Family Ties

Tags

communication, family

The importance of family has been prevalent in this past week.  We headed to Indiana for Father’s Day weekend and had a whirlwind couple of days FULL of family.

We started our trip Thursday and headed to Uncle Dick’s in Merrillville, Indiana.

This is my beloved octogenarian Uncle who builds models, winters in Florida and can fix absolutely anything.  He and my Aunt Dee, now on the other side, have been such an instrumental part of my life in so many ways.  From the parties of my youth on our LONG trips to Indiana, to helping me get my first job, to all those family dinners, to now being a favorite landing pad in Indiana, it’s so good to contemplate the support they’ve given.  The drive from his place is a bearable 9 hours or so and it’s always a joy to hear his stories and, usually, share a meal with the cousins as well.  Dawn and Jim have the house next door to him (an amazing old Mafia mansion) and that is the family gathering place. Karen and all her family sometimes join us too.

From Dickie’s, we headed south to Fran and Ed’s and had some barbeque lunch.  This visit was a bit harder as we realize our dear Ed is still struggling with recovery from recent surgery.  He too has been so instrumental in my last couple decades that it’s hard to imagine life without him.  For now, we’re enjoying every minute we can.  I know that eventually we lose all our loved ones, but it’s still tough when facing the possible imminence of it all.  I am hopeful he’ll perk up but I was grateful to have been able to present him with a Father’s Day poem capturing many of the wonderful memories we’ve made through the years.  It was a bittersweet visit.  Our biggest topic of discussion of late has been The Boy… but we’ll get there.

Steve and Rook ended up meeting us at Fran and Ed’s for a quick visit and then we all headed off to meet Steph for dinner at that wonderful restaurant I discovered on my last visit to Indiana, El Sabor Catracho.  They have the most delicious Honduran food!  Their Papusas are my new favorite thing.  You can see my Yelp Review here: https://www.yelp.com/biz/el-sabor-catracho-indianapolis?hrid=0pw8XrO5J8Lhdyl-DGZTjQ

We headed to Steph and Steve’s for the night and the next morning were helping them move a little furniture and organize in their new house.  It was a thrill to see Rookie with his Swiffer – he’s a keeper!  🙂 And our boy Studley is doing so much better now that he’s settled in his new place.

We headed back by Fran and Ed’s for another hug and kiss or two and then up to our friends’ 50^th birthday party in Lafayette.  J-Pop and Ronnie Bob turned 50 this month and had a HUGE gathering to celebrate.  Jacqueline aka J-Pop (her “Jersey” name – don’t you love FB?) used to work with me at SDI and we were like peas in a pod and keep in touch still.  It’s so nice when co-workers become “family”.  We were able to also spend a bit of time with a few old co-workers of mine and friends Beth and Rick & Carla who we met through Jacqueline.  New friends Stephanie and Billy were a hoot, as was Greg/Fred.  The old friends are all looking younger than ever, though Jacqueline and Ron were fighting injuries that were making them feel all of their 50 years.

Sunday was the main reason for our trip.

Danny’s Mom’s family has a tradition of celebrating with a family reunion on Father’s Day each year.  We attended several of them in the years we lived in central Indiana and his relations always made Tom and me feel like we had been there all along.  Melvin and Maxine, Dale and Mary, Kim and Annette, Wayne when he was around, Charmy pulling me under her wing, Dave chatting Tom up about Purdue… well, just everyone snuggled us into the family in such a loving way.  This year was the 100^th Annual Black Family Reunion and we’d had it on our calendar to attend for 2 years as it was also to be the final reunion.  Families had spread out, grown into other things, and the recent reunions had dwindled to a handful or two of mostly the older folks.  But this one last time, we were going to get together and celebrate the giant family that originated with Charles and Lottie Black.  Danny’s Mom was a Black and his dad used to go back home to Arkansas and tell all his friends that he’d gone to Indiana and married a Black girl.  His uncle Kenny, when we met him in Las Vegas years back, would joke that he’d get pulled over by the police because they were always “picking on a Black man”.  And when I tell people I’m going to Danny’s Black Family Reunion, I always get a second glance.  I’m happy to be a part of the Black Family and I am pretty sure we also have some black in our family.  I’m especially proud of that.  One of my favorite old photos is of a store in Crawfordsville, Indiana that a forefather of mine owned and it had a sign out front noting “Colored” being welcome, which at that time was a real controversy.  I am glad my family was on the right side of it… inclusion.

The 100^th Annual Black Family Reunion was much the same as its predecessors in that we had the long table of food with several noodle dishes, mashed potatoes, salads & sandwiches, and loads of desserts.  (Thanks for Jacqueline for saving my bacon on bringing a dish to share!)  Charmy had brought multiple dozens of the sugar cookies Grandma Black used to make and I hear they were delish. Someone had also arranged to have a big bowl of the pink candies that Grandpa Black used to always have in his pocket for you.  They still make them!  And Mary provided ice cream for all so that was a nice cool treat on what turned out to be a scorcher.  We’d rented the air-conditioned building instead of our normal open-air barn and that turned out to be a brilliant idea!  We also had some new things like old Super 8 video that had been converted to DVD and was playing throughout the day; the wedding dress and suit Charles and Lottie had worn, even his bowler and cane (and you wouldn’t believe the weight of that suit!); old family photos and some chalk paintings Grandma Lottie had done for all her kids & grandkids; and a big family tree where everyone could put their leaves to show the family members in attendance for each of the Black kids.  Olive was at the top as she’d not had children but each of the other eight branches had someone representing.  Lottie and Kenneth at the top had the fewest with 2 and 4, respectively.  [Dan is part of Kenneth’s line and besides us, I believe it’s just Brenda (Kenny’s wife) and her son Keb and his family.  There are some kids of Jack’s too but I don’t know if anyone knows who or where they are these days. Jack was kind of the black sheep, so to speak, and a bit of a player.  Always wish I’d had a chance to meet him but he was gone before my time.  The only member of Dan’s immediate family that I got the chance to meet was his dad, Earnest.  But he’s been gone for going on a decade now.]  Vera had 11, Marie had 13, Iona had 15, while the big three were Ethel (27), Charles T. (28), and Madge (39).  Tom and Celia were there with us and she made quite the impression on Dale ~ Danny said she was charming his socks off!  We were able to see Danny’s Mom and a couple shots of his brother and went home with a couple rare old photos.

From the Reunion, we headed over to the Flora Cemetery to see the many family graves.  This is where Dan’s family headstones are, though his won’t be among them.  There is so much history in this little graveyard.  So many old stories.  Dan shares a few with me.

Then we head to Tom’s apartment for a discussion on how his job search is progressing.  It was good to have some time to talk with him and Celia.  Each visit I get a bit more time with her and she’s turning out to be quite impressive.  It’s obvious she is adorable and sweet when you first meet her but taking time to hear her logical arguments and accurate perspectives makes you realize this isn’t just some cutie pie but a very intelligent and thoughtful woman he’s found.  I am very happy that they have each other as they make this transition into adulthood.  Leaving college for the world of work is a major life change and I’m hopeful they will complete this transition with as much success as they have had thus far along their paths.  It was really impressive reading the letter of recommendation Tom received from the CGT Department Head.  He was an exemplary student and a major help to their department.  I am so proud.

We headed North back to Dickie’s for the evening and, when we called with an ETA, he said to come to Dawn’s.  We did as we were told, even though driving past his house we noted the garage light at the last moment indicating we’d probably just missed him coming home and would not find him at Dawn’s.  It was good to see her and Jim and have a few minutes to talk.  With all that we had gone through this weekend, having a talk with my (very slightly) older relation gave me a chance for some feedback and perspective.  She also shared a story I’d forgotten… about her bringing Gramma to our place in Ohio when I was young.  She’d taken Rob and me to the amusement park and given Gramma an opportunity to see us that she wouldn’t have had.  Grandpa had died early, likely from workplace exposure to toxins, when my dad was still a teen. Gramma was always old in my mind but looking back I can see that she wasn’t as old as I’d thought when I was a kid.  She definitely grew older over the years and I remember watching her grow more frail.  I was living near her in Northwest Indiana at her life’s end and was able to visit her at the nursing home and have some time with her.  I was in the hospital with her the day she passed.  Not the moment she passed, though Dawn and Karen and Dick and Dee all were as I recall.  But the day.  I remember her being incoherent that last day while I was there in her hospital room.  My entire visit was spent talking with other family who were present.  But as I walked out that door to leave, clear as a bell she said, just like the old days, “Love ya’, Jay.”  I stutter-stepped at the door and called back, “I love you too, Gramma.”  But I didn’t go back and give her a kiss.  I have always regretted that.  Not taking that one last opportunity.  It was an important lesson… to listen to my gut when I feel like taking an opportunity to express myself with others… so I don’t miss a chance to let them know I love them.  To share the appreciation I have for them.  To let them know how they have made a difference to me.  I still miss opportunities today, but not nearly as often as I might.

Brother Rob even made it into the weekend as he texted me that he had received his birthday present in the mail from Mom and me.  🙂

It’s amazing how full this trip was with Family.  We were able to see many but not all of our birth and chosen family and checked in with many we didn’t see in person.  And for us, it’s all Family.  Friends and Co-workers are just as much Family to us as the blood relations.  These people we love, whose stories we cherish, with whom we have made many memories… this is what life is all about.  Sharing love and life and happiness.  Supporting each other through troubles and pain and sadness.  Reveling in the joys and holding each other through the difficulties.  These are the people that make this trip around the universe worth every single minute.

Bees!

Tags

cooperation, living local, local food, simplicity, sustainability

I am Super excited to report this week on my opportunity to learn from a very experienced beekeeper. 🙂 Lewis Struthers, of Parkers Prairie, has been working with bees for over 65 years now and while his brothers are large-scale operators, he does a fair “hobby” business with his 15 yards.  For those of you who don’t know bees, I learned that a really good hive can produce 100# of honey in a good season.  So, with an average of 10 hives per yard, his 15 yards could garner 15,000# of honey!!  Lewis was explaining harvest time and told me he runs quite a few 5# jars (the biggest seller) and then he fills 600# barrels.  It was mind boggling.  But I can now attest that the difference in an empty Super and a partially filled Super is quite obvious.  What’s a Super?  We’ll get that shortly… Here’s Lewis!

When Lewis recently offered to share a beekeeping trip with me, I was thrilled.  As we began our afternoon, it was like he was speaking a different language and my brain struggled with comprehension.  He’s lived a life of bee-speak and talked quickly about drones, frames and excluders while I listened trying to translate all the terminology into sense.  By the end of the day, I was really picking it up but I’m sure I missed much of his explanation as I was lost in translation.  So, here’s a little overview to help you – granted, I may have some of this wrong!  (Feel free to comment below with corrections!)

The Hive box contains the bees and the reproduction areas, as well as some honey storage area.  It’s a wooden box about 15” x 20” with 10 hanging frames that are about 1” thick, 15” across and 9” deep.  There is a little spacer between each frame and a space at the bottom for bee bodies.  Each frame has a centerline divider (wood or plastic) with a raised honeycomb pattern on which the bees will build wax comb to hold honey and new bees.  The Excluder is a wire frame placed between the Hive box and the Supers to keep the brooding (bee baby making) out of the Super, which you hope to be full of just honey.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7NjjbVifUM

The Excluder looks like a cookie cooling sheet or a mini oven rack except that it’s completely flat.  The wire sections are too small for the queen and drones to pass through but allow the worker bees to pass into the upper sections where honey is made.  The Super is similar to the Hive box except it’s only about 6” deep instead of ~9.5” deep.  If you are lucky enough to exclude the queen, you will end up with pure honeycomb filled with honey, no bee babies.  We did find one hive with Supers full of baby production but we could not locate that queen for our lives!

There are also bottom boards and inner covers which are at bottom and top of the box, respectively.  This time of year, the bottom boards are sometimes replaced with a screen frame which gives more ventilation to the bees and allows better moisture removal from the honey.  We put in about a half dozen of these screen bottoms in the two yards we visited.  Each Hive Box is covered with a metal top that keeps water out of the hive.

I thought I was adorably punny when I noted to Lewis that this trip was Super fun! 🙂

Lewis and I visited two of his local bee yards in Alexandria and Carlos.  The two yards are in quite different locations, one in thigh high grass and one in a clearing in the woods.  It was interesting to see the differences and similarities in these locations.  We found mice, spiders and ants in both but only the woods location had me getting mosquito bites.  And yes, I’m sure it’s on your mind…. Did you get stung?  Well, I did.  As did Lewis.  So we both killed a bee.  😦   My sting was an avoidable mishap and I knew it was coming.  Lewis had handed me a frame so I could see the weight of the honey and, at the last moment, I saw the bee at the ear where I was taking hold of the frame.  (Ears are little ledges at the tops of the frames that hold them at the top ridge of the hive box.)  It wasn’t as bad as I thought it might be, but I knew I’d been stung.  Video is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PG2kQZ3KAwQ

Yes, I was filming at the time.  I was able to quickly brush the stinger from the tip of my finger and then stick my finger in my mouth to try to suck out the poison deposited there.  I was typing pretty well with this finger the next day but it was still a bit sensitive and the first day had a swollen, warm feeling in the first section of that index finger for several hours.  By day two, there was little remnant of the issue.  Lewis’ sting happened at the second yard as we were dealing with some quite peeved bees.  One got him on his index finger and he brushed the bee away at the moment.  Driving back to my car later, he couldn’t recall which finger had been stung as he’d had no reaction to the sting. He says you acclimate to it.

When we arrived at the first yard, I felt a little in the way, standing and watching Lewis work.  I asked him to let me know if I could help and he said, “You’re here to learn today, not to work.”  Ten minutes later, he’d changed his mind as I jumped in to help find screen bottoms in the various piles hidden in the grass. Once he saw I was ready to assist, he was glad to have the help.  I was able to do only a small portion of the work but it gave me a sense of the tasks and helped me to see that this IS something I could do.  Granted, I’d be looking at one hive, not the hundreds that Lewis manages!  I’m hoping to get out later in the season with him to see more aspects of the operation and, hopefully I’ll be able to assist at harvest and see the ins and outs of honey processing.

One thing that surprised me was the simplicity of his operation.  He uses very few tools and equipment.  We each wore a bee hat (kind of like a safari hard hat) covered with a veil – a square meshed netting that sits atop the hard bee hat and protects your face and neck by creating a rectangle around that area.  Netting hangs down from the veil frame and the strings at the bottom of the netting are pulled tight and tied around the chest to prevent bees from getting under the veil, which would not be a good thing!

With regard to the hives, everything was very simple.  Wooden boxes, simple screen bottoms, wire excluders, and metal/wood cover tops.  Wooden frames, some with chewed holes – darn mice!  A small metal pry-bar Lewis used to open the boxes and pull frames apart for inspection.  [Everything the bees touch becomes waxed together.]  And a smoker, a critical piece of equipment that helps keep the bees calm.  Just a can with wood chips and a little grass, stopped up with a Kleenex between yards to prevent it getting too smoky, squeezed gently and occasionally as we worked through the hives.  At one point we found a frame with a broken ear and Lewis installed a metal replacement ear which he nailed on with 4 small nails making the frame good as new.  Nothing fancy.  It felt very unintimidating compared with some of the high tech bee suits and hive paraphernalia I’ve seen on TV, YouTube, and Google.  In this photo below you see: the Excluder screen leaning on a Super, the Smoker, a Hive Box partially filled with Frames, and a few Frames outside the box.

We first looked at the “nukes”, new 4-frame hives that Lewis was hoping had developed queens (photo below).  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NwGwPvEggE&spfreload=10  When we found queens, we were able to transfer these frames into fully-framed hive boxes, typically adding a brood frame from a stronger hive.  Lewis noted that the bees on the brood frames we placed in the new hives would find their way back to their home hives but the brood cells would be left in place and these bees would hatch and become part of the new colony.  Giving these young queens a head start with brood cells gives the hive a fighting chance at making their way to being a strongly producing colony.  I believe these new colonies he lets keep all their honey the first year, hoping for good production in the following year.

In order to find good brood frames, we looked through the stronger, more productive hive boxes and this gave us a chance to check the progress on these colonies.  Often we would add an Excluder and a Super or two as this is the heavy production time of year for his girls.  Lewis made clear several times that it is the GIRLS who do all the work and he has a great respect for them, both in the bee world and the human realm!  Here’s a little video on workers and queens.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSsjcQ8X7mY  And, yep, that’s me holding that frame!!

Lewis showed me the comb with honey which looks like black water as it reflects in the sunlight.  We could also see pollen stored in some cells.  Then there were egg cells, larvae cells and capped brood cells (which look kind of like capped honey cells to this Nube).  The freaky stuff are the drone cells, which are like yellow mushrooms exploding from the comb ~ puffy topped cells, and the queen cells which hang off perpendicular to the comb and are really large, reminding me of morel mushroom tops.  The queens are not too difficult to find, especially once Lewis points them out to you…  After finding my first queen pretty readily, thereafter I mistook drones for queens, even though Lewis was constantly reminding me that “drones are like fat beer belly guys” while queens have an enlarged and elongated abdomen.  The Young Virgin Queens (queens that may have mated but not yet produced brood cells) are especially hard to find as they are smaller than more developed queens.  Some queens have yellow abdomens while others have black abdomens and, while not a rule, if you see black drones, you will likely see a black abdomen queen.  I still never really picked out a second queen on my own but if Lewis told me he saw one, occasionally I could find her too.

Most of the bees we saw were worker bees with some frames having quite a few drones.  We saw some workers with legs full of pollen.  I told him they reminded me of little motorcycles with saddle bags, which I think tickled him.  When colonies were less productive, the frames were less populated with bees.  Full production hives had loads of bees and much activity.

The day was a bit overcast and the bees were quite mellow.  Lewis noted that this was a bit unusual as they were usually happiest when it was sunny and work was in progress.  But I was glad to have happy bees.  There is a difference when they are mad ~ they will have a higher pitched buzz and come at you more aggressively (though still pretty lamely).  At the first yard we had one or two times when the bees seemed a bit more stirred up.  They had a more high-pitched buzzing sound, definitely like they were warning us to leave.  I would occasionally just stop and wait for them to calm.  The big key was moving deliberately and not too quickly.  Slow and steady wins the day.  Each time Lewis would open a new hive box, he would smoke a bit, then pry the top off slowly.  When he would remove the first frame, he would go quite slowly and smoothly.  Once he was prying frames apart, he would move a bit quicker but that first frame was slow and steady every time.

As we left the first yard, Lewis stopped to show me a hive box tied up in a tree.  This is an empty box that he has available in case of swarm.  It won’t really help a swarm at this yard as bees typically go more than 2 miles away to find a new hive when they swarm.  But he did catch a swarm last year in this box so sometimes a colony from elsewhere will come find new digs in these extra boxes.  He has a yard about 3 miles away so, if those bees swarm, there is a chance he’d catch his own colony at the close-but-not-too-close location.

He showed me at the second yard which was located in a clearing in the forest.  This was much darker and cooler, which resulted in mosquito attacks on arrival.  There was even a mouse brave enough to have made a home in the top of one of the hive boxes – he was not home… probably heard us approach.  We destroyed his home and found a few mice in the pile of screens and covers.  They’re quick but a few were not quick enough. 😦

The work here went quicker.  Partly because there were not quite as many productive hives and partly because I was a little more trained.  We took time here for me to pull apart a box to look for developed brood.  Here’s my video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWlKsYOpYos You can see here the little gear we wore (no gloves), the simple tools (pry bar) and equipment (wooden boxes).  I was amazed at my calm in participating in this work.  I found that the bees were not as scary as I thought.  Though we did find one colony which appeared queenless and thus, was not quite as calm and content.  This was the hive where Lewis was stung and he was able to add a queen cell to hopefully bring them a new leader.  Here’s a video of him placing the queen cell: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAydYQQlyG8

I had an enjoyable day helping Lewis with his ladies.  It was a great learning experience.  I am hopeful for the possibility that I can keep bees in the future.  And that Lewis will keep showing me the ropes as I learn more and, in turn, provide a bit more help for him on our visits!  You might want to try some of his honey… it’s yummy!  http://www.honey.com/honey-locator/profile/struthers-honey

Northern Fun!

Tags

fun, living local, Volunteering

What a week full of unexpected fun!!  From chipmunks to virtual reality, we found ourselves enjoying the most unexpected of pleasures.

In the midst of putting in the lake pump, we saw a delay in getting water to the spigots and headed down the steps to check for leaks in the line.  As we started into the woods, we heard a scurrying to the right and looked over to see a couple of chipmunks “wrestling”.  It was adorable.  There was a bark platform on which they were rolling around and we watched as they wiggled and twined together through the woods, chasing and catching, rolling on their little bed of bark.  Dan finally went to get the camera but were too late to catch anything too risqué.  Just as he was heading to get the camera, I heard the water squirting from the spigot.  Our wonderful distraction kept us from fretting over the plumbing and meanwhile, the problem remedied itself!  While we missed much of the playful time in the woods, we did get some great shots of the little guys and girls up at the patio, along with a good video of some dragonfly eating: https://youtu.be/mENwj8voPx4

We headed to The Cities Friday for the Northland Rec Lab Board meeting on Saturday.  With construction season in full bloom (Indiana and Minnesota both share the concept of two seasons… winter and construction), we decided to take the back roads and wound through Meire Grove, Paynesville, Eden Valley, Annandale, Buffalo and more headed towards Uptown.  The country drive was a lovely one with rolling hills of green. We arrived in Minneapolis and enjoyed the remarkable diversity.  Apparently, the neighborhood just north of where we stayed is the most diverse neighborhood in the country!  So many people of varying shades, hipsters to young families, old folks and young.  An array of smells to make your mouth water as we cruised down Nicollet’s eatery row.  We spent a relaxing evening at a super new AirBnB.  Headed to the Midtown Global Market for a bite late and saw some amazing mosaic sculptures made by an artist friend of my artist friend Laura Burlis.  http://lolaartistsmn.blogspot.com/2014/07/laura-burlis-turns-polymer-clay-into.html

Saturday had me headed to the Board Meeting while Dan enjoyed another trip to Northern Sun (he was so proud of the title he came up with for this blog which plays on the name of this favorite of stores…) and some sightseeing in Uptown.  He found the Trader Joe’s (a must stop when we get to Minneapolis) and new hangout, Peace Coffee.  We enjoyed a wonderful potluck after the Board Meeting at Roxanne’s – what a lovely place she has!  We even got to meet her two fancy kitties, Hannah and Zoey.  They were long-haired beauties but very pissed at being in Kitty Jail all day while the humans played in their house.  Hissy and pretty scary, we kept our distance as needed to avoid a smack.  But I snuck in a couple pets while Hannah sat on Mom’s lap. 🙂

Our friend Kathy Bahaug had mentioned that she was volunteering at the Northern Spark event that evening so Laura, Dan and I headed toward the Mill City Museum – the old Gold Medal Flour plant, now housing history and art displays.  We found Kathy making the most of her volunteering time!  Northern Spark had a Climate Change theme this year with wonderful CG interactive displays (didn’t get a photo of that, sorry, Tom and Celia!) and loads of other exhibits.  This is a dusk to dawn event and we arrived early enough to get on the front end of the line for the Virtual Reality display.  We were on swiveling chairs and could look all around at the various parts of the video.  I watched a documentary category video called Hard World for Small Things by Janicza Bravo depicting a day in the life of a tight-knit community in South Central Los Angeles. Cast included: Keith Stanfield, Brandon Scott, Hannah Heller, Idara Victor, Jodie Smith.  Well done. It was very interesting to experience VR.  With an apt name, it definitely feels very real.

Dan wanted to sit on the balcony at the Guthrie so we headed there next.  As we strolled, we passed:

• a silhouette puppet show with Indonesian music in the courtyard of the Mill Ruins
• Aniccha Arts display “Census”
• a view of the river and bikes and food trucks along the way
• a video of melting glaciers projected onto the flour silos with silhouettes of us passersby below
• the Making the Best of It: Dandelion display where you could see the Gut God giving blessings https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJMnG_h6WBw & https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtP99uwZl0Y

There were people EVERYWHERE!  So fun to be in the city amidst such vibrant crowds.  We made it to the Guthrie and headed up the elevator to the 5^th floor where we encountered displays of Bee Honeycomb, Lino Block Printing, and an explanation of the making of Batik cloth.  We arrived at the balcony and it was such a beautiful evening.  Warm but not sticky.  A breeze stirring all around.  Dark but loads of city lights.  We wandered more through the Guthrie, finally taking a rest in some unoccupied chairs overlooking the river view where Laura and Dan took a photo of themselves floating.  We were so grateful that Laura talked us into heading into downtown for the evening.  She says this town is wonderful for young people.  There are bikes everywhere and loads of bike friendly roads.  And she says that the Vikings are hiring at the new stadium… hear that, Tom & Celia!?!?  😉

Trips to the Harn

Tags

sustainability

This is a proud new papa!!

Now that the weather has warmed up, it’s time to head to the Harn every chance we get to continue work on the homestead project.  I still have yet to go to the Harn all on my own.  Dan has spent multiple trips on his own up to the Harn, in the summer/fall of 2013 spending a total of 3 months there prepping our homestead.  He also has gone up in the dead of winter, to farm-sit for our friends.  On one February trip, he arrived at the Harn to find the drive plowed over and ended up shoveling snow at the roadside for a day just to get a space big enough to get the Toyota off the county road and into our driveway.  He often tells this story noting that he quickly gave up shoveling to get the car to the Harn and just tried shoveling a walkway so he could trek in supplies.  He had trekked in the day before realizing he’d never get the car all the way to the Harn.  So the plan was to grab a sled at Sara and Paul’s, get the car off the road, and shovel a path so he could sled things in to the Harn.  He’d gotten almost to the turn in the drive (less than halfway) on this sunny day when he looked up, saw a vulture circling, and realized… this is how people die in Minnesota.  No one could have been happier than Danny that someone had lost a bale of hay near our drive a few days earlier, not even the guy coming to get it with his tractor!  This guy also pushed out the drive for Dan in a matter of minutes.  Dan paid him twice his asking price.  Worth every penny.

When I think back to Dan’s time alone at the Harn, I speculate that it must be an awesome adventure to be on your own in such a space of isolation.  We’ll see if I can find some time this summer to get in a solo trip.  Maybe we can find a way for Dan or me to hitch a ride with friends Alice and Dave who live in Alex too and also have a place just a few miles down the road from us up here.  Or maybe Mom and Tom will want to come up to Itasca for a visit.  We’ll get ‘er done sooner or later!  For now, I’m glad to be making more progress.

On the mid-April trip, we worked on the garage area, getting a pallet floor in place for a workshop space.  We’ve been walking around wood stacks in the workshop area of the Harn for years, moving things repeatedly, and not being able to find things.  Freeing up the trapped space between piles of materials, and installing a workshop floor and some shelves for storage, will make a huge difference moving forward.  We have been pretty lucky finding pallets to date.  It’s amazing the many places we’ve found use for them.  We just need time to get time to complete all the projects we can foresee!

The late May trip to the Harn, we were able to get our kitchen framed out in large part.  We also added one more row of pallets for a larger floor space in the workshop and having that clear space for a work table and the chop saw was really helpful as we cut wood for our latest projects.  In short order, we’d made a cabinet (the counter top was a street find from our old neighborhood in Indiana) and high shelves for storage above the fridge.  It’s not pretty construction but it’s sturdy!  I was able to unpack a dozen or so boxes from Indiana marked “Kitchen” and get things a bit organized.  Some of what I found I wondered why we even decided to move.  I’m pretty sure we just won’t ever use some of this stuff.  But I figure we’ll keep it for now and figure out later how much we still need to downsize once we’re settled.  Here’s the video for the kitchen project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNwupuYTC6E

On this trip to the Harn we noted on the way up and back: 1 ring necked pheasant, 2 turkeys, 2 black bear, and one herd of cattle.  Yes, a herd of cattle.  As Dan and I sat on the porch Friday evening, he asked if I heard that sound… “it sounded like a mating call.”  I listened and, sure enough, the sound came again and I said, “Yeah, that sounds familiar.” Dan noted, “It sounds kind of man-made though, like a duck call or something.”  We both listened intently again, and on hearing it the third time, simultaneously, we both realized it was the sound a police car makes when it wants to get your attention.  We decided to walk out to the road and see what was happening.  As we neared, we could hear people talking and we walked faster.  Dan said it sounded like maybe someone was stuck in the ditch.  As we rounded the bend at the south end of the drive, we could see flashing reds and blues through the tree line.  We noted a Sheriff driving past the drive slowly in the right lane and shortly after, we saw a white Animal Control truck with flashing lights follow past in the left lane.  We thought of the two black bear we’d seen coming through the park and re-thought our idea of being out there as “intelligent”.  And we hiked a little faster toward the road.  On arrival, we looked south and saw no one remaining, then looked north and saw the Sheriff on one side and the Animal Control on the other and, in-between, trotting up the road, about 15 head of cattle.  Who’d have thunk it!!  Danny was mimicking the cows:  “Dude, they’re still back there!” “Keep moving.  Pretend you don’t see them.”  “But I can see the flashing lights!” 🙂  The biggest worry we had was for the southbound motorist cresting the hill and running into a herd of cows!  Hopefully they arrived safely at their destination.

The latest trip had us finishing details on the kitchen (we found a few more “Kitchen” boxes we’d missed last time) and starting work on the bathroom.  We also did some more planting as our friend Char gave us a Nanking Cherry to start our orchard plantings!  She’s a hero to me as a woman who raises beautiful gardens and amazing livestock, plus she’s a crafter!  I’m hoping to learn much from her over the next few years.  Dan & I first met her when we stopped years ago at Char’s Yarn Basket – her yarn, knitting, and crocheting shop just south of our place.  This shop is beautiful and if you’re ever near Itasca, you should stop for some yarn or knitting needles.

We enjoyed more porch sitting Friday evening after pinning all the freshly made kitchen curtains and coverings for their final measures.  So many frogs still keeping chorus and it stays light so late we had plenty of time to enjoy the trees.  Up the next morning, I continued unpacking boxes and organizing.  Found some things for give away and garage sale and got some clothes put away on the shelves in the bedroom.  And we moved a lot of garage stuff into the garage… slowly making this look less like a construction site and more like a home.  Dan made coffee with Paul’s North Shore Blend beans. Yum.  So delish!

We played with the bathroom door to figure out how to hang it.  It’s a sliding barn door concept that we’re rigging ~ made from a $5 Restore door and a metal track donated by our carpenter friend Gary Anderson.  We had purchased three cabinets from the Restore as well – total of $50 and, while we will have a little cleanup on two of them, believe it or not, we will be able to get all three into the small 4’ x 6’ space!  It’s gonna be pretty cool once we’re all done.  And our whole bathroom build will be <$1000 for plumbing, walls and everything.  As an early Father’s Day gift, I organized Dan’s fastener drawer in his toolbox and it now looks great.  No more digging for a screw or nail.

Sunday I was up at 6:15 and, lucky me, had a wonderful experience…  As I walked into the clearing, I heard noises from the brush pile area and headed that way only to have Bambi (our female grouse) jump down from a tree.

She was still up pretty high in the tree.  I stood on the porch for a while looking out the door and soon I saw a fox coming through the woods from the back property line.  It was surreal as the fox was coming from the same place I’d seen a fox walk TO in the fall of 2015.  It seemed like the coat was not so full on this one.  I watched as the fox headed to the back of the brush pile where we thought there might be a den.  I waited to see if it came around and didn’t see much until a small head popped up on top of the brush pile.  It was a young pup biting at the brush!  He (I assume) went down the pile and headed into the clearing where he was surprised by a stick under his foot.  He was oblivious to my observation and looked carefree.  Then his nose when into the air like he could smell my scent and he headed into the woods.  I watched as he went south, wandering to and fro through the trees.  It was amazing to see.  I had no camera and didn’t want to move to get Dan so, once again, I am the undocumented observer.  Well, Bambi saw me.  The weirdest thing was that when the pup went behind the hill, she flew from the tree above him toward the Harn porch, trying to roost at the roof line just above my head at the screen door.  Finding no purchase, she flew off again to a high tree to the west.  Not sure what that meant but seeing this young pup was a wonderful way to start the day.  Even if it does mean a fox den near where we hoped to put the chicken coop…

I unpacked boxes and moved books.   The hope is to clear the main room and try to get more trim and lighting finished there.  As Dan and I were taking a break and talking through work to be done, we heard bikes on CR 2.  It sounded like a TON of bikes.  Thinking after a minute of continuous roar, we should head to the road and see them, we jumped in the car – thinking we’d see the tail end as they’d been going past for a couple minutes by this time.  As we reached the road, we could see bikes flying past.  Dozens of them!  Maybe 150 bikes went past while we watched.  Again, no camera!!   We didn’t have any idea how many we’d missed but you could see bikes as far as the horizon from north to south.  Crazy.  Super fun.  And it turned out to be over 450 bikes total.  http://www.bemidjipioneer.com/news/local/4048086-updated-record-breaking-ride-more-600-take-part-ride-troops

On the way back into the Harn, we noticed Bambi ambling across the drive.  She NEVER ambles, always darting quickly when she sees us.  As we slowed for her, we spotted her 4 babies!!  They are little balls of fluff!  So tiny.  Several wonderful little parades we’ve had at the Harn over the last couple weeks. 🙂

The best part of being at the Harn is how peaceful I feel. Even when I’m feeling overwhelmed by all the stuff or the work ahead of us, it’s still a peaceful feeling being here.  Just stopping to sit on the porch and listen to the trees babble in the breeze or catching the call of a Sandhill in the clearing out back… it puts my mind at ease.  And seeing the new wildlife was a real treat.  Should be a productive summer with the next big plan being getting water installed.  One step at a time I guess.