2012 Reading List

The Duluth Public Library offers the ability to keep a reading history of all the books I've checked out from any of their branches. This is the reading history from 2012:

Remains silent : a novel; Baden, Michael M.; 11/30/2012

The dog who knew too much : a Chet and Bernie mystery; Quinn, Spencer.; 11/30/2012

Quantico; Bear, Greg, 1951-; 11/30/2012

Nightworld; Wilson, F. Paul (Francis Paul); 11/30/2012

The omega theory : a novel; Alpert, Mark, 1961-; 11/26/2012

Final theory : a novel; Alpert, Mark, 1961-; 11/26/2012

The parties versus the people : how to turn Republicans and Democrats into Americans; Edwards, Mickey, 1937-; 11/26/2012

Flight : a novel; Alexie, Sherman, 1966-; 11/26/2012

The dark at the end : a Repairman Jack novel; Wilson, F. Paul (Francis Paul); 11/3/2012

Steve Jobs; Isaacson, Walter.; 10/16/2012

Democracy : [opposing viewpoints]; ; 10/16/2012

Dog on it : a Chet and Bernie mystery; Quinn, Spencer.; 10/16/2012

Thereby hangs a tail : a Chet and Bernie mystery; Quinn, Spencer.; 10/16/2012

13 1/2; Barr, Nevada.; 9/28/2012

Walking money; Born, James O.; 9/28/2012

Death benefit; Cook, Robin, 1940-; 9/18/2012

Force of nature; Box, C. J.; 9/18/2012

The land of painted caves. (Earth's children, book 6.); Auel, Jean M.; 9/18/2012

Gooseberry Falls to Grand Portage : a walking guide to the hiking trails in Minnesota's North Shore state parks; Morton, R. L. (Ronald Lee); 9/18/2012

Waterfalls of Minnesota's north shore : a guide for sightseers, hikers & romantics; Wallinga, Eve.; 9/18/2012

Hiking the North Shore : 50 fabulous day hikes in Minnesota's spectacular Lake Superior region; Slade, Andrew, 1964-; 9/18/2012

The Barbary pirates : an Ethan Gage adventure; Dietrich, William, 1951-; 8/31/2012

Micro : a novel; Crichton, Michael, 1942-2008.; 8/27/2012

Midas; Andrews, Russell.; 8/27/2012

False impression; Archer, Jeffrey, 1940-; 8/27/2012

Northwest angle : a novel; Krueger, William Kent; 8/10/2012

Copper River : a Cork O'Connor mystery; Krueger, William Kent.; 8/10/2012

Back of beyond; Box, C. J.; 3/20/2012

Rumsfeld : his rise, fall, and catastrophic legacy; Cockburn, Andrew, 1947-; 3/20/2012

The Dakota cipher : an Ethan Gage adventure; Dietrich, William, 1951-; 3/20/2012

The big short : inside the doomsday machine; Lewis, Michael (Michael M.); 3/20/2012

The Rosetta key; Dietrich, William, 1951-; 2/28/2012

Term limits; Flynn, Vince.; 2/28/2012

Cold vengeance; Preston, Douglas J.; 2/28/2012

Black tide; Temple, Peter, 1946-; 2/28/2012

Blue heaven; Box, C. J.; 1/14/2012

Foreign influence : a thriller; Thor, Brad.; 1/14/2012

Collision; Abbott, Jeff.; 1/14/2012

The first patient; Palmer, Michael, 1942-; 1/14/2012

Overhaul : an insider's account of the Obama administration's emergency rescue of the auto industry; Rattner, Steven.; 1/14/2012 

In addition to this list are the many books that we purchase from the Friends of the Bemidji Public Library Red Door Bookstore plus the books from the informal lending library the folks at the Duluth condo have set up. 

So many books, so little time....!

The Legend of Ollor Snevets Lives On

Many years ago I worked for one summer at Gunflint Northwood Outfitters. Near the end of the Gunflint Trail out of Grand Marais, the outfitters sat at the edge of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. (The "wilderness" designation didn't happen until several years later.) Janet Hanson owned and operated the outfitters.That summer, she hired an old, one-armed guy to put a foundation under a log cabin on the outfitter's property.

Ollor always worked alone. He didn't talk to anyone, other than Janet, that I ever saw. He spent a lot of time walking back and forth. He sat and stared at the cabin with a cup of coffee (I assume it was coffee). He  grumbled and mumbled. He got the job done.

Ollor, the old and one-armed guy, got the log cabin raised up. He got a foundation dug and laid up. He got the cabin set on the foundation. And, it was all good!

Ollor didn't give up. Ollor figured things out. Ollor got it done.

The wind storm this past July blew out the cover of our ShelterLogic Roundtop. It is a 12' by 20' by 10' high canvas-covered shelter. The wind ripped the cover down the middle. A replacement cover was ordered and arrived in September.

This morning, I put on my "Ollor Snevets" persona and installed the new cover - all . by . myself!! I may not be old. OK, I am old. I may not be one-armed. But, I'd like to think I'd honored the memory of Ollor Snevets.

It turned out pretty well! If I do say so my self.

It lives! It lives!

Looking pretty good!

Postscript:
"Ollor Snevets" is a rather unusual name. You may be wondering about its origin. The story - that long-ago summer at Gunflint Northwoods Outfitters - was that Ollor was really named Rollo Stevens. He changed his name because he was (allegedly) on the lam from his wife. And, now you know the rest of the story.

Hawk Ridge

Scanning the Skies

Spectacular fall foliage is not the only thing we watch for in late September.

Raptors of all shapes and sizes migrate north to south at this time of year. Many, on their journey south, bump into that vast expanse of water known as Lake Superior. Those raptors, being pretty smart birds, are reluctant to head out over the lake so they follow the North Shore of the lake toward Duluth. At Duluth, many birds pass over an area known as Hawk Ridge.

Hawk Ridge is not only a popular place to see the migrating raptors, it is also the location of the Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory. During the migration season, September 1 to October 31, the staff and volunteers of the observatory do a count of the passing birds. They also capture, band, and release a few of them. On the day we were there, they had counted quite a few as tallies in the photo below show.

Hourly/Daily Bird Count

While we were at Hawk Ridge, the staff caught, banded, and released a Sharp-shinned Hawk

Sharp-Shinned Hawk

and, a Broad-winged Hawk

Broad-winged Hawk

and, an American Kestrel.

American Kestrel aka Sparrow Hawk

To raise money for the operation of the observatory, the audience is invited to "adopt" a bird that is about to be released. For $25, the "adopter" gets to hold the "adoptee", have their picture taken, and then release the bird. Also, if the "adoptee" is ever re-captured - anywhere in the world - the "adopter" is notified of the time and location of the re-capture event. Cool! This young person got to hold and release a Sharp-shinned Hawk.

About to release a Sharp-shinned Hawk

Capture Minnesota

Last week I found out about the Capture Minnesota project. It's been going on since last fall. There are, truly, many excellent photographers in Minnesota.

LED Experiment

What would happen if one were to put some LED strip lights behind a photo in one of those cheap clear plastic frames? One result is that it could look something like this . . .

Well, not too bad for a cheap plastic thing with cardboard backing. But, there is one little bitty issue...

The "Kodak" printing on the back of the picture shows through. Bummer. 

But, as a proof of concept experiment, it shows promise. Now, if I had money to burn, I'd get a print done on "satin cloth" from RediPix.com and figure out a non-cheap, non-cardboard way to mount and light it. 

Something to think about....

January morning

Blue-flag Iris

Sometimes, on a cold and snowy January morning, a bit of Spring is a welcome interlude.

River Walk Jan 4, 2012

A beautiful sunny day. Warm, too. Just had to get out and see what's been happening on this most northern stretch of the Mississippi.

The first thing I came across was a set of tracks made by three otter in the last couple days, probably two days ago.

Three otter

Three otter

As I turned the corner to head west upriver, this scene presented itself. A quintessential winter river scene - a big white pine, long blue shadows, and a flat, white river.

Mississippi River scene

At this bend of the river a sign cautions those who travel this way in the warmer months. It doesn't really apply on a January day.

OK...

A little further on, I came across a set of fox tracks that were coming from where I was headed. These were very fresh. I'd missed the fox by just a few hours.

Fox track

Closer to shore, alders grow. They've already set buds for next spring's flowering.

Alder buds waiting for Spring to flower

I think the alder buds looks like little sausages!

They look like sausages

And then .... a trifecta!! Fox track, deer track, and otter track - all in one shot!

Fox, deer, and otter! Oh, my!

Near the canoe camp, a beaver had taken down a large birch. This stump was more than two feet across at the cut line!

Large birch felled by a beaver

Since it was nearby, I checked on the canoe camp. Everything seems to be OK.

Canoe camp

And then I saw it. Why is there always some ignoramus who desperately, desperately needs a clue??

Someone really needs to get a clue!

This is a very large Norway pine. It has been all but completely girdled. It is unlikely that it will survive this senseless attack. Here's what it looks like from the river - it's the large Norway leaning to the left.

The injured Norway

If I knew who had committed this senseless attack, I'd be more that happy to deliver the clue that person so sorely needs. I'd be sure to deliver it, most emphatically, on the toe of my size 11-1/2 boot!

Heading back, I stopped to try my hand at creating a panorama of Stump Lake on the Mississippi.

Stump Lake on the Mississippi - Panorama attempt 1

Stump Lake on the Mississippi - Panorama attempt2

All in all, a gorgeous day for a walk. If only I could find that dingbat that needs a clue.....

Black and white with color

The black and white days of a northern winter are a good time to remember and relive the warmth and glorious colors of autumn on the North Shore.



If your browser does not show you the slide show, here is a link to the album of the photos:

https://picasaweb.google.com/fhartmanmn/NorthShore?authuser=0&feat=directlink

Just for chuckles, what happens with this bit of HTML code:

North Shore

Short Days

Short days;
Long shadows
Paint turquoise on snow,
Ebony on branch and twig.

Christmas on the Shore

Winter or summer, spring or fall, Gooseberry State Park is a "must do" stop for our family. When Todd said he'd come north to Duluth for Christmas, we were excited to be able to share Gooseberry in winter with him. We were hoping he'd find the frozen falls as well as other North Shore winter scenes as fascinating as we do. I think he did!

Lower falls on the Gooseberry River

Check out Todd's photo album at:
https://plus.google.com/photos/109166346689447369585/albums/5691321959059947393

Split Rock
Another favorite stop on the Shore is Split Rock State Park. We like to go to the small protected cove that presents fine views of the lighthouse. Here's a money shot:

Split Rock lighthouse from the cove

The cove is protected by the "island" on the right. In summer, it is forbidden to walk on the island in order to protect a bird sanctuary there. Fall and winter, however, it's OK to go there. The lake side of the island offers additional good views of the lighthouse.

Todd on the "island" at Split Rock

Heading back to Duluth after taking in the winter sights on the shore, we stopped for an early dinner at The New Scenic Cafe (http://www.sceniccafe.com/). Check out the menu on their website! Todd ordered the rack of lamb, Fred tucked into the ribeye calotte, and Nancy had the French onion soup. If you are ever on the Shore, do not pass up an opportunity to dine at the The New Scenic Cafe - and it IS dining, not simply eating.

While in Duluth, we had a couple meals at the Duluth Grill (http://www.duluthgrill.com/). The Duluth Grill is another North Shore eatery that we highly recommend. Todd had to try the Big Bold Bison Burger that was featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. Fred had the Corned Beef Hash Lover's Skillet. Nancy helped us and we still took left-overs home! This is really good food!

Christmas Day Eve we took in the sights at the Bentleyville Tour of Lights at Duluth's Bayfront Park.
Here's a slideshow of the tour. (For those who can not view a Flash-based entity, a here's a link to the pictures: https://picasaweb.google.com/105110449577043030329/Bentleyville2011)