Update

A little late, but freezer is full and we are set!

It's the Second Week of Deer Hunt

Joe is out for his second weekend to try and get a deer. Only 10 degrees this morning, brr.  He stayed warm he said. Hope the homemade soup for lunch helped keep him warm for the rest of the afternoon.

He saw quite a few deer the first weekend, then things tapered of.  One of them sounded like quite a big buck, maybe 6 or 8 points.

We have some snow here, maybe an inch. Supposed to get 1 to 2 more overnight tonight.

Will keep you posted.  Wish we were at the shack sitting around playing cards, with lots of orange hanging on the hooks.

Thrifting

Not sure how many of you all enjoy thrift shopping, but here in Minnesota along Hwy 35 we have some awesome thrift stores called Family Pathways.  Rachel and Emily can attest to that. They start in Hinckley and head south to Forest Lake and branch off to the east to St. Croix Falls, WI, and west to Cambridge and a few others over there.

Today my friend, Nina, and I are "hitting the highway" to thrift. First up is St. Croix Falls, then a new store in Lindstrom, MN, then heading north and hitting as many as we can before we are exhausted.

I will have to let you now what treasures I find.

Also, for us old folks, Tuesdays are senior days so you get extra discounts!!!

Happy Tuesday!

Deanna

Fall in the Northland

Things have changed since my last post. 

Today we took the garden down.  Picked the beets and baked them. Had some for dinner and will have some again tomorrow. So sweet.   Picked the last of the Swiss chard yesterday. Put some in eggs this morning.

Over the last week we got 3 inches of rain.  Lake Superior was just wild, not sure if any of you caught that or not.

The weather has been cool. With the rain and wind we lost lots of pretty leaves, you just have to look down now instead of up.  Our 2 biggest maples still have leaves, yellow and orange. 

We had 2 mature bald eagles and 3 immature on Thursday in the "Raven Tree" behind the shed.  Today it was definitely the "Raven Tree" as there were at least 10 ravens perched on the branches. I notice the birds are getting much more active now that fall is here, lots of blue jays and robins.  I miss the robins when they go.

Tomorrow my sister and I are going to a live performance of the radio presentation of War of the Worlds at the Lincoln Park Middle School. That should be pretty awesome.

Happy Fall Y'all!

Deanna

Wrenshallian Living

Well our garden has been in for almost a month now. It is still alive, but just not doing much. We have had some cool weather, but these last few days and the upcoming week will be warm and humid, so the garden might just take off.

I was going to be so diligent about hanging out clothes this summer, but a tree fell on my lines and we have not sorted that out yet. Feel kind of guilty turning on the dryer. I suppose I could do what they did way back when and drape my clothes over bushes to dry.  Trouble is, I don't want that many bugs in my house when I bring the clothes in. Also, we don't have many bushes close enough to the house.

Went to the Free Range Film Festival this weekend. Once again, thank you Amanda for cluing us in to that.  Fun as always!

Today is a rainy day, over an inch already. Makes one feel quite lazy.

Love to all!

Sunday Hike!

Hi Everyone!

We went hiking on Sunday. We went to Joseph D. Grant Ranch County Park, which is up in the hills but is not really very far away. It was a beautiful sunny day, with highs in the low eighties. It was only about a half-hour drive, and most of that was the seven miles of winding roads up into the hills.

The park was nearly deserted - maybe 10% of the parking spaces were full, and we only once saw other people out on the trails. Entrance fee is $6 per car, and there's water and good bathrooms. There are campgrounds as well.

The area is used for cattle grazing, and there are some barns, pens, and gated pastures on the property. We didn't ever see any cattle (although we did see some turkeys). A couple of times, we had to climb over gates when the pedestrian part of a gate wouldn't open.

I'm told that the orange flowers are California poppies. (I wonder if veterans' groups in CA give orange poppies instead of red ones? Is that even still a thing? Neither Bryan nor I could remember the last time we saw one of those red paper poppies.)

We have to buy some new sunscreen; ours is expired, and we are both a bit red around our necks, where our shirts didn't cover.

That's all the news from us. Hope you are finally having some spring weather in WI/MN, and all the snow is melting.

Love,
Amanda

Spring? Winter?

Well, we are just not sure if spring is coming to Northern Minnesota this year.  We had a couple of nice days some time back, early March/late February, but now cold and more snow, maybe 8 or so inches this coming weekend.

I did hear a robin one day, and saw a red-winged blackbird one day.  I guess spring will spring.

Solutions for Bette's Puzzles!

This post is specifically for Bette. I had intended to include instructions for solving with her Christmas puzzles, but as with everything, ran out of time. But, I have finally made copies of my own, and recorded videos to explain them. Without further ado:

Solving the triangle-ring puzzle:

Solving the ladder-string puzzle:

Hope these help ease some frustration. Good luck!

Snow

It would be nice if I could take some pics and post them, but I seem to have lost my knowledge along that line and Joe is not home right now.

We have about 8" of new snow on the ground. It is beautiful!  So white and clean outside.

I was sitting in the living room with the cats - busy day today - and heard a very loud noise.  Peeked out the window and there were 4 deer cleaning up the birdseed and one had hopped up onto the deck. Sure wish I could have seen that.  Pretty little piggies.

Hope your winters are going well. 

Must break out the snowshoes!

Weather?

I have to say that I am enjoying the cooler summer weather we have had so far, however, my basil is not too into it at all. Actually most of the garden plants are not too happy, they want heat.  Maybe I should send them on a Caribbean cruise.

Love listening to the frogs at night with the windows open, and the birds in the morning.  Our little wren made a nest in the house on a pitchfork in front of the house. Have not heard babies yet, but hoping they are there.

We have had a bobwhite hanging around here, boy are they loud!

Well, off to work on getting the laundry done.

Happy Sunday!