Splitting wood is good for the soul

We have three fireplaces in our home. One of them was converted to a gas log a couple of years ago. The one in the basement, we were told to never use by a chimney inspector. Our third fireplace is in a place we call the "Back Room." It is where we spend the majority of our time and we burn a lot of wood in it. We were seriously contemplating changing that fireplace to gas as well after this year.

From Wood 20 Nov 2011

And then we had a limb fall in our backyard. I broke out my chainsaw and using a coworker's maul, I split the limb. I split close to a face cord of wood from that limb, so we will have wood for the 2012-2013 fall and winter.

From Wood 20 Nov 2011

We also have seven oak trees. Large, old growth oak trees. We had them trimmed about 5 years ago and they needed to be trimmed again. I asked the tree trimmer to leave any limbs larger than 6 inches in diameter behind so I could split it and burn it. I had no idea that there would be so much wood.

From Wood 20 Nov 2011

I started splitting the wood on Saturday morning. I split wood for about an hour and a half, and I still had a lot of wood to split.

From Wood 20 Nov 2011

I was out there again for about an hour this morning splitting more wood. I still have split about 60% of the wood. I will get at it again over the Thanksgiving weekend.

From Wood 20 Nov 2011

Splitting wood is what Deirdre calls "hot dirty man-work." It is manual labor at its finest and you do get hot and dirty doing it. However, it is very fulfilling because after an hour or so of hard work, you have something to show for it. For me, it is very therapeutic. It is good for my soul.

From Wood 20 Nov 2011

And it is also a good reason to have some quality outdoor time with Samson the Dog. He enjoyed supervising me as I split and stacked the wood.

From Wood 20 Nov 2011

Yep, splitting wood is good for one's soul.

Simple Joys

It is safe to say that Samson is enjoying his time with us as Deirdre and I wind down the summer at our cottage. He is no longer waking us at the stroke of 5AM as the sun is now rising closer to 7AM, so he allows us to sleep in, it sleeping until 7AM is considered sleeping in. Our routine here is that after breakfast, weather permitting, we take a leisurely walk to the north or south of our cottage. The walks usually involve some time in the water for Samson, as well as a lot of sniffing.

From 7 Sep 2011

When we tell him that we are going for a walk, he prances to the side door and squeaks until I have put him on a leash and we begin our stroll. He is so deliberate when we are out for a walk. There is a lot of grass that needs to be sniffed and explored...

From 5 Sep 2011

From 5 Sep 2011

We have been fortunate that now that we are past Labor Day, there are a lot fewer people on the beach. Normally, we keep him on a leash for the entire walk as Samson is one of the friendliest dogs I know. He really enjoys meeting new people, and if he were off leash and somebody was on the beach, they would get Samson's cold and wet nose pushed into their hands. However, for part of our walk this morning, he was off leash and he was able to do a little extra exploring.

From 5 Sep 2011

At the end of our walks, Samson needs to recharge his batteries. I am also reminded, each time we go for a walk, the simple joys of life.

From 7 Sep 2011

Another great weekend, just East of the Equator

Hard to believe that two weeks have passed since I last felt the muses compelling me to write something... and post something. On this thoroughly wonderfully warm and calm Sunday, the muses have hit me so here we go.

Deirdre worked remotely from our cottage the week of 25-29 July. I was able to leave work around 4PM and I arrived at our cottage around 7:30PM. We went out to dinner at a nearby place called Woodland Pines Resort. Dinner was unremarkable, but they did have Blue Moon on tap. From there, we went to the VFW for a nitecap and tried our luck with a few pull-tabs, but my luck was pretty cold.

Saturday, 30 July, was perhaps the best weather day of the year at our cottage. Our day began early that morning, as Samson woke us up around 5:45AM as if to say, "Hey, the sun is rising soon. Let's go see it! We were not disappointed.

From July 30, 2011

From July 30, 2011

From July 30, 2011

The temps were in the mid-70s, and there was a gentle but constant breeze from the southwest. When the wind is blowing from the southwest, it keeps the bugs and the biting black flies away. Deirdre, Samson and I spent the better part of the day at the on the beach, enjoying the breeze, with intermittent dips in Lake Huron.

The highlight of the day on the beach was a visit to a nearby pine tree of a Bald Eagle. Sightings of Bald Eagles in Oscoda are common, but if you have never seen one in the wild, the sight if this magnificent bird is amazing.

From July 30, 2011

From Samson and the Eagle

From Samson and the Eagle

This eagle stayed on his perch for about 90 minutes, before flying off to his next meal or adventure. Look for more images of him/her the next time he pays us a visit.

We believe that Samson is a new species of canine, the German Shepherd Water Dog. We can't keep him out of the water when we are at the beach.

Samson

From Samson and the Eagle

From Samson and the Eagle

All this activity on the beach and in the water does lead to one very tired dog:

From July 30, 2011

Life remains good, just East of the Equator.

A Lazy July Day

It has been a magnificent day here, just East of the Equator. The sun has been shining since 0552 and the temperature has been a very comfortable 75F most of the day. What is a day at the beach without sharing a few images?

Here is the view to the north of our beach:

From Jul 3, 2011

Here is a view to the south:

From Jul 3, 2011

Here is the view of our cottage from where we were sitting on the beach:

From Jul 3, 2011

And here is an image of me on the beach:

From Jul 3, 2011

And what day at the beach would be complete without a couple images of Samson. Here, he is retrieving a toy called "Chuckit."

From Jul 3, 2011

Here is he saying goodbye to my friend Steve who paddled in for a visit and an adult beverage:

From Jul 3, 2011

Here, I was able to capture a halo around the sun:

From Jul 3, 2011

Yes, life is good here Just East of the Equator.

From Jul 3, 2011