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Spring in Full Swing The lake level was high when the weather forecasters were calling for more rain. We knew the mother goose nesting on the island had to be close to hatching her eggs but also knew any amount of rain would wipe them out. That evening, before the rain started, we saw her swimming away with eight newly hatched goslings. By the next morning, the only part of the island we could see was the tops of the trees growing there.

Her timing could not have gotten any closer. Disaster was averted by hours for her twenty-eight days of effort.

Tuesday morning while relaxing on the porch, enjoying our morning coffee, we noticed a hummingbird fly up and briefly hover where the hummingbird feeder hangs during the summer. He had apparently been there before and expected to find the feeder still there. I got one of the feeders out of storage while my wife mixed up some sugar water. When we hung it up, within an hour, he was (Outdoors cont’d on pg 2)

PAGE 2 (Outdoors cont’d from pg 1)

back and promptly took advantage of a free meal. In a couple more hours, there were four hummingbirds, both males and females fighting over the feeder and grabbing a quick snack.

The next morning, during our regular morning routine of drinking coffee on the porch, we saw a Baltimore oriole fly through the yard. I quickly put some grape jelly in the oriole feeder and got it out for him. By that afternoon, there were three pairs of Baltimore orioles and one pair of orchard orioles flying back and forth from the feeder to nearby trees, filling the area with splashes of color and their mating songs.

Wednesday afternoon, my anxiously awaited box of bees arrived. We had to wait until this time of year to get them so they could forage for pollen and get adjusted to their new home.

We got them in their new hive, fed and watered, and tucked in to settle down from their being moved around.

They seemed to tolerate the transfer with-

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out getting too upset. did not bother to put I was instructed to even our bee veil. The just leave them alone bees mostly ignored for several days to us while we refreshed oriented to the area. their food. Those that It was difficult, but I did pay us any attenwaited until yesterday tion seemed more afternoon to check curious than anything. on them. ApproachThis morning the hive, quite a ing, my wife glanced few bees were flying down the hill at the around the entrance lake and noticed a of the hive. We could duck with a bunch see bees coming in of baby ducklings with the pollen sacks swimming around. I on their legs packed checked with the spotfull. Others were com- ting scope and saw it ing out, going for more was a hen wood duck pollen. They seemed with nine new babies quite docile and unslightly larger than concerned about ping pong balls. We our presence so we have seen a number did not bother putof the beautiful drakes ting on the bee suits hanging around for for protection, just several weeks, so we wearing our veils so knew the hens had to they could not sting be on the nest someour faces. On pullwhere in the area. ing a few frames, we Everywhere discovered they had we look, spring is in been busy as bees. full swing.

New honeycomb was being built and cells were being filled with pollen. We spotted the queen working away, being tended by several workers. They had drank almost a gallon of sugar water so I closed up the hive while we went back to the house to make some fresh juice.

When we opened the hive the second time to re-fill the feeder, we

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Widowmakers I have wonderful neighbors. One is a retired machinist, which comes in handy for me. Being able to tap into his expertise has often times helped me. He is talented in many ways, including having the best garden along the north shore - maybe all of Minnesota! He’s a giving man, Melissa and I benefit from his bountiful harvest every summer and fall.

Gene is a Finlander, through and through, and mighty proud of it; he’s also a great storyteller with a charming accent. I love listening to him share his tales.

I’m a bit of a storyteller myself. That may come from being Irish on my mother’s side. Between the two of us, storytelling can become competitive.

One summer day, I took a few slices of homemade cherry pie on a plate and walked to his house just down the road. Lois greeted me at the door.

“Hello. Come in, come in.”

She said with a big, warm smile, her arm extended, welcoming me to the dining room. “Oh, would you look at that pie! It looks wonderful!” She praised, then turned and hollered through the house, “Geno!

Tom is here.”

nobody wants to hear a boring story.

chain came down, hitting the top of my left thigh.

After we said our farewells, I headed out the door, leaving them with their pie. Gene followed me outside with a plastic sack in his hand. “Let me get some lettuce for you. I’ve got a couple different kinds. Lettuce doesn’t last long once it’s ready, so you take all you want.” Melissa and I had an amazing garden-fresh salad that evening with dinner.

I instantly pulled up on the chainsaw. As I was standing up, I hit the kill switch, throwing the saw away from me. I stripped right there in the yard to examine my injuries. I feared losing my leg; I was prepared for the worst!

The saw shredded my jeans, cut through my heavy thermal underwear, and got my leg. There was just a little blood, about the same amount you would get from a nasty scratch. My cat-like reflexes saved my limb, possibly even my life, but I tell ya, it sure could have been a lot worse.”

The men were all in awe, praising me for saving the leg.

A few weeks later, after church, I went downstairs to enjoy the pancake breakfast the Knights of Columbus served. I sat at the men’s table with Gene. The conversation was about chainsaws and how good we were at cutting and trimming trees. It The Finlander leaned soon turned to mishaps that occurred while doing forward; I feared he would one-up me. “Do you know so. what it means when a tree “I’m coming.” Came a I told a story. “When I jumps?” He asked me. reply from the hallway. was about fifteen, I was “Sure.” I answered, “It’s already pretty good with Lois offered me a bevera chainsaw, yet still in the when the falling tree age. “I can’t stay long,” comes completely sepalearning stages. I was I said. “But how about a rated from the stump, and Jack Daniels with a splash standing on a four-foot the trunk literally jumps up ladder, cutting a branch of Coke?” about seven inches in di- in the air. It can be danLois blushed, “Well, I don’t ameter from the crabapple gerous when it jumps to the side.” tree. believe I have any of that here. How about some Impressed by my knowlThis wasn’t one of the fresh-brewed iced tea or newer, sturdy green Wer- edge, Gene said, “That’s water?” I enjoyed a tall, right,” then rolled into his ner plastic ladders with cool glass of iced tea. the yellow top step. It was story. “One day, I was an old wooden ladder that cutting down a birch tree; Gene entered the room, they call them widowmakgreeted me, and said, “I’ve was wobbly and swayed ers because the tops can back and forth. You had got a lot of lettuce in the fall on your head. They’ve to keep rhythm with it to garden. I’ll send some home with you.” He pulled maintain your footing. As been known to kill a few men, so you need to know up a chair, and we began I cut through the branch, what you’re doing – you to chat. He took a fork and it started falling toward me. I knew it was going to have to be real careful. started on the first slice of cherry pie with a lattice knock me and the ladder over, so I jumped to save “Anyway, I cut through the top. trunk, and this monster myself before that could tree started to fall. Right He told an impressive sto- happen. at the end, the trunk broke ry. Lois jumped in at the loose and jumped up from end, declaring, “Geno, you As I came down, landing on my feet, my knees the stump. The tree came embellish your stories.” my way and hit me while I naturally bent to absorb was still holding my chainHe quickly justified his po- the impact. As you can saw; it flipped me and the sition, “Of course I embel- imagine, while I was saw, sending us straight lish them. Nobody wants jumping with a running to hear a boring story.” We chainsaw, I had a firm grip up at least ten feet or so shared a good laugh over on it. Inadvertently, I had into the air. that, and I made a mental squeezed the throttle wide (Just the Other Day cont’d on note for future reference: open, and the spinning pg 4)

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(Just the Other Day cont’d from pg 3)

“I did a full somersault - a complete three-sixty- before returning and landing on my feet. Now, while flipping twenty-five feet through the air, I held that saw real firm with my hand still on the throttle.

The saw still ran wide open when I landed and hit my leg.

“I shut the saw off, then set it down to check my leg. That chain ripped through my Carhartt’s, my jeans, my long underwear, and my leg.

“I was bleeding pretty good, but it wasn’t that bad. Some of the boys thought I should go get stitches, but I just called up to the house, ‘Lo, bring me some Band-Aids.’ I put a couple of Band-Aids on it and kept cutting wood the rest of the day.”

The men around the table were astonished. Clearly, I was defeated by a more experienced master storyteller.

Now there are some unwritten rules in competitive, embellished storytelling. One must never directly denounce, discredit, or attempt to put down their opponent. You have to be a bit passive-aggressive when one-upping.

I looked at Gene to clarify, “You were launched thirtysome feet, possibly more, into the air, did a complete somersault, and still landed on your feet while holding your chainsaw?”

“That’s right. I came down with my saw still running in my hands.” He assured.

Gene was prepared to defend the integrity of his story. Of course, I wasn’t there when it happened, so I couldn’t challenge the validity of his story.

I looked at him and said, “You’re a Finlander, aren’t you?”

Gene sat up straight with his chest puffed out, “You’re darn right I am, and what of it?”

I grinned, then bragged, “Because I am an Irishman. An Irishman would have topped the next tree while he was up there.”

We all shared a good laugh over that. “Have a great day, gentlemen.” I

offered. Saying no more, I quickly gathered my dishes, then headed for the door before the Finlander had a chance for rebuttal.

my seat; she always does that when I get out, but something was strange. It looked like she was sitting at an angle. “Holy crap,” I yelled. “The van is sinking into the shoulder.” I hurried back to the van.

I have wonderful neighbors, and I appreciate Gene teaching me about I turned the steering widowmakers; they can be wheel slightly toward the dangerous. road and slowly drove forward, but the van only A few weeks ago, I was slid farther into the ditch. driving west on Bergquist I put the van in reverse Road just outside Two and tried to back up onto Harbors. We’d had plenty the pavement, but again, I of high winds along the went even deeper into the north shore, and a tree ditch. “This is not good,” top snapped off a big I told Nova Mae. I made birch tree. “Wow,” I told one more short attempt to my dog, Nova Mae, “that’s pull forward, but still, the the biggest widowmaker van slid farther away from I’ve ever seen!” I turned the road. the van around to get a photo.

I was recalling how deep and steep the embankI only pulled the van ment was in my mind, and about halfway to the that I did not want to go narrow gravel shoulder over the edge. My van is a and turned the flashers high-profile vehicle, and I on. “You wait here,” I told seriously thought it would Nova as I grabbed my roll over. I reached for phone and got out of the Nova’s leash. “Come on, van. girl. If this thing is going to roll, we’re not going to be Walking in the grass, I in it when it does.” I never noticed how steep and realized how heavy the deep the ditch was, evenvan doors are, especially tually running into a small pushing them at a sharp creek at the bottom. “Boy, angle. Finally, I pushed I’d hate to run over that the door open, and Nova embankment,” I said to and I climbed out. myself. I took several photos of the broken tree top, I called the St. Louis then saw something in County Sheriff’s Departthe grass that caught my ment. “Are you away from attention. the vehicle and safely off the road?” the dispatcher An empty Smirnoff Vodka asked. When I assured bottle lay in the ditch; not her I was, she said she far from it was an empty would send a deputy and Fireball bottle. I shook a wrecker. Nova and I my head. “I’ll guarantee, waited in the grass. drinking and driving has made far more widows Several people stopped in than all the birch trees in four-wheel-drive pickups, the north woods put tooffering to help. “I’m afraid gether,” I said. “Then, you if I try to move it again, it’s had to throw your empty going to roll,” I told them. bottles in the ditch to boot. It’s not worth the risk; Nice.” I was disgusted but I’m going to wait for the still picked up their trash wrecker to pull me out.” and started walking back They each agreed. to my van. Something else caught my attention.

The Sheriff’s Deputy arrived shortly. “Did you Nova Mae was sitting in just drift off the road,” he

asked.

tow driver assured me the van wouldn’t roll once he “No, I pulled over to take a connected it to the truck. photo of that tree,” I said, pointing to the birch.

“Once I get hooked onto the van and get a little “The widowmaker,” He tension on the cable, I asked. “You got a little too need you to put it in neuclose to the edge, eh?” tral and turn the wheels slightly toward the road.” I “No,” I said. I showed the trusted the driver, but just deputy my tire tracks on in case…. the shoulder. “I wasn’t far on the shoulder at all,” I I took Nova and handed said. “The van just started her leash to the sheriff’s sinking, and when I tried deputy. “Just in case it to move it, it slid farther goes over, there’s no into the ditch. I was afraid sense in both of us being it was going to roll, so I in the van.” called for a tow.”

The deputy held the dog, “You probably made the and the driver winched my right call,” the deputy said. van out of the ditch without incident, saving the While waiting for the tow day. truck, I pointed to the empty liquor bottles in Nova and I continued on the ditch. “I’ll bet bottles our way out Bergquist in the ditch have made a Road. I called the person lot more widows than all I was going to meet and the birch trees in the north told them I would be dewoods combined.” layed about an hour.

“That’s for sure,” the dep- So, my neighbor Gene uty said, “and I’ve been on taught me what a widtoo many of those calls.” owmaker is, as in a birch tree, and I already knew Just then, the driver drinking and driving can from Two Harbors Towbe a widowmaker. I’m just ing arrived, assessed the glad I didn’t discover that situation, and decided Ford vans can also be how to pull the van out of widowmakers, especially the ditch. “Do you want when driven on soft shoulto climb into the driver’s ders near steep embankseat,” he asked. ments.

“Not really,” I said. The