Another hat and melting

I made Cee Cee a hat.  I put sparkly buttons on her hat.  She came over to visit this week while her Mama took baby sister to the clinic.  She can pile half her toys in her backpack to bring with her.

The hat fits her nicely, it is another Kaldi hat pattern by Tinna. The yarn has a bit of sparkle in it...it is from Hobby Lobby.  I guessed at the size and it fits great! 

The ice melted a bit yesterday. There are broken tree limbs all over town.  The ice tested limb strength.

Far Side

Ice and Cooking

 The lakes still have ice.  It will be a late Ice Out this year unless we get really warm.

This is the West side of Shell Lake.  We went to Detroit Lakes on Friday because the Highway will be under construction all summer. Yes All Summer....I feel sorry for anyone living along the road.

Saturday Far Guy and I made Jambalya...it took us half the day...the other half we went to play cards with Steve and Jo and afterwards we came home for our naps. 

Jambalya and flat bread was supper.  Want the recipe for Jambalya?  He follows the Jambalya video for The Cajun Ninja.  I am just the Sous Chef and part time stirring assistant.  It freezes well and will be enjoyed on nights no one wants to cook.

Got your May Baskets ready?  

Far Side

Last November Day

 We had a quiet day yesterday, I worked on sympathy cards and Far Guy worked on a woodcarving.  Church online was fine...the Pastor read Christmas Hymns. 

On Saturday we went down to the lake to check out the ice...there is some but the lake is not froze over.  It was a pretty day on Saturday and 40 F....Sunday it turned cold, windy and it spit snow all day.

Jen sent a photo of Cee Cee. 

What a doll.

Down at the lake the Cattails are fluffed out.  In these strange times you could collect it and use it for insulation in your shoes if the soles need a little help...you could also use it as diaper material...and if you need a natural cotton ball you could collect a few.

 

Far Side

Minnesota Ice Music

Chance and I went down to the public access to see how the ice was coming along after the warm spell.  Sadly the warm spell is now officially over. 

There was no sun, it was a dreary day.  BUT the ice was talking.

I heard it as soon as I got out of the vehicle.  No one was around so Chance was off lead.

Chance looked bewildered, his favorite dock was gone and his water was different.  There were noises that made him uneasy.  There was no way he was going to venture out onto the ice by himself. It was making noises..scary noises.

Ice as it expands and contracts makes a groaning moaning sound that moves up and down under the ice.  It is almost as if the ice is talking..hurry..freeze..freeze faster..capture all the water underneath us before it warms up again. Sometimes it seems like the ice and the water are locked in some kind of a battle.  The water should just give up..the ice will win anyway.

Minnesota Ice Music..I remember cold nights at the resort when Far Guy would come home from work and say he heard the ice as soon as he got out of the car after his 90 mile trip home at the end of a long day.

When I take Chance out late at night..I can hear the same icy Minnesota symphony.  When the ice gets thicker the sounds will echo up and down the lake.  No, we don’t live on the lake..but we can hear it’s music from our yard:)

Ice and Medical Updates

The other day..when things were still normal…we stopped by Leech Lake to walk Chance.  It was still about zero degrees F so it was good ice making weather.

The ice might have been singing a happy cold chorus..or perhaps it was the water singing its death throes as it was turned into ice.  The sound was almost continual..it came in waves of groans and moans almost as if the lake was serenading someone.  Perhaps it was the waves under the ice trying to break free.. there were huge ice ridges out on the lake.

There is not much snow. Just enough to cover the ground in some spots.  The winter shadows are long..and it gets dark at 4 PM…sunset is officially 4:30 PM..but if there are any clouds in the sky it is dark at 4.

Updates:

Far Guy is doing just fine, he is listening to me and is resting and taking his medications.  He has no chest pain..I guess I ask him about it too often because he said “Are you going to ask me that question from now on?”   Maybe..I have not decided yet.

My Mom has a wonderful roommate who is 104.  Mom is still in pain.. and she is very tired.  There are plans in the works for a handicap ramp to be built..possibly she will go home next week. We will see how she progresses.  My brother from Oregon arrived safely.

Thank you everyone for your kind words and prayers

Ice and No Robins Yet

There is still ice on the lakes.  However if our warm weather continues it will be an early ice out.   This is Lake Bemidji, I took this photo last week.   Ice being shoved ashore is a normal thing.  Sometimes it comes ashore in huge sheets, taking docks with it.   Most people on Minnesota lakes remove their docks for the winter.  It is a true rite of spring the weekend people put their docks back out.  It is something to look forward to after a long winter.

I have not seen a Robin in our yard yet..not for lack of trying.  I have raked a little, and Far Guy even started the lawn mower and mowed down some of my wildflowers. In the summer the lawn mower brings them in to search for worms.   I looked especially hard yesterday as she who sees Robin's first was gone for a few days.  The rules for this First Robin Quest are this: You must see it on our property or theirs and since they adjoin..it is fair.  I am sure that "She who sees Robins first" will see them way before me..she probably already has seen them, has a photo and is just waiting for me to mention my sighting...but my sighting is just not happening yet. Last year it was April 11..she saw them an hour earlier than me.   

 Chance at Lake Bemidji

I did hear from Judy that she had Robins in her yard on March 20, she lives 40 miles south of us.  I got an email saying Auntie Esther saw one on March 24 just 14 miles east of us.  I stood at the window a long time this morning..nothing.. I have been known to be weeks behind in my sightings. 

The other day, we had the opportunity to watch the Hawks hunting in the fields.  The field mice must be out foraging.  We also had the rare opportunity to see a Golden Eagle feeding on a deer carcass.  He was massive, I did not get a photo..he flew away to quickly.  We see Bald Eagles all the time..but a Golden Eagle now there is a real treasure.

It is almost that magical time of year in Minnesota if you live on a lake.  The ice as it melts is held in crystalline form, tiny icicles in the water that float on the surface.  If it is a quiet evening and there is a bit of a breeze it sounds like thousands of tiny wind chimes as their irregular shapes touch each other. Very much like an "Ice Dance."  It only happens for a few evenings just before the ice goes out.  The ice will serenade you..if you stop to listen:)

Magic Ice

"Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience." Ralph Waldo Emerson

If the weather holds cold with no snow the lakes will soon be perfect. Maybe the magic ice will arrive. Ice that only comes every ten years or so here in Minnesota, perfect ice for skaters on the lake.

The teenage girls, would check the ice everyday after school. "Mom do you think it is safe yet?" NO, not yet, be patient girls." Then one day I say they can skate but only along the shore, and only in front of our place, and only when I am there, watching... ready to haul them out should the ice crack and they were to take an icy dip. Magic Ice, sometimes this ice would then be defiled by icy rains and heavy snows, disappointment..patience was not rewarded its full due.

Once in a great while, for a few days it is the true magic ice. The magic ice you wait years for. After school the teenage girls run down the drive arriving breathless with excitement. "It didn't snow! Lets go MOM!" I have checked the ice, it is safe, they can skate out further in the lake today, maybe today will be the day that they can skate across the entire lake. The lure of being able to skate across this magic ice has a pull on them like Norwegians to a Lutefisk dinner.

The ice is clear, stretching out across the lake, clear and spooky. You can lay on your belly and shield out the light with your mittened hands and stare into the murky depths. You can see the weed beds, the submerged logs, ancient trees, and the black drop offs. The dogs would lick my face and rouse me from my under ice explorations ..as if to say "Pay attention to the girls." The ice would be like a huge frozen mirror, with a series of cracks and fissures that must be there every year, but only visible in magic ice years.

The girls would skate, sometimes chasing each other in a game of tag, sometimes hand in hand. Giggling, cheeks bright red, eyes sparkling. "Mom the ice is great! Can we skip school tomorrow? Ice as great as this shouldn't be wasted." "NO, you have to go to school, what kind of Mother lets their kids skip school to go ice skating anyway."

Only a few years was the ice perfect..to make it safely across the lake, I would watch them on the opposite shore, specks skating along. Specks growing larger as they skated toward me and the safety of home..on Magic Ice:)