Dock Retrieval Day plus One

Getting the dock out on Thursday (yesterday) was definitely a wise decision. It would have been a much tougher task today.

Frozen River, Falling Snow

Dock Retrieval

It's that time of year again. Actually, it's a bit past that time of year.

Time to take the dock out before the river ices over. Usually, we get this done in October. This year we hustled back from Omaha on November 16th and started working on the dock on the morning of the 17th. That's nearly a month later than we normally do this.

First step in the process is to set up the come-along and, using a tow-rope and a steel cable and a logging chain, connect it to the dock and the base of a large, strategically placed white pine.

Chaining up

Once the chains, cable, and come-along are in place, it's time to set rollers and skids. A bit of tension is then put into the system to hold it all in place.

Setting some tension

Then it's time to break up the ice that has formed near the shore. One of the rollers is a good tool for this job. First, up one side ....

Breaking the ice

... then down the other.

Good thing the ice is still thin!!

Now we're ready to get to work. Grab the handle of the come-along and in a manly way attempt to coax the dock up onto the skids and rollers and onto the shore.

"It's moving! I saw it move!"

The dock ends up resting on that patch of bare ground. The come-along is used to get the near end of the dock lifted up onto the shore. At that point, more rollers are added. The chain and cable are shifted from the big pine tree to the hitch on the back of the Odyssey. The van then hauls the dock in until the dock wheels are against the bank.

I was worried that the light snow on the grass would make it hard for the Odyssey to get sufficient traction. Worries were unfounded; it did great!

Manitoba Outing - Grain Elevators

One striking characteristic of southern Manitoba and southern Saskatchewan is the absolute table-top flatness of the place. That flat landscape of endless grain fields highlights another striking feature - the brightly painted grain elevators.

Grain elevator near St. Malo, Manitoba

Manitoba Outing - The Church at Tolstoi, Manitoba

On our way to St. Malo Provincial Park for a gathering of fiberglass camping trailers similar to ours, we came across a small Ukrainian church near the highway at Tolstoi, MB.

Seeing that the door was open, we entered to find two women cleaning the place. We asked if it would be OK to look around and take some pictures. They said, "Of course!" So we did.

The inside of the place is really tiny - but charming. We were not prepared for the intricate woodwork and painting: nor, for the rich colors!

View from the choir loft

Another view from the loft

Eagles on the Thirteenth

Went to Greenwood Golf Course today. Played the back nine.

As I got ready on the 13th tee, I looked up to see a kettle of bald eagles. They came in low over the 13th green (a short par 3) and found a fast rising thermal. They quickly wheeled to ride that thermal up and up. In no time at all, they were thousands of feet up and going higher. There were three bald eagles, a turkey vulture, and a large hawk that I could not identify. A couple of times two of the eagles began an aerobatic dance. I thought that, perhaps, they'd lock talons and spiral toward the ground. But, it's the wrong season for that kind of carrying on.

All the avian participants in the kettle continued to ride the thermal up until they were hard to see against the building cumulus clouds. It was fascinating.

Pulling my attention from the aerial acrobatics, I lined up and pulled the trigger only to find that the show had played Hell with my tee shot. Pulled it left and short. Ended up taking a bogey on an easy par three and walked away smiling as I remembered the treat of Eagles on the Thirteenth.

Wild Rice and Jewels

The wild rice beds (Zizania palustris) are lush and flowering profusely. If the rice is able to ripen, there will be a lot of very fat geese and ducks heading south this fall. Next to the rice beds, along the shore of the Mississippi, are many jewels of the flower variety.

First, a look at the rice beds. You may have never seen wild rice as it flowers. Here is rice plant in flower:

The rain last night knocked down many of the wild rice flowers that had already completed their mission. This next photo shows that the flowers form below the spike that contains the growing rice kernels. It's easy to see that wild rice is a plant in the grass family.

The rice kernels are still young and green and tightly clasped to the spike at the top of the plant.

As I said at the beginning, the beds are lush. Here's how they look in front of our place. I've not seen the beds this lush and full in years past.

This summer has been a good one for flowers. There are several flower-jewels on the shore.

First up in the Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis), also known as Touch-Me-Not. It is an exquisite little flower. The juice from the stem of the Jewelweed is said to be an effective treatment for poison ivy and other rashes.

Right next to the Jewelweed is this tiny little plant with tiny little purple flowers. I have no idea what this plant is, but I love the color of its flowers.

  

Just to the left of the tiny purple flower above is the fuzzy purple flower below. Again, I don't know what name it carries I just think it's pretty.

It's been a good year, too, for Canadian Thistle. For a noxious weed, they certainly have pretty flowers.

 

While I was admiring the thistle, a bee stopped by to harvest some pollen.

And finally, just a bit further along the shore are some Spotted Joe-Pye Weed (Eutrochium maculatum) plants. These plants, in addition to being striking are attractive to butterflies and bees. And, me, too.

 Wild rice and jewels on the shore of the Mississippi...it's a good time to be in the neighborhood!

Superior Hiking Trail Stroll

Nancy and I took a stroll on the Superior Hiking Trail in Duluth. We parked on Skyline Drive a bit west of 27th Avenue West. We walked on the road to where the Superior Hiking Trail (SHT) crossed Skyline Drive, then we headed up the hill. After a fairly steep climb - our stroll was more of a scramble or, maybe, a trudge - we arrived at the summit of Piedmont Knob.

The view from this spot is outstanding! Here's a short video . . .



I should have brought the tripod, or at least, the walking stick/monopod to steady the camera. Next time, for sure!