Monday Barbecue

Margaret & Vivian's nearby neighbor's, Carol & Al, came over for a barbecue on Monday evening. Margaret made barbecue chicken & a jello cake. I sort of made beef teriyaki; I couldn't find mirin or sesame oil so I substituted white wine vinegar with sugar for the mirin. There is no substitute for sesame oil. I definitely have to send some mirin to Margaret when I get back home; don't believe those on-line blogs that say white wine vinegar & sugar is a substitute for mirin. It tasted more like adobo than teriyaki! Carol & Al have lived all over the U.S.; Carol's grandfather homesteaded the area & her family still owns the property which is near The Camp. They hope to move back to it in a couple of years. Carol used to babysit Margaret when Vivian lived next to the homestead.

L to R: Al, Carol, Vivian, & Margaret.

When I took a shower after returning from The Camp, I discovered that I had 2 ticks on my left leg. I think I picked them up in the morning when I went to release the fireflies; I had my pajama bottoms on and had not sprayed them with the tick repellent like I had done to my jeans the evening before. They were not firmly attached & I easily removed them. I think they are American dog ticks (Dermacentor variabilis); I will have to see whether I develop a fever or rash in the next month or so.

American dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis).

Vivian, Kai, & I went to the Settler's Depot Arts and Crafts Gallery; its next door to Settlers Co-op. I picked up some omiyage and a couple of things for the Kohala house. Kai also picked up a coffee mill.

A pot holder with the Upper Peninsula silhouette.

Go Packers!

Go Hawks!

Yooper Granola.

Coffee mill.

Moose cards.

Kai picked this up for one of his friends.

We decided to take a look at Agate Falls, which is east of Bruce Crossing and west of Trout Creek. It turns out we needed to take a short hike out to the overlook, since we had Vivian with us we passed on it; she has become a little more unsteady and can't do much walking.

Kai reading about Agate Falls.

Cedar has been a great companion for Vivian. But he also like the outdoors; I saw him intently watching birds in the treetops later that morning.

Cedar on the hunt for something.

The new layers had their first day outside of the coop on Monday. Nathan & Margaret built a temporary shelter for them; they still spent the evening indoors since the temporary shelter was not vermin-proof.


After Carol & Al left, Margaret, Kai, & I headed to The Camp. But before we turned in for the night we went out to look for wildlife; specifically white-tailed deer. Of course, the first one we spotted was just down from where Margaret left her car on the road to The Camp. Later we went down the road to Carol's family's old homestead; we spotted another turtle and some beaver sign as well as more deer. We also saw some wild turkeys, but taking photos through a bug-splattered windshield does not produce good quality photos so I have none.

The deer on the road to The Camp.

Deer checking out the cat in the road.

The Cool Cat chilling by the side of the road.

The deer lying in the grass on the left is just starting to grow its antlers.

A female Common Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina) with 11" carapace. It was digging a nest at the edge of the road.

Beaver sign on birch tree. We could see a dam on the creek at the foot of the slope.

Apparently the deer population in Michigan has been declining and the naturally increasing wolf population has taken the rap for it. But researchers have found that it is coyotes that are actually the top predator on deer, specifically fawns; wolves come in 4th after hunters & accidents. We did hear wolves on Sunday evening while we were out at The Camp, but I was unable to find any tracks nearby.

In out drive around the backroads to find wildlife we ran across this Yooper phone booth.

The drive out to The Camp and on the backroads looking for wildlife deposited a lot of dirt on the rental car. I wonder what those folks at the Alamo car rental place at the Green Bay airport will think?



Because the fire hazard increased and no fires were allowed, we didn't have a camp fire at The Camp like we did the previous night. We also skipped firefly hunting ... and attracting ticks! We were going to have Cinnobabies for breakfast but we had to get back to the trailer to get breakfast for Vivian after Brian left for work. We had a nice healthy breakfast of smoothies and Cinnobabies!

Yum! A smoothie and Cinnobabies!

Sunday night sky from the front porch at The Camp. (Photo by Kai)

The previous photo was one of the photos I asked Kai to send me. When he did, he also sent me all the other previous photos I asked him for.

I tried the digital boarding pass. It worked great except I have a scratch in my screen protector, I need to position the QR code so the scratch is not on the code bar. (Photo by Kai)

Jumping spider at the Lake of the Clouds overlook. (Photo by Kai)

Happy Belated Birthday to Jeannette!