Musings

My pre-coffee outing was to gauge the first frost. There was just a teeny bit on the ground, but the roofs sported a goodly amount—I’d call it a light frost. See that lower right unfrosted area? That’s above where our pillows are…it shows a serious lack of insulation!

Today’s headliner was a hike to the shore of Lake Superior…partly along the North Country Trail.

The lake was placid, much calmer than the other day.

See? That rock is the east edge of the Pictured Rocks.

On a more macro level, look at these grey fungi!

And these orange hued ones.

My-o-my did we return to the cottage (an hour-plus drive) all creaky. And hungry…ah, leftovers!

Posted at 8:06 PM | No Comments »

Yesterday’s golden sun gave the dock extra pizzaz.

Today’s sunrise sun was obscured, and the dock removed for the winter. [Sigh.]

Later, the sun porch lived up to its name, and became a comfy dining room.

Posted at 6:53 PM | No Comments »

We finally got out from under the cloud cover associated with Helene, and had smooth sailing under blue skies…very pleasant. We crested a hill, and Eden was marred by a fog-belt. Turned out it was right over Sturgeon River, and when we cleared the valley, we enjoyed unbroken blue skies again. 😎

We dined this evening on a spring green salad with chunks of smoked whitefish…surely five-star dining for this part of the world. The orchard grasses are browning out, but the trees remain overwhelmingly green, with some brown-orange tinges.

Posted at 7:09 PM | No Comments »

Or should the title be where’s the mare? These golden horses are at the (south) Kentucky Welcome Center on I-75. I have no idea where mom went.

To explain the title: we’re northbound (again), to leafpeep and eventually close the cottage for the winter. We waited out Helene in ATL, then got on the road this morning and ended up driving into the storm, now just a lot of rain and a few gusts and general windiness—too much rain by far some places. Mostly, we could just motor along, wipers keepin’ time.

Posted at 8:28 PM | No Comments »

The storm did hit us, lots of rain and wind gusts (the former gone; the latter still somewhat active). We were lucky; it was far worse elsewhere. We didn’t lose power or internet, and we long ago perfected hunkering down. This solitaire with mahjongg tiles was part of my personal hunkering arsenal.

Posted at 11:08 PM | No Comments »

I titled this showoff grass, and that’s about the extent of my “creativity” at the moment. G’night.

Posted at 10:25 PM | Comments Off on Yawn

Most recent binge-watch: “La Grande Maison Tokyo” (fiction). Tonight’s binge selection: “Lost Treasures of Rome” (science/NatGeo).

Posted at 7:39 PM | Comments Off on Look out!

I just read (okay: skimmed) a WaPo article by Andrew Zaleski that describes a new operation for people with knee cartilage problems. Surgeons put a pellet of calcium carbonate derived from coral exoskeletons (yeah, the reef kind) in the bone. Over time, the pellet is absorbed and the body makes a gooey substance that acts rather like real cartilage. It’s a fast operation, albeit with a different recovery curve than knee replacement. Zaleski describes two other new approaches with good results.

I’ll try to remember this. Right now my knees are okay (knock on wood), but they have had issues, and I baby them frequently.

Date: 17 Sept 2024. Title (that I saw online): Not ready for a knee replacement? You might be able to fix your cartilage instead.

Posted at 10:06 PM | Comments Off on Surgical knee magic

We heard that we should anticipate a deluge this afternoon. This became revised downward to…variable low-level precipitation—and what actually happened was…less (shall we say). So, we strolled the park, focusing on this…phalanx, we deemed it.

Posted at 10:01 PM | Comments Off on Watching reality arrive

I can get mesmerized by patterns.

Posted at 10:25 PM | Comments Off on Leaf me be…