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edenfallingToday we drove from the Twin Cities up to Cass Lake, where we have a summer cabin on Star Island. (It's on national forest land, so technically we only lease it, but it's been in the family since WWII, so we consider ourselves owners.)
We're only going to be up here until Thursday morning, and we're opening the cabin. This means that we're the first people in here since last September when my aunt and uncle closed for the season. So we had to turn on the electricity; prime, screw together, and start the electric water pump; turn on the water heater; take down all the winter curtains and put up summer ones; make the beds; and so on. Tomorrow we're going to work on putting together the bottom stairway railings (47 steps from the cabin down to the dock, baby!) and fixing up the titchy little adjustments to the dock. Like nails on the post tops to keep the gulls off.
Aside from the cold and the wind, the most noticeable thing today was MAYFLIES. I have never really understood the phrase "swarming like mayflies," but now I do. Oh, I do. They're everywhere. Thousands of them. On the dock, up the stairs, all over the yard and in the woods back to the power-line slashing. Dad and Vicky made a special trip back across the lake to town to buy chemicals to drive them from the yard. (I was stringing up curtains.)
I think I have killed at least 500 mayflies today. And I will doubtless kill more tomorrow.
They don't bite, but they fly up my nose and buzz in my ears and perch on my glasses, which is just beyond my tolerance. Nobody touches the glasses! :-)
We're only going to be up here until Thursday morning, and we're opening the cabin. This means that we're the first people in here since last September when my aunt and uncle closed for the season. So we had to turn on the electricity; prime, screw together, and start the electric water pump; turn on the water heater; take down all the winter curtains and put up summer ones; make the beds; and so on. Tomorrow we're going to work on putting together the bottom stairway railings (47 steps from the cabin down to the dock, baby!) and fixing up the titchy little adjustments to the dock. Like nails on the post tops to keep the gulls off.
Aside from the cold and the wind, the most noticeable thing today was MAYFLIES. I have never really understood the phrase "swarming like mayflies," but now I do. Oh, I do. They're everywhere. Thousands of them. On the dock, up the stairs, all over the yard and in the woods back to the power-line slashing. Dad and Vicky made a special trip back across the lake to town to buy chemicals to drive them from the yard. (I was stringing up curtains.)
I think I have killed at least 500 mayflies today. And I will doubtless kill more tomorrow.
They don't bite, but they fly up my nose and buzz in my ears and perch on my glasses, which is just beyond my tolerance. Nobody touches the glasses! :-)
