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A View From the Field |
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July 5 Well, it's tomorrow already. I was transcribing and I got to the climax of the story, so I just kept typing. Now my hands are sore.
I forgot to mention last night that there was a very good crowd in Copper Harbor for the fireworks. They were parked almost all the way to the sewage treatment plant along both sides of US-41, and I had to drive very carefully to avoid running down groups of pedestrians. I have the feeling that most of the population of Keweenaw north of Calumet comes to the Copper Harbor fireworks, since there were clearly more people here than live in all of Keweenaw County. And when the fireworks were over, they cheered loud enough that I could hear them way down here. I sure don't envy those people trying to get out of town, but I'm grateful that they came and undoubtedly spent money. They got a good show.
I was so tired last night that I jumped into bed without a bath at about midnight, and I got up about 10:30 this morning. That ought to be enough sleep, but I was a little droopy today for some reason.
It wasn't the weather, which was the summer weather I've been waiting for. It was already in the upper 70s when I got up and the temperature was between 75º and 80º all afternoon, except for a while around 4:00 when the wind shifted to the east for an hour or so and the temperature fell to 69º. I don't know what that was all about, but it shifted back to the southwest and it got warm again. In fact, when it was 80º and the wind dropped, it got a little too warm and I had to turn on the ceiling fan in the office. Now it's blowing a lot harder out here than the NWS station is reporting, and it's in the low 70s and it's lovely. The NWS station is quite sheltered on the south and southwest, and I know its readings are off when the wind comes from those directions. There was a lot of sunshine, although there was a glaze of high cirrus clouds in the sky all day. Altogether, it was a lovely summer day, and I hope we get more of them soon.
I opened up the house. All the back windows in the great room and the office are open, the patio doors and the doors to the porch are open, and when it got warm, I opened a south window in the office. I will close that one when I go north, because it might cool down tonight, but I will take the chance and leave the east windows open. I always close the patio doors and the door from the kitchen to the porch, just in case a bear comes.
I didn't do much. I didn't feel very robust, and I woke up with an extremely sore right knee that didn't clear up until late this afternoon. My back was creaky, too. I don't know why; it was warm and it wasn't very humid, so I don't know what happened.
Anyway, late in the day I started transcribing the story again, and I got through the climax, which is rather good, I think, so I just kept on typing. It was time to stop, though. My left index finger is stiff and sore, and my right and left hands are getting quite out of sync, which is usually a sign it's time to stop.
Tonight, with all the windows open, I was treated to the summer sound of motorcycles and diesel busses accelerating away from the fort. In fact, it sounded like the motorcycles were running up and down US-41 trying to make as much noise as possible. That has finally stopped, thankfully. I guess some people just don't understand the concept of "quiet". But then, it's Saturday night of a long weekend, so I guess I have to put up with it. It does mean there are lots of people in town spending money, and that's good.
So now it's time to toddle up to the north end, and I must take a bath, but I think it's warm enough to dry off in the wind, which is one thing I just love about summer here.
It's a lovely summer night in the field and it's time for bed.
July 4 - Independence Day Well, happy Independence Day. I hope you had a nice one.
I didn't get to bed until after 2:00 this morning, but this time I can blame the wash. I needed to get that last load into the dryer, so I had to wait until the one before it was done. I will try not to do that the next time. I was up around 10:30, so that was all right.
I didn't do a lot. I transcribed quite a bit of the story that was done, and I folded all the laundry that I did yesterday. I started filling the dishwasher. I have gotten into the bad habit of leaving the dirty dishes on the counter, and as a result, I have some of the littlest ants I have ever seen running around on my counter. So I shall have to be more careful to keep the counter clean, I guess. I've never had ants before, but there's a first time for everything.
Tonight I met the nice people at Harbor Haus for a farewell dinner. Two of the couples are leaving tomorrow, so they wanted one last get-together. They are such nice people, and it was a very good meal. We ate late, so it was nearly 10:00 when I got home.
It was a beautiful day, but not very warm again. The temperature was just over 60º all day except for a blip around 7:00 this evening when it went up to 70º and then right back down again. There was a moderate wind out of the north - 15 mph - for most of the day, which died down around 9:00. It was mostly sunny, although there were a few little cumulus clouds early in the day and some high cirrus clouds late in the day.
The highlight of the whole day was the fireworks, which just got over with. It was a perfect evening for them, not too cold and not too windy - and no fog or rain or anything like that. It was a good show, about half an hour long, with lots of pretty things, including some I've never seen before. A few of them were so high and so huge they even made an real show down here. I'm sorry that I didn't get any pictures, but the pictures from the webcam don't show what it looks like, and if I am trying to take pictures, I am not watching the fireworks. Sorry.
Anyway, my neighbors to the south set off a mini-show of their own, which was also pretty, except there were too many screamers and big bangs, both of which I hate. So does Buster. He came and sat on my lap while I was watching, and he watched, too, for a while, but it wasn't very interesting to him. I don't think he liked the noise very much, although he isn't as spooky as some of the other cats I've had.
While I was sitting there, watching the show down the harbor, I kept seeing lights fly by out on the deck: there are fireflies out. I haven't seen any of those for a couple of years, and they're fun. It was cool enough that they weren't blinking very much, so I kept seeing these little streaks of light go down the deck. The people at dinner were talking about them, and I guess I haven't seen them because I usually have some light on when I'm here in the office, and after I turn out the lights, I go to sleep - and then when I wake up it's getting light already.
So that was a very nice Fourth of July, and now I think I will go up to the north end and try to get a good night's sleep again.
July 3 I was a little earlier to bed last night - around midnight - and I slept well, although I was as stiff as a board when I got up in the night. When I woke up this morning, my entire left shoulder area, all the way around, was stiff, and my back was a mess.
By early in the afternoon, I couldn't move without pain, so I put on a fleece jacket, and now I feel fine, except for my legs. Apparently I was cold. I didn't feel cold overnight, but clearly I was, and I think I sat in a draft yesterday as well.
One of the reasons I was cold is that it was a cold day. The high temperature was 63º, and there was a 15 mph wind out of the north that made it feel a lot colder, at least around here. I even closed the window to the porch for a while.
However, it was a beautifully clear, blue day. There were almost no clouds in the sky, and the sun was so strong the temperature in the office got up to 77º before I finally decided that was too warm and opened the door. By the time I did that, though, the wind was dying down, so it didn't get cold in here and there were no drafts.
The task of the day was wash, and I'm not through yet. Two loads are in the dryer and one is in the washer, almost done. I need to stay up until the last load is in the dryer, unfortunately. I have a lot more to wash. Not only are there sheets and towels I'm using, all the bedding from the other house is in the laundry room, and it all needs to be washed before I take it upstairs. The complete bedding for the double bed and two single beds is sitting on the floor. Ugh. Maybe I can at least get my current stuff done tomorrow.
I also finished transcribing the story I was working on. This is another one where I know how it ends, I just have to figure out how to get there. And now the disadvantage of writing on the computer is beginning to become apparent. It is very hard to page back and forth and find what I'm looking for (or I find it so). I'm trying to divide this one into chapters as I go, and I feel the need to visualize the pages. Of course, if it were a book, it wouldn't be on 8½ x 11 paper, either, so that makes it doubly hard. I did write a few new paragraphs, and we'll see how it goes.
Now it is a lovely clear night in the field, and I will fiddle around until the clothes are dried. It is quite calm, but the water is still a bit unsteady from the wind earlier, so it is swishing around and occasionally there is a little gurgle. Nice music to go to sleep to.
July 2 I was late again last night. I got to fiddling around and it was late before I went up to the north end, then I sat staring at the floor for a while. While I was doing that, I started hearing rumbling in the distance, and after it began to get rather loud and I heard a fistful of rain hit the house, I quick jumped in the shower just in case. We didn't have a power failure, although they did down in Eagle River, and I made it into bed just fine...just as the heavens opened.
It was as good a thunderstorm as we've had in a long time, with lots of thunder and lightning, and this one came right over the house...loudly. Unfortunately, most of the lightning was up in the clouds, so I didn't get to see those lovely bolts across the sky, but otherwise, it was wonderful. I went to sleep before it was over. Buster wasn't so happy, so he was sitting beside my head when I drifted off. He is not really afraid of thunder, he just doesn't like it very well, and he'd rather be close to me in case something happens. We got 0.37 inches of rain in about 3 hours, which should go a long way toward easing our dry spell.
It was cool and foggy when I got up this morning, in time to have something to eat before my massage. I feel much better for that. I think I've been sleeping funny again, and my back was sore in strange places. It's much better now.
However, as usual, I didn't do anything for the rest of the day. I really need to do some wash - the laundry baskets are overflowing - and I need to continue to clean off the desk and around the sewing machine. Oh, well. I transcribed most of another chapter of the story and I did a few rows on the bracelet. Another session like that and it should be done.
Ron came to park the tractor in my garage for the summer, and we had a nice conversation. It was nice out around 4:00, and of course, since we were in the garage, we were out of the wind. There were a few bugs, but I don't think I got bitten.
It was a coolish day. After a warm night, the temperature dropped abruptly to 55º at 8:00, and it never got over 62º for the rest of the day. There was a north wind in the 15 mph range, which no doubt accounts for the cold temperatures. It was humid, too, which doesn't do the arthritis a bit of good. Even after the fog lifted, it was hazy across the harbor all day, but there was a lot of sunshine until close to sunset, when it clouded over. That wasn't forecast. It was supposed to be clear tonight.
So that was my quiet day, and I'm yawning again. It's a cool, quiet night in the field.
July 1 I still can't believe I'm writing July. Where did the year go??
I went up to the north end late last night, and then I started playing around with my notes for the porch cushions, and it was after 1:00 when I jumped into bed. I was awake briefly around 6:30, and the next time I woke up was around 10:15.
I was sitting in the bathroom when I heard voices, so I got dressed as fast as I could, and when the ladies came back from walking my beach, I was making my breakfast. They didn't stay long, but they did get to see the house. Not that it's in the most beautiful shape, but at least the kitchen was relatively clean!
Their coming seemed to energize me, and I accomplished something today. I got the dishwasher unloaded, and I began cleaning off the desk. I'm not through with that, because there are a lot of things I don't know quite what to do with, but I'm making some progress. A lot of stuff that shouldn't be there at all had gotten piled up on it, so it was time to clear the decks anyway.
When I got up this morning, I thought it felt a bit warm, and so I opened the porch door, and it was. It was around 78º, and there was a strong northwest wind. The temperature stayed about the same until close to 6:00, when it abruptly dropped to 63º, then it recovered and it was 82º at 8:00 before it started to drop back. For most of the afternoon, there was a very strong northwest wind. The strongest gust, sometime between noon and 1:00, was 38 mph. Whoosh! The changes in the temperature didn't have anything to do with the wind, because it was from the north to northwest all day, although it was dying down when the temperature peaked. Another one of those interesting weather days.
It was partly cloudy all day. There was sun, but there were those hazy clouds with some cumulus in them that can turn into thunderclouds, although today they didn't.
I had the doors open all day, although the front door and the porch door into the kitchen both blew shut. It was nice to have a strong wind and not be freezing.
I was sitting at the computer with my back to the deck this evening, when I heard something strange, and when I turned around, Jasmine was up at the top of the screen! For heaven's sake! I don't know what she was doing there. She must not weigh very much at all, because she didn't make any pulls in the screen. I wonder what she saw that she thought she could get up there?
So that was my day. I am going to be late tonight, too, and I need to be up at a reasonable hour, because I have an appointment for a massage. I came up with some sore muscles in my back this morning, which I think means I need to be worked over a bit.
Now it's a quiet night in the field and it's time to go to bed.
Last updated 07/06/08 01:13 AM
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