Fall is in the Air

I opened my back door this morning to check the temperature (mostly to see how many layers I have to wear), and do you know what I smelled?  Fall!  That crisp, cool scent of fall.  So refreshing.

Color Report

When I walk or bike along the trails, I look on path and see golden maple leaves, crimson maple leaves and brown oak leaves.  Just above the ground, the thimbleberry leaves are yellow, the bilberry bushes are spotty with purple and red and the ferns are brown.  Then I look up to the trees, and the leaves are still green.  Green.

Even up on Brockway Mountain the other day, I would say only 5% of the leaves are not green.  It's going to be longer than I thought!

All is well.  I have a book signing at the Laughing Loon tomorrow from noon to 2pm.  Come get your book signed!  Oh wait.  You are such a loyal reader that you already have a signed copy.  Well, then.  Wish me luck!

Brockway Nose Job: Complete!

Since May, the nose of Brockway has been under reconstructive surgery.  Now it is finally finished!  I went up to check her out the other day.  The doctors did a nice job.  I was expecting her to look a little more glamorous, but they kept her simple, just like the rest of the Keweenaw.

If you want, you can see her when this all started at this link.  Just a little reminiscing.

Here she is in all her glory.  The picture below is the view I can see from my front porch.  I kept the nose in the middle.

The great wall of Brockway as seen from town

Here are some pictures from the site itself.

The reconstructed nose in full view

My parents are modeling for me, but the way.  Just fabulous, dahling.

A closeup of the railings

The two stair cases

Not bad, eh?  You could have a little picnic up there, and watch the town go by.  But pick up your trash because I didn't see any garbage cans yet.  Oh, and keep off the grass!  Ha ha ha.

Now come on up and see it for yourself.  I'll keep up with a color report for the leaves, so you can plan your next trip.  So far, not much has changed since I last reported except the temperature, the wind and the clouds.  Ooh, it feels so fally!  I am looking forward to it.

Drying off with a Wet Towel

We made it.  Labor Day Weekend 2012 is behind us.  I am alive and loving life.  Whew!

After my nine day stretch of bartending at the Harbor Haus, I got Sunday and Monday off.  Sunday was the trail's clubs Bell's Beer Copper Harbor Trails Festival.  It was big.  You couldn't get a room in town.  Nearly 500 racers rode through the rocks and dust of the cross country race in addition to the kid's race and the enduro.

The party in the park was awesome.  We drank 26 kegs of Bell's beer (and some of it was 10% abv).  The band, Steppin' In It was fun to dance to even when the power went out on stage.  The weather made a gorgeous summer evening despite a few easterly gusts.  From what I could tell, people were having a good ol' time.  I tell you, that park sure is a great place for a party!

I have to say THANK YOU sooooo much to all the people who helped out before, during and after this event.  Oy, it is a doozy, and we couldn't have done it so well without such a community effort.  And it's over.  Now I just have to finish up the after math including mailing out the raffle prizes.

I have to apologize because I never told you about our raffle.  Shoot.  We had over $20,000 in prizes including CH vacation packages, Trek bikes, bike parts and a teardrop trailer from TC Teardrops.  Only two winners were present to win, so I got to call everybody else yesterday and tell them that they won.  I could do that as a job -- tell people they won something.  

The winner of the trailer was a special treat.  He called me back after he got my message, half shocked. And do you know what the first thing he told me was?  How much he loves my blog!  He really gets it.  I was flattered.  The next thing he told me struck me too: he didn't even mean to win the trailer.  He signed up so he could support the trails club.  I told him it was good karma.  He will find a good use for it, I'm sure.

I have another classic Amanda story for you.  Yesterday I took Duce down to the shore by the Harbor Haus to jump in Lake Superior.  I left my dress and towel on the side of a big rock where I carefully crawled in.  The temperature of Her Majesty took a little getting used to, but well worth the patience.  I swam around, calling Duce to come swimming with me.  He likes Fanny Hooe better, and didn't budge, but I treaded around while he pranced along the shore.

At 8 am that morning, I must have been sleeping deeply because I didn't hear the Queen IV go out to Isle Royale.  I just didn't think it went out that day (nor can I keep track of the days).  But I heard her diesel engines churning beyond Porter's Island during my swim, so I knew not to swim too far out.  She always cuts close to the Harbor Haus while the servers wave and dance the can can.

After the Queen cruised past us, I noticed her wake splashing over the big rock my towel and dress were on.  Now, I don't swim for speed, but when I envisioned my dry clothing being whisked out to sea, I front crawled like a shark was on my heels.  (You got to watch out for those Superior sharks anyway.)  Soon I saw my towel still in place, just brighter in hue.  Oh well, at least I don't have to find it!  The wake was so much fun to bounce with that I decided just to play in it while I had the chance.  I love bounding with the rollers.  It's as invigorating as mountain bike shuttle runs.

I went back to the shore to entice Duce in for a swim.  Finally he came in, but only for a couple minutes.  Maybe because it's shallower there and his paws hit the rocks... I don't know.  Soon enough, I crawled back onto the rock and laid out my dress, hoping it would dry a little before I had to put it on.  I rang a gallon of water out of my towel and sat for a moment in the sunshine.  Even though I would not be dry before I left, there was no place I would rather be.

Confused Plants

There's some flora news I haven't told you about yet this year.  Oh brother.  She's going to talk about the plants again.  Yes, I am, and you're going to relish every word.

As you are already aware, all the plants bloomed two weeks to one month earlier than usual.  But I have found some glitches in the system.  

For one, the buffaloberry never fruited at all.  AT ALL!  I have not seen one single shiny buffaloberry all summer, and I look for them.  The leaves are already starting to brown and crisp up, so I doubt they will still fruit.  Good thing I wasn't relying on them for any special potions this year.  I bet next year will be bountiful.  I'll let you know.

For two, the orange hawkweed and bladder campion are blooming their second time this summer!  They both went to seed in July and early August, but here they are again bright as the hot June sun.  I don't know enough about these two to answer this phenomenon, but I do have a couple thoughts in my little brain.

For three, the common snowberry has produced more fruit than I have seen before.  Maybe it's just because I have found more patches of it, but those white berries are big and juicy.  I even have a bush in my back yard!  Too bad I can't eat those, but I'm sure the birds and other critters will enjoy them.

I can eat the plums, however, and I picked five gallons the other day.  Yeah, just before the bees started buzzing around all the squished ones on the ground.  I've already been stung this summer (like most everyone else I know), so I was out of there in a hurry.

And lastly, I have never seen leaves turn this early.  Granted, it's mostly because they need some rain.  There's a birch down the road that is already completely yellow (at least from where I can see), and those usually turn last!  I've seen a couple deep red maple leaves and some crunchy oak leaves on the ground.  But don't drive up with your camera just yet.  We've got a way to go before peak.

A Little Cloud

Whew.  Here is my break.  It's the slow week of the summer before the last Labor Day week hoo-rah.  And we can feel it.  Business owners and employees are grateful for this little cloud in the sky.  Just as an example, the Harbor Haus usually serves 200 - 270 dinners a night starting in July -- no matter what day of the week it is.  The last couple nights have averaged 130 dinners.  As the person who makes all the drinks for those eaters, I sure enjoy a little down time.

The temp is up to 80 today.  Quite a jump from our previous 60-70's.  Last week we had chilly days from high northwest winds.  Oh, it was so windy that the Isle Royale Queen IV had to shift her schedule around for taking people to and from Isle Royale.  They really pay attention to the wind and waves, those captains do.  Better safe than dead!  Lake Superior isn't generous with second chances. 

I am working on another article for the Copper UP fall edition.  But in the mean time, you can see what I wrote for them in their summer edition at this link.  I have two articles and one half page spread about my book!  How sweet of them.  Well, please enjoy since that is all I have for now.  Miss you!

Capturing this August

It's been too long since I posted any pictures.  So guess what I did this morning!  I biked around (with both hands on the bars) and took some pictures of what I thought captures da Harbor at present.  It's August 9th -- the peak of our summer.

Today is a bit cooler and gray, so I really didn't see as many people roaming, but I found some fitting images.  They are displayed in the order I shot them.

This year's common tansy grows with last year's

My favorite rose bushes by the Welcome Center are turning to hips already

(I sniff them every time I go by)

Plums!

The mint is flowering

A view of the new lookout on Brockway's Nose

Um, apples in August?

The Lighthouse Ferry cruises toward the gap

Chokecherries!

Kayak tour life vests hang out to dry

Geese and ducks float toward the water walkway

The Isle Royale parking lot is packed with cars

(Another reason I go there in May!)

The playground fund is up to $60,000!

Bike and canoe rentals are in full swing

A man checks his iphone with Brickside's wifi connection

(This made me laugh...)

I could have gone farther out of town, but a few sprinkles fell on me, so I headed back.  I had enough fun for the day.

Oh, but here is the best part.  I checked on the jewelweed plants to see if the pods were ready.

Thanks to everyone who introduced themself to me this summer as a reader of my blog.  I am writing for you, you know!

Picking the Nose

I am so grateful that all the berries don't come out at once.  Bils and blues are declining.  Thimbles are peaking (but I have enough of them...).  Chokecherries are huge this year, and I got a couple gallons for making wine this fall.  Whew.  All in due time.  I think the berry rush is pretty much over for me.  I can spend time doing dishes and sweeping up dog fur.  Oh wait, that's in October.

So here is a big Thank You to the great weather and Mother Earth for a wonderful berry season.  I am still picking some around my house for cereal and such.  It's not over, but it's been waaaaay better than last year.  Yee haw.

As for Brockway's nose, I found out that a Federal Highway Grant (I think that's what it's called) was obtained for this project.  The construction project involves a two tiered structure that allows for access to those in wheelchairs on the top level.  It's making this lookout more of a landmark and saving it from crumbling down the side of the cliff.  They are still working up there, and I can see more and more stone from town.

They are also working to rebuild some of the stone walls along the side of the road as part of the project.  Oh, it all makes sense now.  However, I apologize that I forgot some of the details.

Garden Brook Studio is opening up today.   You can find it up Manganese Road at the Garden Brook crossing.  Local artists are featured for their unique crafts and designs.  The grand opening is today from 4-8pm.  I'll be working, but I wish my friends the best!

It is August.  We just had a full moon.  I did sunrise yoga on the porch this morning.  Aaron comes home from a trail project in Duluth tomorrow.  Life is good.  No, life is wonderful.

Wow, I think I need a nap, but I will go to work instead.  I hope you can make some sense of my words.  Toodaloo!