We are home from being at the cabin for the past few days. We had a wonderful, quiet time there, as always. In addition to the usual delights, we had the perfect viewing spot for the meteor shower, lying in the back of the pick-up, with no city lights to dilute the show. It was spectacular... so many stars and quite a few that looked like they fell right over us, surely landing in 'our' lake! I almost, but not quite, forgot to listen for the sound of the bear whose scat we found very close by, eating from chokecherry bushes in the driveway.
We also went fishing. We have never caught such small trout! My husband caught the first fish, but as it was 'only' about 10", he let it go. After that, we began catching the tiniest little things, each only between 4-6". Of course, we threw them all back, each with an apology and a lecture to try to learn from this experience. When we were taking the boat out of the lake to go back to the cabin, another fisherman commented that he had caught the littlest trout he'd ever seen. We told him we had caught a whole pre-school of them!
Even though we came home fish-less, I did get the great photos above of two blue herons taking off over the lake. The first one literally ran across the water to take off. The second one just leaped up and flew away from us, but I loved the pattern the rough lake makes beneath him as he got out over the water.
In addition, I took way too many pictures of hummingbirds, from which I will spare you. We had more little hummers at our feeder than we've had ever, I think. With only 6 spots to drink from, there were twice that many vying for the spots! They actually seem to cooperate better, the more there are of them. Odd, but true.
Our weekend chore was to cut wood for the winter. For $20, you can get a National Forest permit to cut 2 cords of dead or downed wood. We didn't want to cut that much on this trip, but decided to get a pick-up load. Since our boys grew up and left us on our own for these chores, we have opted to just buy the wood to heat the cabin for the past several years. But this year we chose to get the permit and go back to the way we used to do it. We had seen so much downed wood in the nearby aspen forest that we decided we could go for it. My husband cut it into usable logs, and my job was to load it into the truck.
Back in the days when we had two strong boys to help, my job was just to move the wood back and arrange it in the truck bed, so the weight was evenly distributed. But this time I loaded it, and stacked it in the truck. I missed my boys! I think I will start now, sending each grandchild a log for Christmas, a bigger one every year, and then, after they have built up their log-carrying strength, we will plan one of the 'activities' for Grandma-Grandpa Camp to be wood gathering!
I love how light it is in an Aspen forest. The trees are thick, but they are very tall, and the canopy is not heavy. There is always beautiful light on the forest floor. And, did you know that an Aspen stand is all one organism? The fact for the day!
I hope you had as lovely a weekend as we had. If not, next weekend maybe you would like to help us cut another load of wood?
6 comments:
Thanks for sharing it was a pleasure to read your blog and I love the pictures of the herons!!! I would love to help with the wood, alas I'm too far away from you! It will keep you fit for beating the tapestry weft - Chuckle!
I also admired those Aspen trees and the way you put the photos together to get an idea of how tall they are and how beautiful the light shines through. It looks like a very special place!
wishing you a good week!
Looks like a productive and relaxing time all together. We'll be back in town soon and volunteer to help with the wood.
We spent the week in Lincoln City, Oregon on the beach, loved it! Sadly there was only one day of sunshine, on our last day. We got lots of pictures though sun or no sun. We are headed back the 1st of Sept.
Always enjoy your pictures!!
you are welcome to keep those logs to yourself. no way do i need to be building more strange contraptions for kids and cats alike in my house!
Ha, Lorrie! No I won't really send you the logs. But keep them doing those things that will make them strong log haulers for Grandma in a few years!
Sounds like you had the perfect weekend! Yes Aspen forests are the best, I feel closed in when the light can't filter down through the trees!
What lovely photos. You can't beat 2 cords for $20, though I'm sure it was a dreadful amount of work. If the weather was that nice though, I'm sure it was a pleasure to gather the wood!
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