Greetings and welcome!
I have been one busy guy this week. I have been tackling a lot of projects that I need to have done before winter hits, and making a dent in my firewood too. I’m pretty sore so I am starting with computer stuff today.
First up is events. This Saturday is the Soup & Chili Fest at the Silver Cliff Picnic Grounds. That is always a very popular event with people. Normally it is next weekend, but this year September has five Saturdays, and the event is held on the 4th Saturday of September. That is why it seems early this year.
Also on the event list is the 1st Annual Laona Fall Festival. It is Saturday 9-5 at the soup kettle park.
Something else of interest this weekend is that Kosir’s will be running raft trips Saturday (Noon) and Sunday (10am). The fall colors on the river are getting pretty, so it will be a scenic ride. The water level will be amazing too. It was about a +4 yesterday, but with yesterday’s thunderstorms it is now heading for +8 and the slope of the graph is nearly vertical. We will have excellent water levels this weekend. So.. call Kosir’s and get on board for some unusual fall colors rafting. I will be there taking pictures again.
I got kind of excited about it, and I don’t have any fall colors rafting pictures, so I made one for the occasion. I cloned some fall colors from Tuesday at Boat Landing 11 into a May 29 rafting picture and it came out kind of cool.
The fall color show is coming right along. Most of the early maples are going off, and those can be some of the most colorful trees. The choke cherries are changing along with sumac, the underbrush, and a couple of other tree species. Here are a couple of more pictures from Tuesday & Wednesday..
Earlier in the week I was out brush cutting an area that did not get cut at all this summer. I want to store my boat there for winter, and the weeds were chest high or better. Much to my surprise the ground didn’t have grass on it, the ground had moss on it. I guess that it was indeed a wet summer.
It also surprised me Wednesday when I checked the freshly cut spot and found that the maple sheltering one side of it had dropped its leaves and was almost done. Monday there were none, Wednesday they were down. That was quick.
Fall preparations include a lot of wrenching on stuff and brush cutting, but the focus is on firewood. I always tell people that firewood is the Gold’s Gym of the north. I have worked my way into noodle arms a couple of times this week, saying one more cart then I can quit, and then doing 6 or 10 more. I know that I will be in a lot better shape on the other side of the 6 or 7 cords that I will put up in the next week or so.
I will be out there again later today, but then I am quitting for a few days. Why? Because even though tomorrow is the first day of fall, we are expecting a high of almost 90 degrees. Saturday and Sunday are expected to be in the upper 80s too. That will make the rafting very refreshing, but it is not ideal for firewood.
The bug of the week is the gnat. They are plentiful and can get a little aggravating with their flying into your eyes and ears. When I am stacking firewood I use Repel on my head, close fitting safety glasses to keep them out of my eyes, and foam ear plugs. I don’t like it much, but that is what it takes. The gators are still present too, and in quantity in some places.Bring the Repel.
We have not had our first frost yet, let alone a killing frost. We can thank that for the ample bugs. It does not look like it will come in the next week either. I am seeing low temperatures from 57 to 66 degrees, there is certainly no frost danger there.
Well I am off to get some lunch and then stack as much firewood as I can before the weekend heat wave arrives. Have a good weekend and thank you for visiting!
RJB