nothing but blue skies

After a few days of rain the sky seemed bluer than ever.

The orange, yellow and reds are going out in a blaze of glory!

Fall 2008 Goal: Apple crisp every day!


Star Parker has the "gift of gab" and uses it in the most important issue of our time...fighting for the rights of "the least among us"....truly inspiring.

Annnnnd...we're off!


The stuff that grows on the side of the trees looks like something from Lord of the Rings.

At one point the river actually does a hairpin turn...awesome!

What a beautiful day for a hike! It was pretty rigorous, but as usual our guide was in top form.

There is an appointed time for everything,

...and today was the appointed time for Tettegouche.

We could feel the spray from the falls of the Baptism River while we stopped to rest our weary bones...we still had 452 steps to climb

The climb was grueling...I have a new appreciation for carrying a cross.


Our guide was as nimble as a mountain goat...but even she stopped to rest.



The water glistened in the sunlight.


The sundial showed after 11 but my watch said 12:15...oh yeah, DST.

what's news

The headline on the front page of the local rag wasn't very nice ( in fact it was ridiculous) , so I decided to rise above it and go to Mass. Father mentioned the Pope was in France, which brought to mind my trip there 5 years ago, Rue du Boc , Cathedral of Notre Dame , Lourdes ,beautiful Arles, Chartres ...I loved every minute!

It was more pleasant to have uplifting thoughts on my mind than what the daily news had to offer.

I was halfheartedly working on a patchwork tablecloth when Rosemary called with an invitation to hike with Father... I dropped the tablecloth like a hot potato!

We hiked up to Mike's Rock and down again.... Whew!

Toads are ugly...they can have toads.

Signs of Autumn

Speaking of trickle...

The forest was alive with the sounds of squirrels, birds and even a babbling brook. It was a hiking trail we hadn't tried before. As we approached a particularly captivating area, we stopped a minute to enjoy the sweet sound of water trickling softly in the stream... which prompted Rosemary to remark, "Doesn't it almost make you wet your pants?"
Kinda

The bik-a-thon was well underway by the time I came downstairs at 8:00 Saturday morning.
I had one of those sleepless nights that seem to run in the family.
I finally gave up ratting around at about 2:30 am, turned on the TV and found a movie that I hadn't seen...I thought.
It wasn't at all familiar until I saw the statue of 'Lady Liberty' in the suitcase...long story. The female lead was fun to watch with her off-beat personality...wonder what ever happened to her. By 4am I couldn't keep my eyes open another minute, and was pretty confident ol' Harrison would rescue his wife from the nasty bad guys, so I sacrificed the end of the movie for some Zzz.

I kinda overextended myself on Saturday and missed out on an agate hunt with Matt...but baby felt sorry for me and decided to be extra sweet and adorable all afternoon.




I was exhausted by dark and went to bed at a decent hour...10:30!
Good thing...because today was grueling!
Aimee, Nancy and I hiked Chester Creek...no easy task...for me anyway. They picked the hottest day of the coldest summer we've had in years! I don't do hot...Aimee loves it...I stayed for supper to gain back my strength for the drive home. I resolved to get back into shape before the next trek.

One of the many inclines.

Wait for me!

Refreshing...

speaking of refreshing...

I guess a hot day isn't all bad.

Summer hike

It seemed fitting that we would hike the north woods on the feast day of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha


The wild roses were profuse...

the inclines seemed...

endless.

This guy just would not stop to pose.

We stopped for a bit of nourishment ...

before heading back to civilization.

When I see a bridge like this I can't help but think of a story the kids loved...trip, trap, trip, trap!
The only thing that could have made the day more ideal is if...



there had been fewer people.

At Last

Gooseberry Falls was rushing full speed this morning as Rosemary and I made our way to the upper falls for our first hike of the season. We're hoping to do a trek every Wednesday after Mass, weather permitting...until the wood ticks show their ugly heads.

The sight of this old Cedar growing out of the rock is nature at her most tenacious. I wish that I would have taken my kids here when they were small...it's practically in our backyard! Like they say, "Hindsight is 20-20.

Summer 2007

Lake Superior at Split Rock

I can almost feel and smell the fog.

Sundial

Booksa and Rosemary

tiny Lupine Sunset Pond

Big Catch