Rainy Weekend At Camp

Well, another rainy weekend here in the great northwoods.

But, Arlene and I went to camp anyway. We managed to get unpacked and take a nice 4-wheeler ride before the rain started.

Arlene grilled some nice pork steaks and made fried potatoes on the grill and while we were eating dinner the rain started. It rained all evening so we just stayed in and played Phase 10 all night and went to bed early.

I woke up about 3:00 AM and the wind or rain was making a strange noise just like a freight train. I jumped up and went to look outside but everything seemed ok. I was sure we were going to get blown away or something. Arlene said she heard it too but figured if it was a tornado there is really nowhere to go to hide from it at camp so she just covered up her head and waited to see where we would land.

We made it through the night and we were both up at 6:30 AM! We wanted to go to Skinners to get our new chain saw but they don't open til 8:00 AM so we drank coffee and played cards until then. We came home with a nice new Husqvarna 16" chain saw.

We had planned on burning the big brush pile in the meadow and since it was still raining, it seemed like a safe time to do it. There was brush and all of the old siding off Mom and Dad's garage that we had re-sided last fall.

We poured gasoline on the brush...I know...bad idea. It didn't want to light so we poured more gas on it and tried again. Arlene lit a rolled up paper towel and reached to toss it on the brush when WHOOSH the gas caught and flames jumped everywhere. Luckily, Arlene didn't get burned but it scared the heck out of me.





The only time the fire got a little scary was when the flames got pretty high and were getting close to some maple branches. But, it was raining hard the whole time so everything was soaked.

We began flipping the siding over more toward the middle of the clearing and gradually the fire began to settle down. We sat in the car in the rain for four hours watching the fire burn. Every 15 minutes or so we would go out and push everything toward the middle.

By 3:00 PM we had a pile of ashes and burning debris about 3 feet across.



We went back to the trailer about 4:00 PM and played cards again until 5:00 when Arlene went out, in the rain, and cooked steaks, baked potatoes and corn-on-the-cob for dinner. Good thing the grill is under a big spruce tree.

Cindy came up for dinner and we played cards all night. I don't know what we would do at camp in the rain if we didn't play cards.

Sunday dawned sunny and cold but we'll take that any day. What a really nice day it was. We had our coffee and got to work. The generator needed maintenance so while Arlene did that I went to spread the ashes from the fire out so that they would cool off.

We just puttered around camp and we were just headed to town for more water to completely drown the ashes when Mom pulled up.

We had a really nice visit with her. It was so nice to just sit outside in the sunshine and relax.

We got this brainstorm to plant some stuff for the deer in the spot where we had burned everything so we planted our little crop. Can't wait to see if anything actually grows there.

We went for a really long 4-wheeler ride and as it was getting late we decided to start packing up to go home. It was hard to leave as it was such a beautiful day but by the time we got home it was after 6:00 PM.

We're really looking forward to the upcoming 3-day weekend. The weatherman actually sounds hopeful that it may be actually nice!

FINALLY....

A weekend at Camp!!!

Sorry that I have been away. It has been a crazy summer. Much has happened and we have been very, very busy. In addition, the weather here in the EUP has been horrible. It has rained every weekend this summer and when it didn't rain on the weekend, it was just too hot to go to camp.

But, last weekend, Arlene, Mary, Tiny and I headed for camp Saturday morning after a very rainy Friday.

At the beginning of summer, we brought up a new addition to our campfire circle. Arlene's daughter Janet gave us their old swing as she received a new one for Mother's Day. So it is a nice addition to the camp circle.



Tiny thinks that the armrest makes a great perch for her to keep track of all the action at camp!



Our first task was to fix our two chains saws that have been acting up lately, so Mary and Arlene began taking them apart. They cleaned up the small one and replaced the chain. We were able to cut down two dead spruce trees but it still doesn't seem to be running right.



Of course, Tiny had to keep a close eye on them from her new "throne". She rarely lets any of her "people" out of her sight and must always account for all of us at all times.



After taking our bigger chain saw apart we found that the saw had "cooked" itself. There must have been a oil leak somewhere inside and it got so hot that it totally fused the drive shaft. So, next weekend, we are going into Pickford to Skinner's and buy a new Husquevarna (not sure of the correct spelling) chainsaw.

My sister Cindy came up Saturday evening as Arlene had cooked New York Strip steaks, baked potatoes and corn on the cob on the grill for all of us. What a feast! After dinner we enjoyed coffee by the campfire until it got too cold and damp to sit out.

We went inside for a rousing game of Phase 10. I guess Cindy must have left about 11:00 PM.

Sunday, we slept in until 8:00 AM. We sat around drinking coffee and visiting and since it was gloomy and looked like rain, we played another game of Phase 10. Cindy came up for the afternoon.

When the sun finally came out I mowed the grass while Arlene and Mary tore apart our old lawn mower that we are trying to fix for a camp mower.

I think the two of them just like tearing stuff apart!

We finished our day by playing Phase 10 at the picnic table outside and then packed up for home.

The forecast for this weekend is for a few showers on Friday, rain on Saturday, and a few showers on Sunday. Sheesh....

But, if it does rain, we may burn the big brush pile in the other meadow.

And of course, there is always Phase 10.......