Family Get Together

As noted in my previous posts, there was much work to do. Rob and Vicki came out early last week to both settle in and get started on some of the tasks. Rob and John did some major clearing around what is now being called the camping area, or camp grounds. This is the area directly to the south-west of the cabin, in amongst the trees of what might be called the side yard. Rob also stabilized ans built on to his 10x16 platform creating a small front porch for it, as well as a real nice step for the side door. Later on, due to weather issues, we were forced to also add a big 18x20 tarp over it to protect it from the rain and wind.

Rob, John and I finished the 10-foot section of the Pavilion Deck and mounted the Gazebo irons and roof to it. John had to welt it in a couple of places where it had broken. Then we set about putting up a somewhat sturdy, if not very pretty guardrail around it finish it off, at least for this year. Rob then set about assembling the 10-foot picnic tables which he later painted in a nice green. He also painted the smaller picnic table and the front door. Rob also built a ridiculously sturdy little coffee table that I may just keep as a firepit table or something. John continued to work on the roads as much as the weather would allow and he also welded the futon bed up that I brought with me when I arrived. Mom, Vicki and I, when I wasn't mowing, made further preparations for the upcoming party event.

Mom hung her curtains which look fantastic! They have a real nice deer print on them. Mom and Vicki also organized the cabin and picnic areas and Mom bought a nice canopy for to cooking area to protect from the rain. Dan came up later in the week and he and John worked on the signs for the party. We ended up having to hold all of the cars at midway down the Pine Hill Trail and had to go out with Our 4x4s to ferry folks in. This was due to the rains that simply wouldn't stay away and left us with nearly car-sized, foot deep puddles to wade through for most of the road back to the driveway.

The Party was a blast! We had a fireside bar-be-que on Friday night with cake and beverages and music. The Helseths were represented in fine style by Mom-Irene, Donna, Deanna and Al Kunitz and their daughters. Speaking of whom, Emily came with her new husband Keith Miller. Thanks guys! Also my kids came and Dad and Ma and Janell were there. Of course, along with my turning 50 this year, Ma turned 73 on that following day and so we carried the festivities on into that Saturday with Bar-be-que ribs and chicken, cold salads and fruit. We finished off the day with another bonfire and some wind-down time as most of the party goers had gone by that evening.

Unfortunately, due to the limited number of beds we have and the rough camp grounds and the weather we were having, many of our folks had to stay in hotels for the night. Next time, we expect to have a bunk house completed, along with smoother campgrounds, more tarps to cover tents and a better road down which to travel. Also on the docket, a Finnish Sauna and possibly, a 8-10 person Spa. But first, a well.

Building the new Pavilion Deck

Well, we are at last in the process of rebuilding the gazebo. Actually, as you can see by the title, we have taken to calling it the Pavilion Deck, or simply just Deck. This is due to the fact that the "gazebo" portion is only going to be a small part of the deck itself and will more resemble a rectangular pavilion than a polygonal gazebo. On the first weekend of July, I began digging 9 of the overall 11 3-foot holes that would be used to hold the poles for the deck. The first row of these I managed to get cemented in by the end of my stay.

Two weeks later, John, Mom and I went back up north and while Mom started working on cleaning the cabin and measuring the windows for the new curtains she is making, John and I finished leveling and cementing in the remaining poles. Then we laid on our outer frame rails and the inner cross rails and made ready to receive the primary joists (see first image). We, John and I also added a project to our weekend to slightly move, widen and deepen the firepit. Now, in its new location, it is more visible and accessible to the front of the cabin, while remaining a safe enough distance from it. Also, it is now roughly five feet across, 1 foot deep and is surrounded by 1 ring of stones. This will allow us to have some really lovely bonfires this Summer.

Another two weeks has gone by and this time Dad joins the three of us and helps John and I finish the lower (or main) deck. John and I had also built a rather sturdy set of steps to front the deck and provide easy access to the platform. We installed joist hangers and used pressure-treated wood to create the structure. We used 16-foot deck boards to clad the deck with and built a special joist setup so we count wrap the entire deck in mitered decking boards to give it that "picture-frame" look.

Preparing for Summer

Not much to report from the property up north this Spring. In April, John purchased a Camp Shower Tent for our Zodi Camp Shower unit and set it up next to the cabin, on the unused tiles from the Gazebo, which we took down to make room for clearing the front and side yards around the cabin. He even built a little sidewalk to get to it from the Cabin porch.

We also, by request of brother Rob, built a 10x16 platform for under his big tent that he is bringing with him this year. We are planning a big get-together reunion of family and friends to celebrate my 50th birthday. So we are working madly, to get the camp ready for the big weekend. While my birthday is on Friday, August 13th, and yes we will be partying a little that night, we are having the big party day on Saturday, the 14th.

We have also begun work on the new Gazebo, which will be a rather large affair measuring 16 foot square on the main landing, roughly 3 feet off the ground, and having a step up to a 10 foot square situated on and hanging over the corner of the bigger platform. To this square, we will rebuild and recover the metal gazebo structure that we have stored away. Eventually, there will be a roughly 5-foot staircase off its back side that leads right down to the trail that goes over our little creek bridge.

Finally, we have 2 big 10-foot picnic tables to construct, and trails and clearings to mow to get ready for the big weekend. Much to do! Much to do!

The 2009 Hunt

Sorry guys! I did it to you again! I keep letting the posts trail off after awhile. I promise I will endeavor to do better in the future.

Anyway, on to the hunt. November came in quite beautifully, if a bit chilly. We had, sometime in the months previous, picked up a Zodi Camp Shower unit, so we felt we were pretty much better prepared for a week-long stay in the cabin, so long as we had a way to keep ourselves clean. Opening day looked full of promise. We -- Dad (Harve, Sr), John, Tom and I -- had spent the previous night settling into the cabin, having had a great meal and told many bad jokes and old stories and generally preparing, with great anticipation for the upcoming day.

Morning came far too early, but we were up and into all business mode as we donned our gear, packed our lunch cans, loaded our guns and capped off our hats with trail lights. Tom and Dad had the furthest to walk, so they left fist, followed closely by John, who decided to hunt neighbor Jeff Jarosz' place, as he had given us permission to do the night before. He and his wife were dealing with some health issues that, as he explained, would prevent his coming up for the hunt this year. I followed last making sure to turn down the lights and creep very quietly and very carefully to my perch. Given all of the gear with which we were encumbered, I think we did a pretty good job of settling in without really making much noise.

Quietly and patiently we sat, calmly waiting for the break of dawn. We could here the early morning critters awakening. We even saw shapes moving about, but it was just too dark to make out anything. Suddenly, just as the sun is getting ready to pop up over the eastern horizon, to light the sky, down the lane come a crashing, squeaking, rumbling noise of a big 4x4 as our western neighbors came bumbling in to their property. Then, of course they whack-crashed through the brush and bramble as they left their truck, having made sure to very loudly slam its doors, to stumble out to the stands, which they made certain to rattle quite a bit before climbing into them!

Not a very auspicious start to the hunt! Any way, later on that afternoon, we got a visit from a couple of very cute DNR officials (hey ladies!) who were checking on a flyover report that said we were baiting. We showed them that we had recently been clear-cut and what looked like corn from the air was really sawdust shavings from the lumberjack's blades. That was our Saturday, pretty much in a nutshell.

Sunday, however told a different tale. Again we crept quietly out to our respective perches. Again we suffered the noisy intrusion of our lower neighbors' entrance into the area. but an hour or so after full light John spots a beautiful 3/5 spike and shoots it as it is running away from him and drops it on the first shot! His first deer, a buck and running away! A guy couldn't ask for much better. So I got down out of my stand and helped him haul it back to camp. By then Dad had come in so the three of us, dressed it out and hung it.

Later on that afternoon, I was sitting in my perch when I heard a crashing coming from the north part of the property, right along the line. At first, I couldn't see anything. Just then, a tree seemed to move. Then I saw that it was a deer walking cautiously up the border. His nose was in the air and he was being extremely careful about each step. Practically, in slow-motion, I raised my rifle and peered through the scope. I laid the cross-hairs right on his left-front shoulder, took a slow, steady breath and squeezed the trigger. I had heard many stories about the first deer. Buck fever. Nervous reloading. Freezing up and watching it walk right on by. But I experienced none of that. Rather, I felt calm and focused on the task at hand. And that little button buck dropped like a stone, dead in its tracks. My very first deer. At 49. I was elated. Oh, and he tasted good, too!

Tom would go on to close out the week collecting 2 more, one right on top of the other within a 1 minute period of time. So with a harvest of four, 1 doe, 2 buttons and a spike, we had a great hunt for 2009.

Deer Fort

For sometime now, John and I have been working on building his new deer fort. Basically, it's an 8ft by 6ft cabin, with balcony, 9 feet in the air. It has a fantastic 360° view of the entire property and will act as a great summer tree house shelter or overflow sleeping cabin for Spring and Summer camping activities.

We located it behind the cabin, on the other side of the creek where deer stand #1 sits. This cabin will replace that deer stand. Next Summer, we hope to add a lower platform with a nice picnic table and chairs and some hooks for lanterns and hammocks. It sits just 5 feet from a beautiful twin oak tree so ought to be real nice in that setting.

Next time up (10/3) I'll be doing a little work on my tree stand to get it shored up a bit, put some weather walls on it and make a new ladder so I can easily access it. It was a stand we were contemplating for removal, however given the way my knees are acting up and the close proximity of the cabin and the basic traffic patterns of the deer, we made the decision instead to shore it up for use this year and then rebuild it a little higher up in the trees next year.

We picked up a couple of trail cams from Gander Mountain and have been using them to monitor our deer plots and trails. We have caught a lot of does but the big buck, whose hoof-print is nearly the size of my palm has not yet shown up on the camera. We left the cams up north for the last 2 weeks to see if he gets in the shot. Will let you know if we get a picture of him.

Wood Stove

Well, we finally did it! Due to some rather creative financial dancing and careful shopping, we managed to get a wood stove, pipe and crown, along with the protective wall board. It cost a little under $1000 for everything which makes it 1/3rd the cost of the entire cabin! Still, it works like a charm and sure heats up the place. Too much so, if you ask me. Still, it'll be nice for hunting season and trips made this Winter.

In previous week-ends, we had purchased and installed insulation. We bought R11 for the whole cabin, but to date have only managed to get the downstairs and half the upstairs finished. We got the hard half of the upstairs done which means the vaulting part. All that remains inside is to do the loft ceilings and back wall. And then the under floor which is the porch ceiling.

Also, we have to fix the spring arms of the loft ladder. John and I took one side off and noticed that we could easily pull it down a good inch and a half or so, so that'll be done, hopefully soon. We also rearranged the furniture and shelving in the place to get everything in its proper long-term place. We have a little clean-up to do yet, but it's shaping up just fine.

Robbed!

The nerve of some people still gets me! After learning, two weeks ago, that our favorite breakfast spot had been robbed, along with 2 other restaurants in town, we strove to do a better job of locking up our own stuff by cable-locking the generator, putting the tools away in the shed which is normally padlocked and separating the keys to our equipment from where it is normally located.

Never the less, upon arriving at camp, this past weekend, we discovered that we had been robbed! (pictures to follow) The villains had kicked in one of the panels of our cabin door and unlocked it from inside by reaching through the hole they had made. From here they stole John's new $80 fish-finder, Dad's tripod and a battery-operated lantern. Fortunately, they were either too busy or too stupid to lift up the air mattress that was on the downstairs cots, or they would have gotten his $1250 brand-new .3006 rifle.

Next, they took one of our own axes, and chopped through the half-inch cable holding the generator to the cabin and made off with that -- about a $500 piece of equipment -- but anyone who runs a raw camp like ours will tell you, a nearly indispensable one!

We found that they had lifted the tarps on the four-wheelers, but never noticed the keys in the cabin, so we were fortunate there, as well. However, they took our sledge-hammer, which I was using to hold the tarp down on my four-wheeler, and smashed the lock on the shed hard enough to take the lock and the entire bracket assembly completely off. From there they had a bonanza. 2 $200 chainsaws, 1 air compressor and 2 air-nailer guns all worth over $1000. plus several other power tools we are still attempting to identify.

They even managed to break into the back of the old pickup we keep on the property and tried to take Dad's table saw, which we were storing in there until later, but apparently, it was too cumbersome to carry off with them so they dumped it into the weeds near the end of the driveway.

Altogether, we figure, in equipment alone, we've lost over $2500 in goods and suffered damages to the tune of roughly $500. Of course, there is always a silver lining. As it turns out, these thieves have hit many, many places in the area recently, and their standard modus operandi (method of operation) is to vandalize and sometimes even burn, which thankfully, was not the case for us.

We have, of course reported the theft to the authorities, who will be sending out a loss-list to my home to report all the missing items and their values and to issue us a blue address tag for our property to make it easier to locate us in the event of another emergency. We also gave a preliminary list to the local pawn shop in the area. And we contacted our neighbors, only to learn that some of them, too have experienced similar assaults on their camps recently. And now having exchanged contact info, we can get in touch with each other in case something like this ever happens again.

Spring Thaw

March is here and while it is quite a beautiful day, it is never-the-less still quite chilly. The Kettle river is as yet mostly ice-covered and snow continues to litter the ground. The sky is a brilliant cobalt blue and the sun is pleasantly warm on the face. We've come up again for just the day to kind of keep an eye on things until we can see some growth to cover up the openness left by the removal of the trees.

We have at last received our check and hola! it is for much more than we originally figured it would be. This means that very likely, we will be able to afford to do all of the things we planned for back in February.

Oh Happy Spring!!!

Day-Camp

It's February now and Dad and John and I decided to do a Day-Trip up to the cabin. Just to sort of check things out and to see if the loggers did anymore clean up since John and I were last there in January. We haven't seen any sign of the funds from this venture yet and are apprehensive of the outcome of that given the amount of detritus they have left for us to clean up. The only good thing of which is we won't have to worry about firewood for awhile!

It's a pretty bleak and grey day out, but we take the time to walk all over the property just to get some different photo angles and to fully appreciate the extent of the clearing. After a bit of exploring and walking about, we sit down in the cabin to discuss plans for this year's work and what we intend to do to complete the cabin project.

Our basic plan for now is to repair the creek bed(s) and put in ditches to divert the overflow water caused by the damage of the loggers' heavy equipment back into the main stream outlets. Also, do a little road maintainence to make it easier to access the property. Then, move on to the cabin, with wiring via an off-the-grid 12v-110v Battery system with various recharge methods (solar/wind/gas generator). Next insulation and wall boarding. Then flooring -- carpet in the loft -- and closeting off the compost toilet, wood-burning stove in the back-right corner and mini-kitchen in the back-left. A futon and dresser for the main living area and futon matts for the cots in the loft. Finally, partially rounded cedar or pine log-style siding, to complete the look. If we have time, maybe we'll even get a well dug, as well.

Loggers

Well folks, I must apologize for once again neglecting my blogging duties and leaving you all in the dark as to the status of Woodpecker Hollow. Here it is January of 2009. We have a new president, the market needs financial crutches just to keep from completely collapsing and the loggers have come and stripped my land of nearly all of the birch trees. This leaves me with -- and I am basing my calculations purely on visual guessing -- approximately only 5% - 10% of my total tree count.

At first glance, it looks pretty bleak, but there are some real benefits here that need to be taken into consideration. First of all, the areas we were thinking about clearing for various reasons, are now cleared--less work for us. Also, you can now see all the way across the property, making hunting lanes easier. We can now map out and make our trails and access roads as we like. And finally, it is easier to walk across the property with less brush growth to fight through.

Here is Panoramic image of the property from the southeast corner. For best viewing, zoom(Ctrl++) it all the way in and use the scroll bar to pan left-to-right and vice-verse.

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!

Tree Stands

We caught sight of a pheasant in the area, but seeing as how it appears to be a loner, we are thinking to wait until we get more nesting in the area. I got it on digital film, but the images are too blurry. We fixed up a couple of the tree stands and did some hunting to no avail. We saw lots of sign of deer and even kicked up a small herd or 3-5 in the woods.

Fall Colors

Fall is one of the most spectacular times up in the Northwoods. The colors are extraordinary and the air has that clean crispness to it that makes you think of warm apple pie, hot cocoa or cider and something roasting on the fire. Mm mm-mm! Dad and I are beginning to get our supplies ready for the fall hunt. We are going deer hunting this year, for perhaps the first time in 30 years! But we are looking forward to it. I bought myself a nice 12-gauge, 5-round pump combo shotgun. It comes with both a slug barrel for large game and a longer bead barrel for birding or other small game. Dad got himself a new 30-30 rifle for hunting deer. He will use his old 16-gauge for small game.

Family Reunion 2007

Well, we did it! We had our first reunion of sorts up at the camp. Mostly it was a way of celebrating birthdays and family and just a darn good reason to get together. Uncle Al, Aunt Ruth and Rosie came out from Pennsylvania and Rob and Vikki came up from Michigan. Tom and Susie and his kids also stopped by and Deb and her kids William(and his girlfriend) and Janelle were there as well. My own kids, Amanda and Josh also made it up along with John a good friend of Josh's. Of course Dad and Ma (it was her 70th birthday, my 47th) were there and Mom brought Sheila up to join us.

On the evening before the big Saturday get-together, Uncle Al, Dad and Rob went up early to get the camp area prepared. Uncle Al and Rob wanted to throw in their own effort to helping with the camp, so due almost solely to their efforts, they virtually doubled the cleared area around the camp. A new picnic are was established. All of the logs were shortened and re-stacked in a neat stack. The grass was all mown and the fire pit relaid so it was more stable. The fire pit area was cleaned up and space for up to 8 cars was made! It was fantastic work and I am very grateful.

The party day itself was a huge success with food and music and stories and conversation all around! And the best part of it all was that no-one got hurt(which is often a common occurrence at family get-togethers)!

Green Green!

Here it is! Another beautiful green, green June day in the North woods. How wonderfully lush it is here. And how peaceful. This really is an idyllic place. We have decided however, to have some of the timber taken off the property as most of the birch is quite mature and we are getting far too many broken trunks. So rather than risk our newly built cabin, before it is even finished, we are going to have the birch and some of the poplar logged off the property. Have no fear, however. Birch grows like weeds out here and the woods will be full again before very long. And we are keeping all of the Pine, Oak, Basswood and much of the Maple. We will also be trying to plant some fruit trees here both for our own uses, and to attract more wildlife.