Boundary Waters Day 3

Sunday, July 17

I made blueberry pancakes for breakfast. We put peaches and maple syrup on the top and had bacon on the side. We ate half of the pancakes and put the other half in a baggie in the refrigerator.

Breakfast

On our first full day at the cabin, I noticed an addition next to the deck where I hit my head on the rock last year. I think this is the Bev Dow Memorial Step. 

The new step where I tripped and hit my head on the rock last year.

We got our fishing licenses and two dozen leeches. We asked Dave if it was going to rain. He quoted a woman he’d known growing up: if you see enough blue sky to make a pair of pants for a dog, the rain won’t amount to diddly.

At that point, there was plenty of blue sky to meet that criterion (that is to say, not much but some). 

Water lilies were blooming.

Water lily

We spent the morning catching small perch from the dock. Jane was the first to land one, and here it is.

Whoa--it's a whopper! A little bigger than the leech.

We saw the loon family again

Loon and two chicks

We had WondeRoast chicken quesadilla for lunch. I sautéed green pepper and scallions to put with the chicken and cheese.

WondeRoast chicken quesadilla

We took the boat out to fish in the afternoon. We’d been out an hour when the sky to the west looked dark and menacing. Thunder rumbled. We got off the water.

Storm clouds rolling in

I wanted to take a shower to wash the bug spray off. “Do you think I’ll be electrocuted?” I asked Jane.

“No, I think the storm isn’t that close yet, but you’d better get right to it.”

She was right. I was clean, dry, and dressed before the rain hit. The wind was fierce, and the rain poured down.

3:00 Pouring rain

A short while later, the sky was blue again. 

4:30 Blue sky on the horizon

5:00 Blue sky and calm

We went down to the dock to fish some more. On our way up for happy hour, Jane spotted this four-leaf clover. She left it where it was, thinking it must be bad luck for the clover if people pick them all the time.

The weather was still nice when it was time to start the charcoal for dinner. The clouds were amazing. They changed form so quickly that it was better than television.

5:20 Amazing and quickly changing clouds

Another storm was coming. We just managed to get foil pack new potatoes, garlic, and spring onions, Porterhouse steak, and baby zucchini off the grill before the next wave of wind and rain.

Supper

After dinner, we finished the Yahtzee game we’d started during the first storm. I got out the cards and we played Fish and then a version of Rummy based on what we could remember.

Cold blueberry pancakes are better than you might think.