’s surrounded by juniper bushes on two sides, and I had to bend back some branches for my west wall.  I thought that I would get tired of packing snow within the first half hour, but my fantasies of sitting in my little fort, blocked from the north winds watching Lake Superior’s waves through the window kept me scooping and patting endlessly.  I only stopped because I noticed the snow was drying out and daylight was fading.

Here is my lake view from the fort.

Look to the back behind the drear, and there is the Lake!

I’m excited to have this secret little hideaway in such a serene spot.  It gives me something to do outside now that I can’t ice skate or snowboard.  But the cross country ski trails just got groomed tonight, so that sounds fun for tomorrow!

Bonus!  A snowy path in da woods.