Beef

See Aunt Wendy in the pretty red jacket. See Rex the Wonder Dog in white and Bull, in brown. That's one of the family herd of artisanal beef cows. Actually the name is Bull Run or, technically, First Bull Run. Or, if you're north of the Mason Dixon line, First Manassas. Get where this is going? Yes, yes, they're named after civil war battles! Many battles were named differently on both sides. You might spy Chantilly, one of other calves (there are three now, and more on the way....to fill out the list of battles of course). We say beef "cows" because the herd is all impregnated cows, with the male calves sent off after a year to be fattened for.....
All this at Charlie & Wendy's 93 acre farm in Virginia. They live in DC and have a wonderful couple who take care of the property and the herd, living in a space above the barn. The farm "house" is a lovely renovated building, in the Tuscan/Appalachian style, with a fabulous pool. So, a few of us went out for the night, tucking into turkey leftovers and various libations. Back to DC and on to St. Michaels.

C

five degrees.....

Yes, that was the temp at the cabin on the day we left. Froze the water the day before. I mean our pipes, not the river although the river was halfway there too. The plumbers were able to come in a few days later, after the cold front passed and drain the system properly.
In fact, it was a fairly wild ride all the way to Michigan, along the south shore of Lake Superior. Seventeen inches of heavy snow had just fallen in the area and not only created white-out driving conditions, but was bending and breaking the young white pines along the road. Volvo's are nice. Our various stops in Michigan and Washington, DC were fun. We just simply adore our big, fat family.
Here on the Eastern Shore (we'll tell more) it is almost seventy degrees as a WARM front moves through, bringing rain now after a lovely sunny day yesterday.

C

Snowin' and BLOWIN'

It's always somthing here at the cabin! We awoke to high winds this morning, having struggled with quite a bit of smoke from the woodstove through the blustery night, and could see steady flurries of tiny snowflakes outside. Fortunately, the electricity stayed on and we had felled several large, dead pines next to the cabin in early October. Chris decided to head down to town to meet a new friend from the UCC church for lunch (who will be with us on the delegation from that congregation heading to Chiapas, Mexico in February). Chirs then returned 3 minutes later, announcing there was a tree down across the road. Of course, we have no gas for the chain-saw (live and learn), so we went out and sawed it up with Frank Gillis' old "swedish saw" and dragged the pieces into the woods. See photo for details!
We are now just a week away from leaving Grand Marais, returning mid-May after daughter Marcella graduates from American University in Washington, DC. How in the world do I figure out what to take with me for the next 6 months! Well, for starters, there is the file for '05 taxes, my alb and stole, files marked "weddings" and "funerals," (who knows what pastoral functions I might be invited to perform?!), photos and northshore gifts to take to mission partners in Chiapas, Christmas gifts for family, winter clothes, summer clothes, my pillow, books for my first interim ministry training in December, files for my American Association of Pastoral Counselors meetings in January and April....oh, yes, and all the emergency supplies one needs to drive in winter storms through isolated regions like the Upper Peninsula of MI (flashlight, down sleeping bag, food, water...). This list is getting ridiculous...
I am really falling in love with the whole North Shore, and this remote yet lively community. It's difficult to be leaving right now, yet the temperatures are dropping, the cabin is NOT winterized, family is waiting for us and new advertures are just around the bend! Stay tuned....
-Anne

Downtown Grand Marais!

Good morning! Welcome to Tom Eckels fishhouse. Right behind the Angry Trout Cafe (now closed for the season along with many business'). You wanna fish sandwich? Come on in! And yes, that's herring "caviar" in the bucket.
Things are winding down for us as we finish the last few chores around the cabin before we leave next Thursday the 17th. We head for 3 stops in Michigan visiting family on both sides and then to Washington for Thanksgiving with most of our close family. We will be in St. Michaels, Maryland with Anne's folks until Feb. 1 when we fly to Puerto Escondido, Mexico.
Blog posts may be a little more sporadic as we move around. And the camera seems to be acting up a little. We've already had the new Powerbook laptop go back to the factory under warranty. A ghost in every machine it seems. Next post from me should have some shots of the trio in the tavern. We're there this Fri. and Sat. for the fourth time this fall.

Chris