...in the park and prairie.
Pax and Ari having fun together.
Listening to Chicken Salad Chick on the How I Built This podcast, and, after dinner (which includes home grown squash) , watching the new Netflix cooking show Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat.
Forgot to mention world famous waffles for breakfast.
Photo by Nik
Photo by Nik
...and so much more.
Catching up with the Nies family.
Lots of fun there.
Cold and gray outside. Rosemary moved indoors.
Visit to Foxpoint.
The weather has turned. Rosemary covered tonight as frost precaution.
...but still not the kind of weather you’d hope for in October in Wisconsin.
Pax and I got in a bit of a bike ride as the rain was moving out, and came across lots of purple aster, which pretty much wraps up the prairie’s seasonal flowering.
And then the hickory tree where we try to scavenge nuts every fall, only to be outdone by squirrels and weevils. We did find a few whole nuts without weevil holes. We’ll have to see if they float.
Pretty much everything sorted and stowed. Too hot and buggy to check the garden. On an afternoon bike ride I watched a biggish cloud float my way figuring it was mostly scenic, but no—totally drenched.
Lovely Kentucky Coffee Tree in the park
Forty-four in St. Iggy on departure, eighty-four in Whitewater on arrival.
And then, once here, more lifting, dragging, and shuffling. About 7 hours on the road, over half of it in rain. Flooded fields all down through Wisconsin, and the Rock and Crawfish rivers both way out of their banks.
Still, it is good be done with traveling for a while, and good to be settling in for the season.
...from Kagawong to Saint Ignace. Some bright color against long gray skies.
It takes a village to pull a waterline
Waterline pulled, everything drained and antifreezed. Not super fun, but not the total worst. Done by noon, but departure delayed until 12:30 while we searched for the missing garage key.
And that’s it for this year.
... and so have we.
Tamia spent a good part of the day excavating the center of this old stump right outside the back door. She would dive in, grab a mouthful of dirt, pop back up, spit up her load, scratch it behind her, and go back for more. Will this be a new winter home, or perhaps a larder hoard for all the delectables that are being cast outside?
Last cookout—no chairs available
And for us, this may be the worst day of the season, although we have to wait to see what tomorrow and shutdown of the water system brings. Infinite number of end of the season chores, most of which involve heavy lifting.
Strong blow from northeast with big surf. Cold, Be well advised to keep out of the wind. Major cleaning, organizing, packing, stowing kind of a day. Second worst day of the season, in other words.
Photo from yesterday
...following last night’s storm, which dropped perhaps 3 inches of rain. The Susie Pea, which was upright, almost full to the brim.
Super high water this morning, then low water at noon, then high water again by dinner time.
Photos by Sue.
Here’s my “newsy” article for the Expositor:
From Manitoulin To Madeline
The 2018 Great Lakes Islands “Summit”
By Jim Nies
At its annual “summit” meeting, October 1 and 2, the Great Lakes Islands Alliance (GLIA) (formerly called the Great Lakes Islands Coalition) celebrated its second birthday and formally adopted the Charter it has been working on the past year.
This document has as its mission: building relationships, fostering information exchange, and leveraging resources “to address shared challenges and embrace opportunities to benefit islands.” One of its key goals is to” amplify island voices to mainland audiences.”
The “summit” brought over 80 representatives, from thirteen year-round-inhabited islands, to beautiful Madeline Island, a 20 minute ferry ride from the village of Bayfield, Wisconsin, in far western Lake Superior (surrounded by the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore). Jim Nies and Joe Shorthouse represented the Manitoulin Island GLIA team.
Also participating and providing support were the Michigan Office of the Great Lakes, Northland College, and the Island Institute—all the way from Rockland, Maine.
Apparent on arrival was the immense amount of preparatory work done by the Madeline Island planning committee—effective agenda, a lovely meeting place, free lodging for those needing it, fabulous food, opportunities for socializing and networking, even guided tours of the island.
Highlighting the first day of the conference was the keynote presentation by Peter Annin, author of The Great Lakes Water Wars. This book has become the definitive work on the history of attempts to divert Great Lakes water outside the basin, and on the Great Lakes Compact, the legislation that seeks to prevent it. Peter brought the revised and newly released second edition with him which now details the “war” now going on in southeast Wisconsin with the Waukesha, Foxconn, and Pleasant Prairie diversion issues.
After-dinner entertainment included a musical review featuring whacky island tourist questions. And then the representatives from Pelee Island performed a wild and wonderful island trivia game in which the prizes were bottles of that island’s most famous product.
Tuesday’s breakout sessions (in-depth discussions) were devoted to Sustainable Energy, Water Levels, Affordable Housing, and Economic Development. Subcommittees have been formed to compile resources (including grant funding opportunities) in each of these areas and will be available to all GLIA members.
As a member of GLIA, Manitoulin also has access to Maine’s Island Institute, which has been working to improve the lives of Maine islanders for 25 years. The Institute has, among other things, assisted small business development, advanced aquaculture, brought high speed broadband to the islands, helped islands dramatically reduce energy costs and convert to sustainable sources, and has lead planning for climate change adaptation.
“Great Lakes islands have a lot in common with Maine islands,” said John Allen, director of the Michigan Office of the Great Lakes. According to Allen, what the Institute is doing is profound, insightful, and totally in tune with their communities. “We want some of that, too—to help our island communities in a meaningful way.”
Next year’s “summit” conference will be held on Mackinac Island. And the year after that—possibly Manitoulin?
If you are interested in islands, the Great Lakes, love Manitoulin, and would like to be part of the Manitoulin GLIA team, please email : editor@manitoulin.ca
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Drive not too rainy, but once back on Manitoulin...heavy rain, slashing wind, and occasional thunder.
Cold in the house on arrival, but half a dozen splits in the stove along with a carrot cake, and now all cozy, though the rain continues to hammer the roof. Swales filling and rivulets running.
We are in the zone... between southern warmth and a big northern cold front. Lake level rising.
Heading to Pinebox soon for a foul weather chicken dinner.
In the Michigan Sault.
Depart Madeline on the 1:45 ferry. Good conference.
Long day sitting, but with a number of fun conversations with folks from various islands.
Photo by Sue
Next year’s “summit” on Mackinac.
...with Great Lakes water on one side or the other, or both, all the way. Spectacular fall color in various places.
Lake Gogebic
Lake Gogebic
Bayfield
Madeline
Welcoming fish fry
Sue and Matt.
again, heading west from Manitoulin to Madeline—for the Great Lakes Islands conference.
Photo by Sue
Down vest under jacket...cold.
The fish are coming up the Kagawong River
But are struggling with low flow. Last night’ rain, which continued until noon, though not heavy, might help some.
Windrider pulled and power-washed. All watercraft now high and dry and safe and sound.
Each day another small step towards shutdown.
ALSO today the Serendipity Thanksgiving celebration. Prom rib with Yorkshire pudding, green bean casserole, and pumpkin pie.
Cool, breezy, with just the occasional cloud.
Photo by Sue
Off-roading with Murray. We did the upper Serendipity loop. Made it with only one stop due to big downed balsam. Pulling in tandem we were able to shift it just far enough aside to pass through.
Jet ski tucked away in the lean-to.
...after last night’s early morning rain. Concrete entry porch pretty much a puddle. But good for growing grass. In spite of recent little rains the river is just a pale vestige of its spring self.
Saw one salmon trying to get up river but not making it
Lake Kagawong shoreline folks are ticked at Billings Twp. for letting the local hydro company drain down more than their allotted share. Can’t say as I blame ‘em.
Mostly cloudy but with occasional bursts of sunshine.
