Thursday, July 21
A storm came through at 3:45.
There was so much lightening that it looked like someone turned a strobe light
on the cabin. I checked the windows and shut the ones that faced the lake where
a slight breeze seemed to be coming in. I went back to bed and continued to
worry that the rain would come in. Jane got up a short time later and closed
the rest of the windows since the rain was really pounding by then. Sometimes
it’s better to shut the windows and swelter than lie awake wondering what’s
getting wet. We were glad we weren’t in a tent.
The thunder gave way to a
gentler rain. I opened my window to let in blessedly cooler air. Comfortable at
last, I fell soundly asleep and didn’t get up until 7:30. Jane slept until
8:15.
I could see from the cabin that
there was so much water in the boat that it was listing. While we were eating
eggs with stuff (scallions, green pepper, grated potatoes, brats, and curds), the
Summer Help came by and bailed the boat. I thanked him as he walked by on his
way back to the office.
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| Breakfast--eggs with stuff |
Unable to make a plan for the
morning, we fell back on the default of Jane reading and me typing. Jane felt
compelled to take a picture of me catching up my journal.
At 11:20, I took a walk while
Jane finished her mystery. “This is why I don’t read more,” she said. “Once I
get started, I can’t put it down.”
I had a lovely walk. Although it
was hot in the sun, much of the road was shaded, the sky was blue, the wind was
cool, and the freshly-washed air smelled clean and piney.
We were at that point in
vacation where meals were based more and more on what was left over. Breakfast
had been late and large; lunch was catch as catch can. I had a cold pancake, a
granola bar, yogurt, and cherries. I loved the cold pancakes. The blueberries
broke in my mouth with a burst of refreshing sweet juice. Awesome.
After lunch we took the boat out
to fish. It did not seem likely that we would have time on Friday, and we had a
dozen and a half leeches to get rid of. It was still windy; the anchors were
not up to the task. They merely slowed the rate of our drifting. We got many
nibbles and landed a few perch. I could not get rid of a leech to save my life.
Jane went through four leeches to every one of mine. Her natural selflessness
overcame her from time to time, and she offered to switch to artificial bait.
“Focus on the goal,” I reminded
her. “As soon as the leeches are gone, we can get out of the sun.”
That moment came at quarter to
four. I didn’t want to commit to not fishing for the rest of the trip, so we
set aside our fishing pants and shirts instead of packing them with the dirty
laundry.
Over the years, we have found
that the antlers on the wall are the perfect place for hanging our hats and
PFDs (personal flotation devices).
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| Antlers make good PFD racks |
I put the rest of our charcoal
into the charcoal chimney to verify that we had enough for steak, zucchini, and
a foil pack. I went to work in the kitchen, first making a peach cobbler with
two peaches and the last two scones. I put the rest of the broccoli and garlic
with two small potatoes and much of the remaining Parmesan into a foil pack
with some butter. I put the cheese between the potatoes and the broccoli, which
resulted in much less burnt cheese.
Jane lit the coals when the
cobbler came out of the oven. We used birch bark that we’d found along the road,
which created a huge amount of sweet-smelling smoke and lit the charcoals
quickly.
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| Birch bark starting the charcoal |
We sat on the deck until
mosquito curfew at about 7:30. We played Mexican Train, ate peach cobbler, and
went to bed. It was hard to remember the last time I’d had such a relaxing day.
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| Peach cobbler |
The night was cool and
absolutely calm. Not a leaf stirred; not a bird called. So peaceful.
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