John And Dad

John went up north to spent a few days and nights up at camp and Dad decided to join him for the first couple of days. They cleared the stumps from around the cabin, pulled out and cut up several trees that we had felled last year and built a lean-to to house the longer logs as they dry.

John also cleared a space for his own future cabin down near the big Red Pine. They also took the time to finish the loft floor and wrap the cabin in Gorilla wrap, not to mention seal the open cracks with spray foam. John reports that the cabin is now pretty air-tight and easily 10 degrees warmer inside than outside. They also managed to get some decent fishing in.

Finally, A Roof!

Well, we pulled a back-to-back pair of weekenders and the roof is on! We had enough 3-tab red shingle to do about 75% of the roof before moving on to other colors and then even other styles, but never-the-less, the roof is finished. We have soffit of a sorts to put in and we need to finish the Gorilla wrap in the peaks. Then, window trim and finally, siding and the exterior will be finished. But those things can wait until next Spring. The most important next task is insulation and interior wallboard.

The Big Blue Hoody comes off!

As the title suggests, Yippee! The Big Blue Tarp has been removed and we are finally moving forward with shingling the cabin!

Tom brought us a truckload of shingles, felt and nails, not to mention his log-splitter, and John brought his expertise. And while John and I were working on removing the tarp and doing all of the prep-work for shingling, Dad and Tom split our entire pile of logs and re-stacked them. Then they set about chain-sawing and splitting up the Big pine that had fallen over last Spring during a very nasty storm. On Saturday, John and I got the fascia up, the Gorilla Wrap on the cabin and some of the felt down.

In the afternoon, our neighbor Jeff came into camp on his 4-wheeler (Man, we've gotta get one of those!) and so we stood around and jawed for awhile. He's got some really great stories! Anyway, he told us about a spot on the Kettle river, just below us where we might find some pretty decent walleye fishing.

Toward the end of Saturday, Tom's splitter broke and he had to leave to get it fixed. Dad, John and I finished up and made plans for a small hike and fishing trip for the next day. These last pics show a couple of guys really enjoying the day and the beauty and bounty of the great north woods.

New Porch Swing

John, my youngest brother, and I decided that, at last we needed a front porch swing for our cabin. Earlier this year, Dad had helped me refurbish an old "A-Frame" style swing I have standing, at home, on my front deck. And, like I am commonly known to do, I, of course bought waaay too many materials for the task. In fact, I bought almost twice what I needed. So, since I only needed 1 or 2 other things to create a second swing, without the A-Frame, John and I worked together to build it modeled roughly after the first one. Then we bought about 20 feet of chain and some other hardware and made plans for a Duluth trip up north with Mom and her dog, Sheila.

We hung the swing, after learning we had made a bad cut and had to now use some of the chain from our front gate, and just as we were getting ready to finish it up, In comes my daughter Amanda and son Josh and Amanda's puppy Marley Moo. I use the term puppy very loosely.

Anyway, it was a big surprise they all had planned for my birthday, which they couldn't celebrate with me as I was on vacation over the week of my birth date. It was a great time of barbeque, hiking in the woods with the dogs. John, Amanda and Josh took turns shoting the 16-guage shotgun at targets, and of course, there was fishing.

After Amanda and Josh went home, that evening Mom, John and I (and Sheila) settled in for a cozy night over in the cabin. Then, the next day, it was off to Duluth and points north! What a fun weekend all around! It was one of my favorite times and I'll remember it always.

Take a look at some of the beautiful sights of the great Northwoods and the Superior basin.

Late Spring/Early Summer

Summer is here and the Spring storms are over. But not without some casualties. The big old Red Pine that I used in my 2004 Christmas Card has been blown down. I am sad to see it as I was truly hoping to save it. Oh well, that's how it goes in the woods!

Tom lent us his mower. And boy did we need it! Thanks Tom! We have about 700-800 feet of driveway to mow, not to mention the main yard around the cabin. As you can see, Dad is just tooling around finishing up the driveway. I ran the outside edges while he cleaned up the middle. All-in-all, a good days work! Then, more fishing!

Spring Fishing

Here it is March of 2008 and it still looks pretty bleak outside. Never-the-less, we endeavor to enjoy the "Great Outdoors" with an early year fishing trip. There wasn't much caught, but we saw some more eagles and quite a bit of wildlife. Mostly though, I think it was just the need to get outside again and get some much-needed fresh air!