Wall is done and all's wall

Just a couple buckets and a barrow to take
The great wall of Morrison 2012 is complete

Yesterday was the finale of our 2012 construction with the ruts in the lawn repaired, reseeded,  hay thrown to keep it damp and the wall looks on silently.   We seldom to never use the bottom patio which is off our downstairs TV/rec room, the door you see to the far right in the photo. So I'm thinkin' that maybe next year will  add a big gazebo and a place to sit and enjoy the lower back 40.  I know if I mention this  the more practical side of this household will ask me just when we would sit there since we sit little while we are home and we travel 5 months or so out of the year.  That is more logical and then there are the MN state birds aka mosquitoes which discourage outside sitting, that is why we have that finished 4 season room that you see jutting out from the house above the wall.   

Side of the wall

The crew did a great job, cleaned up after themselves and we are completely satisfied.  It was a good solid week of work for 4 men  and sometimes only 2 for a couple hours.  The entire neighborhood has been coming over to admire the great wall.  I suppose we should host a party there below and let everyone get an eyeful. 

I was surprised that all the river rock which is atop each layer has a whitish cast, but the landscaper assured me that will wash off when the rains come or when the dust settles off.  He said that depending on where they purchase the rock, the shadings are different ranging from this whitish to  reddish to a blue tone.  Oh if he had given me my choice I"d have taken red or maybe blue, just to see the different effect. 

Here they  spread hay over the newly reseeded back
lawn where the bobcat had grooved ruts

This is one project that ran almost exactly as planned once they started, which was a month later than expected.  The other evening I was sitting out back and watching a flock of robins gather in, almost meet and discuss and then trot up and down the  equipment ruts in the lawn.  I have not a clue what mesmerized them but as we watched the flock divided up went all along, both tracks parallel and  one after another side by side, back and forth a couple times,  wished I'd captured that photo.  There is always something amusing to see watching birds.

Scattering hay over new seed at driveway end

  I was very impressed with the clean up the crew did of the driveway  and even the front street.  It reminded me of my Polish grandmother mopping herself out of the kitchen to go to mass on Sunday mornings.  Neighbors commented on how these guys clean up after themselves.  Our next door neighbors are still in upheaval with their move in tasks and mentioned how they envy that our project is done while their entire front lawn is still  a disaster from the digging to hook up to the city water and sewer system.  They have just had their  driveway and sidewalk redone where the concrete had been damaged.  I teased her and said, that we had to have something torn up too so that they did not get all the attention on the cul de sac for construction or destruction.

Shoveling off the dirt and debris from our side
driveway as the crew completed street
cleanup.

Jerry had no complaints about this crew's workmanship which is a big deal.  Usually there is something that does not quite measure up to the way he would do things or not.  This is a local construction company, Beuhler and they have a solid reputation around town.  Yesterday as they were tidying up and loading the last of their debris, I snapped some photos that have Jerry caught in the act of his overseer role.  It almost looks as though he was watching closely with a baseball bat ready to use it if there was something not to his liking.  You can see him posed in the photo below overlooking the end of the project.   The "miniature" lilac bush, Miss Kim took a good whacking out of the  bottom of herself and I will have to get in there soon and  trim her back.  For several years she has needed an adjustment and we never seem to get to her, so this is a good opportunity.  Miss Kim does not know that she is supposed to be a miniature, planted by the previous owners of this place, she thrives and is way overgrown.  She is to the left in the photo below of Jerry at the top of the wall.  

Overseer with big stick

New wall, something to be happy about.  New trellis also below the house.

It's wall over a transformation  Especially when compared
to how it looked just a week ago,  hooray!

This is how it used to be, it had seen better  days. 
  Those solid blocks of Winona stone were all hauled off, which seems a
waste to me who loves to repurpose things, but no one wanted them, least of all us.

And last as  I harvested more apples from the backyard tree, I saw this wonderful bird's nest, sans eggs or occupants.  There is always something going on in or back yard.  Maybe I can catch other critters and see what they think of the new arrangements.   

Birds nest in apple tree. 

Great Wall and apples

Day 2 the semi delivered  the blocks for the wall

If you have seen my Facebook postings, you know that we are under major construction mode again with the back wall of Morrison being replaced and our stimulation to the local economy goes on.  Similar to every other construction project, once it is done it will all be worth it but mean time there is a dandy mess.  A new  highway appears across our back 40 carved by the man  on a Bobcat.  

He assures me  that after it is all done I won"t see a trace of it, so I assume that means it will be  smoothed, patched with seed and sod and once again smoothly green.  They apologized for disturbance of our once bucolic backyard, a haven for birds, fox and deer.  I can imagine the conversations amongst the critters in the evenings, "whoa!  What goes here..., the wall is down, what's up with that."  After day 1 I did see deer tracks along the dirt pathway.  That stymied their ascent up to the front so they detoured around the neighbor's who watched them hesitate from her sunroom.  She told us about this the next day, said it was very comical as three deer, a doe and two fawns ascended the back hill and began to observe almost quizzically before shaking their heads and taking another route.  This is the home where the deer...roam as long as it is not near to my roses.   

Block and dirt mover and road builder



These men work hard and have had two younger grunts at all times but the straw boss and the other seasoned man do not have a need for a gym at all, hauling and lifting 80 pound blocks keeps them in tip top shape.  The 50 year old did admit today that he did not know how much longer his body would continue at this labor.   That's the dilemma of those engaged in hard physical work, the physical labor takes its toll on the body and unlike politicians, bureaucrats and those who have sedentary jobs, the physical laborers usually have a shorter career span which raises their ire when talk of extending the retirement age arises.  All well and good for the sedentary but not so for the others and unfortunately the ones with the bright ideas know naught about hard exhausting work.  but that's another soap box.

At the end of  Day 1, much was torn down

  

Rut highway across the back 40

 The wall construction  has saved $$ on bird seed  because the birds have been discouraged  from hanging out at the feeders until after the crew leave.  This one chirping sparrow was not dissuaded.  Sometimes the cardinals fly by with an over the shoulder glance, but they are skittish about noises so they move for other quieter food, available at  neighbors feeders.  Te natural grazing is abundant in summer so I am not concerned that the birds are going hungry.  We usually fill our bird feeders twice a week but this week only once and you can see there is still plenty of seed in this feeder.  About 5:30PM the gold finches return in mass and fight at the thistle feeder, and the wood hatches and chickadees return and give dirty bird looks toward the house.  Angry bird faces are comical.  

The bird is called a chirping sparrow



Day 1 wall destruction  Tossing 80 pound blocks like bean bags



Day 2 making sure the drain lines are perfect and the walls are straight

One benefit of this nasty heat that has enveloped us along with the entire Midwest, while damaging the corn crops is that the apples seem to be having a go to town season.  We have two small apple trees in our back yard and have not ever before harvested more than an apple or two.  Of course we do not work these trees, leaving the apples to do their own thing and letting the squirrels and deer feed on the small round green globes.  But this year, weather aside we have a bumper crop of apples.  And they are delicious, juicy and just right.  When I was a child we had a huge crab apple tree in our backyard that hung  alongside the roof outside my bedroom window.  Before I developed an adult like fear of heights I would crawl out the window onto the roof and get crab apples which I tossed at the neighbor boy; I wonder whatever happened to Harry Roper.  He was older than me and if he knew I was doing that he never told on me.  I know because  my mother would have walloped my backside a good one.  So I like looking up into the apple trees these days and thinking about those antics as well as anticipating biting into  a juicy apple.  Notice that waspy looking nest in the tree something we did not see until I took this photo...

Just two of our great apples this year.  I am
very pleased with this photo, also on my
Facebook page

Clump of apples on limb



Apple tree with abundance



End of Day 3

It is about time now to photo the results of the end of Day 4.  They will not have this project completed until Monday but this shares on blog land what has been my Facebook focus this week...and  already I am considering what to do next, like the addition to the lower brick patio so that we can enjoy this wall....Jerry is not listening to  me.  We could come out that small back walk out door from the TV/rec room and sit and watch the fireflies out along the pine trees.

. 

Peevish with Blogger, spammers and other trivia

Lately it has been a chore to post  Blogger, so I am wondering WTH is up...fellow Blogger users are you having the same trials?  I know one is because she posted so.  Rolling and stuck screens and  "not responding"  error messages.     Blaaaaaach!  I have been far too busy lately to share much  but now our guests have departed (hallelujiah) and some semblance of what used to be normal returns.  Outside the wall de and re construction is on day 2. 

And another thing, I was convinced to remove the word verification for those wishing to comment on this blog direct after several other bloggy pals said it was cumbersome and discouraged comments and possibly blog traffic. Ok so it has been gone.  My traffic has not increased and some still send email, not using the net direct.   Lately though I have been getting  strange occasional spam messages.  These comments  are usually over  complimentarytoward my writings but written using poor grammar, spelling and cumbersome phrases.  They are always posted anonymously and then invite me to see their blog.  Well I do not click on their blog link and mostly I am "flushing" these, thank you for the term and advice, Ticklebear.

I suppose these are relatively harmless net surfing's and so far no damage done.  I am considering reinstituting the must be approved for all comments before allowing them to show on the blog.  That would preclude these strange  postings. 

Today I received an internet scam warning from our ISP.   Every time I read one of these I am amazed at the gullibility of folks.   It did not advise the source but basically, you receive an email from someone who claims you have ripped off, invaded or violated their email and taken their photos.  This is being targeted toward college students and the University of Wisconsin has published a warning on their website.  Apparently when the unaware try to respond by clicking on the email or replying, they are hacked. This sounds like a regurgitation of the scheme last year using fake Facebook alerts....by the way, beware on Facebook game sites and responses.  I am a heavy user of Facebook but easily ignore games and applications there.  Here is the site at Blaze that describes this scam on hacking....
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/black-friday-scam-alert-beware-of-facebook-and-itunes-emails/

Months back I got an email alert thanking me for sending  $60 via Pay Pal to Shane Peterson.  Whoa, sez me, I didn't do that.  So I checked my Pay Pal account online which did not show such a payment.  But feeling a bit uneasy, I  called Pay Pal and the phone rep. immediately knew why I was calling. They had over 3,000 such calls the same day for what was a giant spam scam out of San Jose, CA  that  most Pay Pal account holders received.  It was to entice the unwary to respond and there by be hacked.  What a strange online world!  I use my delete button easily and especially with emails from those I don"t recognize.  If it is  legitimate they can contact me again or by another method.  I have never been a fan of the SPAM in the can and will run the other way if offered the same, so I suppose the very word "spam" and "scam" are enough to cause my nose to turn up.

There is a proliferation of online sites to educate oneself about the dangers including this onguard on line which shows a dot gov address, presuming it is government sponsored.  I do no know about that but it does share information for the uninformed.  http://onguardonline.gov/articles/0002-common-online-scams

There is also a site that identifies the Top 10 Internet scams and how to ignore them...
http://netforbeginners.about.com/od/scamsandidentitytheft/ss/top10inetscams.htm

Be safe out there....

Ben Franklin nails it

Family visitors, from CA

"Guests like fish smell after three days...." Benjamin Franklin wrote in Poor Richard's Almanac  along with  other wisdom and wit.  I have known fish to smell on first contact and the same with company within the first day.  On the other hand, I have known fish without any odor and company that could move in and stay as long as they wanted... This visit from family is a mix. 

I call this,  Checkin' it out online!

Jerry's younger brother and family (wife and 13 year old daughter) are here from Riverside, CA to visit their  95 year old mother who is in the local nursing home.  It is their first visit in four years so it is  a good thing they came to see her, although I bet she makes it to 100.   Both BIL (brother in law) and wife are high school teachers and exemplify why there is limited hope for education.  they are dedicated  liberals, a union supported lifestyle and of course political discussions are off limits here for this visit as we are more conservative.  But somehow these opposing viewpoints bubble into conversation.   and then it  truly becomes a fish of a different odor. BIL preaches equality, or tax the rich and make it go farther.  What?  Farther than where?  This stinks.  SIL is a nice person who finds life amusing all the time,  chatters constantly and translates whatever is happening in front of her simultaneously to whoever is nearby.  Sometimes this is amusing sometimes not.   BIL well, he kind of ambles while the wife flits.  Everything is an adventure, an experience to SIL.  Like the clothes line I use becoming a photo op because she"s never used one and thought Sophia (daughter) must experience this. We've done some interesting things like the trip to the Shrine of Guadalupe in the hills of La Crosse, dinner at Tom Sawyers with cheese curds and home made chips, and local sights.   But this is the small town, not big cities, they will compensate by spending nearly a week in Chicago from here,  really.  To each their own .
 
Then there is their 13 year old who is a very quiet big girl.  They do everything in a trio, or in a herd, my term.  The niece masks her boredom well but when I suggest that they might consider bringing along a friend for her on travels, they gasped.  What and dilute attention?   I feel some sympathy for this child forced to hang with old people for two weeks and that includes us as well as her 50 something year old parents.  We see underway another stifling of any independence or ability to think or fend for oneself.  Mom  hovers with consistent advice of what to do say, not do,  even where and when to sit.  This morning I turned my head to laugh when mom said to her, "Sophia say good morning to everyone...."  "Good morning everyone" responds Sophia.  Is this  the new way that families behave or is this a late stage parenthood clinging to adolescence to perpetuate and define itself?  I admit I do not understand it this business of being the child"s friend, their cohort instead of their parent.  But then I'm done with all that.

I am tired because the weather had been unbearably hot and  this visit  has meant  my thinking for three additional people who are bewildered at best and self confident in ignorance at the worst when visiting the SNF  and MIL, what to do/not do/ and so on.  Gads, you are supposed to be educated people, read up on dementia.  One of SIL's funniest  and yet sincere questions was  "how do they float" when seeing the huge  barges filled with grain being shoved down the Mississippi.   Some of these questions need no answers.  We did have a  fun time at the Winona Great River Shakespeare Festival Saturday evening where I laughed for almost two hours at "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Abridged" a spoof, a farce and all over ribald hilarity. Jerry opted to stay home and spend the evening watching Olympics, but I did enjoy it. 

To top it off I had a dermatologist appointment today to remove a growth from my left shoulder top, not a cyst, not a mole, nothing malignant they are sure, but an unsightly and uncomfortable lump that was unsightly and  annoying.  I can spend the rest of the day icing and lounging, chilling.  We have plenty of room in our home, beds and baths for all, but some how I feel older when it comes to tending to it all......maybe that's it I'm older.  It's  not easy and so it goes.... or I need to adopt Jerry's attitude, "expect nothing and not be disappointed..."

Here stands Sophia with 3 generations of underwear,
hers, her mom's and her grandma"s (MIL) whose laundry
I do while we are at home not traveling.



I conclude this post withhout further airing of dirty laundry! 

Leggs Inn, MI Continued from the week



Continuing from yesterday, we
found a great place to stop, a place we would want to visit again, a working inn, along the shoreline of Lake Michigan.

The beautiful setting, the wonderful food is worth the wait and the trip there if one is in the area.   

Apparently this place has been mentioned in famous unique inns and has been on some episodes of Food Channels, but I was totally unfamiliar with it.  Local legends are not always as interesting . 






Jerry examines the teepee

We found Legs Inn easily right smack dab at the intersection of M-119 and what appears to be the main street of Cross Village.  This was a place we could have easily spent the day, as it was the couple hours we could spare went all too fast.  The tepee to the left was made of wooden bark hunks resembling shingles and was different from any tepee we had seen elsewhere in the country. 

As soon as I saw the sign and the Polish link I knew it would be something enjoyable and  my imagination rolled along thinking about the collaboration between a Pole and the local Indians even if it was the 1930"s.  Jan Smolak immigrated to America in 1921 and made his way to the upper peninsula of Michigan.  There were copper mines and ore mines in the upper that attracted the Polish immigrants.  He also was talented  musician and artist as we learned in the hallway art gallery. 

I could not understand why the name Legs Inn but one sign explained it was for the legs placed along the roofline.  Who but a seeker of curiosities would place legs along the roof? The photo below shows the side of the stone building, the Indian head carving over the door and the row of legs on the roofline. 

  Legs Inn is one of those  the way places that one might stumble onto unaware while out exploring the backroads.  It is the center of the village and as the bartender replied to one man who inquired if it was the only restaurant in town due to the big crowd and the wait to be served, "this is the town."   Tell me that I can have authentic Polish food and I am hooked.  Seeing it on the menu with accurate Polish spelling drew my immediate attention.  

It was a feeling of pride, when  I saw the Michigan Historical Site sign printed in Polish on the other side.  

 I have not seen this tribute to the Polish elsewhere.  So I am quite enthused about Michigan for honoring the native language of these early immigrants. 

Polish side of the sign


We walked around the back of the inn to the gorgeous outdoor seating overlooking Lake Michigan.  It was a warm balmy day which diminished the draw of the smell of real kielbasi and pierogi.  To me that is food for the cooler weather so despite the thrill of the original, we did not indulge.  There would have been a one hour minimum wait for appetizers at the bar so we passed.

Lake Michigan off  alongside the outdoor dining



Some primitive stone art

We made our way inside to the bar....a 100 year old hemlock tree trunk
is the bar, very shining  finish allowing natural grain and knots to be appreciated
as one sits there enjoying any number of brews and vodkas
true to the Polish heritage, no cheap booze,  Premium pours, Belvedere and Chopin vodkas.
to this day I know my heritage because I neither  drink nor serve
cheap wine, vodka, etc.  If you are having a drink make it count.
Sto lat naz drowie

Talked to a man from New York who was sitting at the bar next to us, waiting for a table.

Some were eating at the bar and as I mentioned there was a long wait, but we were

quickly served beers on tap.  The NY'er said, he had been in every bar in Manhattan and many all over the country but never the likes of this and he never had a bear staring at him.  Usually I am squeamish with too many heads and taxidermy but there is so much of it inside Legs that it takes on an aura of a museum and was fascinating.   

I called this Jabba the Hut from the Starwars character, but
it is something more remarkable and one of the hundreds of
wood carvings.  This postcard captured the detail better than my photo

Polish beer on tap  Hooray
Look at the wood above the shelf, carved and  finished to a glow

One of many totems inside this one closest
to the bar where a customer downs a tall
cool one. Notice the legs on the totem. 

A short trip to the gift shop took us past the art gallery.   I purchased  a couple hand decorated Polish Easter eggs and a  book, Bootleg Buggy by a local author about her Polish immigrant roots to the area.  And we had to be on our way.  This is a place to return next visit to the area. 

Portrait of Chief White Cloud as the Indians
called Smolak

We would exit out this front door, again
notice the woodcarving, inside the workmanship
captured Jerry"s attention. 

 

Off back along the tunnel of trees M119 to Bay Harbor and Petoskey. 

Blogger is again protesting so I am off here for today....sometimes I think I should migrate the blog....

Con't from Tuesday more up north

On travels and at home we see panhandlers alongside roads with their signs  to attract donations, I admit I used to donate occasionally out of a benevolence or Christian duty, but I overcame that as I noticed the proliferation of the same compounded by the fact that when local business owners offered them a job they scattered.  Panhandlers often station themselves at  stoplight controlled intersections where there is massive traffic but this guy as a living bronzed statue in Mackinaw City outdid himself.  People could place tips in his bike basket and take their photo with him.  This attracted many tourists and children ad is either a unique way to panhandle or is an addition to the tourist draws.  Several times as we walked by I thought that is a tough way to make a living standing immobile in the warm sun; he would move ever  slowly when a donation entered the basket.  I anticipated  when he would walk away for a break but  never caught that.  I am not sure if he was an attraction from one of the shops or not but he was at the same place several days in a row, BTW the dog is a bronzed statue.

One shop where we  indulged in ice cream  had an exhibit of the local Lion's club fundraiser, a different sort of barbque grill.  .  Not my taste but Jerry got a kick out of it.  

A local woman told us about the  wonderful drive along Michigan Road M-119, known as the Tunnel of Trees 27miles between Harbor Springs and Cross Village and an alternate route to Petoskey.  We are thankful she did because it was magnificent, very much a two lane twister that treated us to sights we'd have missed.   I'd noticed the multitude of polished rocks being sold as Petoskey stones as decorative or pendants so I was curious about Petoskey.    This Heritage route is a stunning display of northern hardwoods located close alongside the roadway, with no visible light above, creating the feeling of actually travelling through a tunnel.  The route is a favorite of Northern Michigan visitors because of its rolling terrain, stunning vistas, and dramatic turns and curves; this would have been prohibitive in the motor home.  There were many great glimpses of Lake Michigan along the way but no  place to pull over to photograph safely .  Although the traffic was sparse, there were ever so many motorcyclists along the way, a bikers dream despite names like Devil"s Elbow that was a  crooked mile where the crooked man could have built the crooked footstep if I've ever seen one.    

 

Just one of the many curves on M 119



Thick hardwood trees along the road



 Our first stop was at Cross Village also recommended by the local woman
 to visit Legs Inn which was a delight. 

Turns out Legs Inn was founded by Jan Smolak, a Polish emigrant in the 1930"s collaborating with local Indians..... to be continued next blog post because I am having difficulty posting photos here now and the photos are how I will tell the rest of the story

More Mackinac con't from yesterday

I did not take this photo of the 5 mile Mackinac Bridge at night, but it is just that spectacular.  The bridge was begun in the spring of 1954 and opened November 1, 1957 and is designated as the number one civil engineering project for Michigan of the 20th century.   It is currently the third longest suspension bridge in the world.  For other data such as shown in the poster yesterday, you can go to this website link
     http://www.mackinacbridge.org/facts--figures-16

We watched 4th of July  fireworks from the American Legion, on the mainland, Mackinaw City. Being Legion members gave us the advantage of staying right at the bar inside where we could people watch for a break from being out amongst them.  Besides the bartender, a local gave us tips on where to eat, avoiding the  multitude of touristy places.  It is always a benefit to get acquainted with locals.

They  did show off with the best fireworks I have seen live  since Calgary, Canada. We knew we were above the 45h parallel which is exactly half way between the equator and the north pole, up north as the say, but we were oblivious to  how far north that is until we noticed day light lasts until 10 o'clock PM so fireworks could not start until 10:15PM or so making for some mighty cranky tots if their parents had not napped them earlier in the day. Many many years ago, when we spent summers in Prince George, British Columbia and Steve was a boy he refused to go to bed until midnight, because it was still light.  We recalled that.  And also when talking to the locals they mentioned the light is great now but oh those long dark winters. 

 
Before this trip, I could not get straight whether nac or naw or Lake Huron or Lake Michigan but now that we have been there, I've  got it. The mix up with the nac and naw is traced back through the history of the area way back to the Indians, the French, the British as explained by this clipping which you should be able to enlarge by clicking on in your browser.  Fort Mackinac itself is very interesting and the re-enactments and docents in period dress travel and transport visitors back into history of the fur trades.  The beauty of the area enhances the reality of the experience.

The following page said that the British never did
develop a friendly relationship with the Indians and suffered for that

Another carriage on tour.  Some walked, some rode bikes, some
rode horseback.  To me the carriage was the best way to see
the island.  Our guide, Dave knew all the local history.  He also told us how
his job entails caring for the carriage horse teams too,
washing and feeding and gearing them up and down.

Here we stopped to switch carriage horses mid tour

Douds founded in 1884, on Main Street is the oldestAmerican family
owned  grocery market  Their website is
 http://www.doudsmarket.com/history/

Although the lilacs were not blooming, beautiful hanging
flower baskets are everywhere.  Reminiscent of Victoria
British Columbia

Atop the island, the Fort lies down the hill.  This is Turkey Hill,
during the carriage ride we did see some wild turkeys.

Hearse and fire carriages at the Island museum.  The carriage
stops here so passengers can use necessary rooms and
grab a bite to eat. 

Arch rock looking down to the Lake is awesome

Seeing the Arch rock made me wonder yet again, why people who have never seen half of what there is to see in this country rave about traveling elsewhere in the world.  The water there is as beautiful as the Carribean anytime.  Of course we are flying adverse refusing to spend good money to be herded into a flying bus crammed with hundreds of others, packed like sardines and not even pickled.  Nope, we prefer driving our 2nd home. I have another spectacular photo of this arch but Blogger will not post it correctly.

A Girl Scout on duty working as a docent; summer jobs for youth abound
for the industrious, willing to work and learn the history

We got well acquainted with Dave, our carriage driver whom you met yesterday.  When he saw me taking the following photo he asked if I knew his dad.  I replied  I did not, but that there was something about this sight that reminded me of some people.  I asked Dave if he ever got tired of the view afront, what's that old saying, unless you are the head dog in the sled the view never changes...look on, recognize anyone?

Dave explained when he told his family he was returning to the island for another year for this summer job, Dad said, "uh huh so you are going to spend the day looking at yourself..."  We learned that the horses are
transported off the island to the upper peninsula where they winter. 

To be continued with our trip on the mainland along the magnificent tunnel of trees and to the Legs Inn.