Root Beer Lady

Today I finished reading  Root Beer Lady, the Story of Dorothy Molter, by Bob Cary, published by Pfeifer-Hamilton of Duluth, Minnesota in 1993.  This book is about a woman who visited the Boundary Waters Canoe Area as a young woman, long before it was the BWCA, in 1934, and who decided to spend her life in the wilderness.  She worked at a wilderness resort with an older friend, Bill Berglund, until he died, and then took ownership of the resort herself, making her living by renting a few cabins to visitors and selling supplies at her little store.  She was self-sufficient and very strong and athletic, and did a lot of listening and watching to learn her wilderness skills.  She was a markswoman on her Chicago high school sports team, so was already a good shot, and her father, who was a security officer for railroads,  was a wilderness sports fisherman.  My mother gave me this book years ago.  It is signed by the author, who lives in Ely, Minnesota, which is pretty much the closest ‘urban’ area to Dorothy Molter’s Isle of the Pines ‘resort’.  This is a simple book, telling a regional story.  The important thing about regional stories is their fine grandularity. When you look at a larger issue (the BWCA, wilderness presevation, rules and regulations, priorities and principles) in the fine detail of a local-regional story such as this one, the simplicity of the larger issue is obscured. 

It is a good thing to have the large issues obscured. We need to remember the many sides of every story and problem.  We need to be challenged to explain what our principles and priorities really signify.  Dorothy Molter was a homesteader of a wilderness that could support very few, and in the eyes of the local people, she lived on and used her land gently and responsibly..  When Society at large decided there was some sort of value in restricting the use of land which she in fact owned, and restricting the way people could use the land, then Society took rights from her to live where she chose and to make a living as she had been for decades.  It’s not a very Libertarian thing to do, really.  (I deliberately used the word Society, not Government, because Government is only a tool of the tyrany of the powerful, whether that is the Majority, or the Wealthy or the 1%.)

I don’t necessarily recommend that you (in the sense of ‘you all’) read this particular book, but I do recommend stopping for a moment now and then to read som regional stories.  Because the world is not composed of the stories of issues.  It is the stories of people, one interesting and beautiful person at a time.

 

It’s a bird

Still here

Sears finally fixed the air conditioning yesterday. Their technicians are great people, well trained and considerate. However, the Sears business model for fulfilling warranty agreements is to stall and delay and understaff. I was without air conditioning for 23 hot days during the summer. Will I ever buy from Sears again?

Yesterday, to add further excitment to the day, my upright freezer quit, and I lost 85% of the food in it. (It was a Kenmore freezer, and it’s replacement will not be.)

Moab 2011 – Gemini Bridges

We left Lakewood for Moab at about 2:30 and arrived at about 8:15PM.  We met up with Courtney and Kevin at the Moab Brewery for dinner — where they announced their engagement.  They are so happy!  Kevin asked Courtney to marry him at the top of Funnel Arch. 

On Saturday (February 19th) it was raining intermitently, so we jeeped with smaller hikes in the morning and returned to Moab in the early afternoon.  Here are the photos from the morning treks, first to Gemini Bridges and then to Long Canyon.

The first portion of the Gemini Bridges trail used to be rocky but theyve smoothed it with a rock grinder.  That is Mike’s jeep.  I rode with Courtney and Kevin in her jeep.

What you see to begin with after walking from the parking area in to the bridges is a large hole.   From the right angle you see the bridge.  (Bridges are like arches – freestanding loops arches of rock, but they are formed differently.) 

This is the first bridge. Gemini signifies that there are 2.  They are side by side.

The second bridge is separated from the first by a narrow-looking gap.  However, note the in the right corner of the photo there is a man in a blue jacket. 

This shows both bridges, or more specifically, the gap between them.

 

Here are Courtney and Kevin.

Grass-scape at Gemini Bridges.

From Gemini Bridges you can see the Lasalles, but the mountains were in clouds.  Normally the sky would be brilliant blue.

These are Kevin and Mike, standing on one of the bridges.

 

Rock outcrop with view across the canyon.

This will be the last photo for the post.  The next post will be of a jeep ride through Long Canyon near Dead Horse Point.

On the Road to Moab – 2011

The day before I left Maryland, the red amaryllis bloomed.  This is the new bulb I got for half price at Home Depot after Christmas:

The drive from Denver to Moab, Utah, takes about 6 hours.  We left at 2:15PM and encountered fairly light traffic.  This is one of the first views of snow covered peaks that you can see from I-70.

One photo from Glenwood  Canyon:

Opening Lines…

The best cure for winter blahs – flowering bulbs.  This is the first of the amaryllis blubs, about to bloom in my kitchen window.

About the Trees

Last year it was all about the snow.  This year, the snow is in the Northeast and the Midwest, and even in the South.  We have sleet, freezing rain and that special sleet-snow that has been called ‘heart attack snow’. 

This year, it is all about the trees.  The latest storm put such weight on the trees that they broke apart in amazing numbers.  Many streets were blocked, and many power lines were taken down.  This broken tree is in my neighborhood.   It  is not the most severely damaged – others lost even more or larger branches and took down more power lines.  However, this one made the best picture.

The storm that caused this tree’s damage was on January 26th.  It all began with rain, which turned to sleet, and then shifted to very wet snow that hit it’s maximum drop-rate around 7PM.  By then, the roads hd been in gridlock for 2 hours.  Although the storm and it’s pattern were predicted well in advance, Montgomery County did not sand, was not ready to plow, and did nothing to manage the gridlocked traffic.  My commute is about 7 miles, but much of it is eastbound.  It took me 5 hours to get home from work.

I had lots of company.

Contrary to local government excuses, the problem was not the street conditions nor was it due to abandoned cars.  The eastbound gridlock was due to the timing of the traffic lights, which allowed north and south feeder streets to dump traffic onto the eastbound cross streets, but never allowed the eastbound traffic to move. 

I saw this icy grove on my way in to work the next morning.  The aftermath of disaster can be quite amazing, beautiful, or haunting. 

With sunlight, there are sepia tones, while the overcast skies result in what amounts to black and white scenes.  In either event, what I most enjoy is seeing the trees’ skeletons, in their chaotic simplicity.

When it is so cold (and it is very cold as I type this here at my dining room table), Spring seems pretty far distant. However, if you hope to receive your seeds in time for planting season, you need to order them now.  I ordered basil, parsley, and chard, plus some rhubarb roots that I’m hoping will do well, since I do miss Minnesota rhubarb (and my Grandma Emily’s pies).

Be well.  Be blessed.  Be a blessing.

So Far in November

First, there was the general election, and I have no photos to show for that.  I worked as the temporary precinct chair for 04-15, while supporting and collecting information from 4 other precincts.  There was a Republican table at 04-15, but not at my other sites.  Greg, the Republican, identifies himself as a Tea Party supporter.  Everyone wonders what the means when the rubber meets the road.  Greg told me he didn’t support ballot question A, that would have the county rescue ambulances pass their fees on to insurance companies (and to Medicare and Medicaid.)  “That is something I think the government should pay for,” he told me.  Is there consistency in the Tea Party positions?  We’ll keep looking. 

Same week, I volunteered at the Holyland Christian Ecumenical Foundation’s international conference.  The Foundation’s purpose is to alleviate the suffering of the indigenous Christians the Holyland, and to help them continue to live there.  We call them the Living Stones.  The kids have a difficult time getting an education;  the unemployment rate is extraordinary; and many indigenous Christians have left, but elders without resources and family are left behind.  It is a difficult situation for these people, who are caught in a war-zone not of their making.

On Friday, I worked at the registration desk at the JPII Cultural Center (the location of the presentations and discussions) and in then later helped with banquet registration and the assembly of the goodie bags. 

Here is the conference registration desk.

The Foundation is working to encourage economic development.  A traditional product of the region is olive oil.  This is a particularly fine brand. 

Stan and Nate are working on my fence at the end of the driveway, and constructing a compost bin system for me. 

Gradually the materials are being emptied from the work shed, and I will be able to repurpose the space.  There are lots of materials John collected for various projects.  I have felt guilty about them, frustrated by them, obligated by them.  Now, I am trying to let them go.

Today’s gratuitous photo of pretty leaves, taken from my little deck.

 

 Of course the pretty leaves needed raking this weekend.  That is probably why my knee is achy this evening.

Halloween Report – 2010

It was a dark night.  It was just a little cool.  No wind, no rain, not a flake of snow to ruin the kids’ fun evening.  Since this Halloween was a weekend night and there would be no school on Monday, the first Trick or Treater arrived a bit later than usual – at 6:37PM, well after sunset.  I had neither camera nor Unicef money ready, but the treats were ready, for a tiny guy carried by his Mom (a lovely witch in a mini skirt) and Dad (in a Viking helmet.)

At about 10 ,minutes to 7, the we saw – Mario!  A Ninja! And several other super heroes/heroines.

Then the Bee and the Alien visited.

One was caught without his mask.

A waif with great makeup:

Poignantly scary – or scarily poignant?

This chap was seriously happy, if the toothy grin is any evidence!

This child has the most beautiful, genuine smile – her little sister is the Transformer in the corner.  I guess it was her little brother – oops!

These two lovely girls are about to become stars in a new horror movie –look who is coming up behind them!

Here are two more insects – another bee accompanied by a ladybug.  The lighted arch in the background of the photos is the arbor over the sidewalk, lit by 6 100-light strings of LEDs.  (So, yes, getting ready for Christmas, too.)

Altogether, 198 children (some very tall) came to Trick or Treat this year.  The first, as mentioned above, arrived at 6:37PM.  The last 2 lads (old enough to shave) knocked at the door at 9:50 PM.  The treats this year were Halloween pin-back buttons, small tubs of Play-Doh, and a small candy.  I am pleased to report that no pumpkins were injured during this project – here are the Halloween lanterns in the bay window.

Fall Colors and Flowers

The toad lilies in the front yard have so much more light now since the pine tree is gone.  Still, they are so small and camo patterned, they don’t stand out much.  The flowers are on the ends of about 24 inch stems.

Toad Lily

The other flower that’s blooming – still blooming – is the achillea at the end of the driveway.   It starts out purple and gradually goes pink and then white.

These are some pictures of fall leaves from the Westat RW roof deck.  The leaf colors came out late this year.  The roof deck is a great place to look at the leaves, but it would have been better if we could have caught a little sun.

Autumn Leaves from the RW Roof

Layers Of Yellow

And this is the Deck:

RW Roof Deck