AIFD

A couple of weeks ago, someone smelled smoke in the woods down at the other end of the Angle by the Post Office and J&M Store. So the Angle Inlet Fire Department was called in to investigate. The fire crew, which is strictly volunteer, rushed to the scene to check it out.  It has been extremely dry this summer and a fire up here would just take off, well, like wildfire.

2 Angle residents who stopped to help our heroic fire crew.  Also, a lovely shot of the fire engine, which is older than the fire chief, dating back to the 70's.

Your brave AIFD Fire Chief, Brian, master of hoses.

Somewhere a week or two before this day, an interesting fellow came through the Angle and stayed in a shack out in the woods. A very run-down shack with no door on it, he hung a blanket where the door would have been.  He yielded some sort of dagger than hung from his belt.  No one is sure what it was for.  No one is sure who this guy was or where he came from or why he was such an odd fellow.  We see some different folks up here. But we do know he had a fire going by that shack that smoldered away in the peat and had been burning all this time. So the AIFD went in there and took care of business.  It involved some hoses and water and a bulldozer.  Is that enough details?

Introducing the other member of the AIFD, Rick.  Yes, two McKeevers make up our fearless fire crew.  Training?  Who needs it. Meetings?  Not really. To quote the fire chief, "We only like to do all of our meetings and training during active fires."  And of course the guy always on the scene, Tyson Jayce in the passenger seat.

Filling up the truck with water from Pine Creek.  No fire hydrants way out here!

The road they bulldozed back into the woods.  The fire was put out and all was safe in the Northwest Angle once again.

On Saturday, I will run my last long run of the year, and what a year it has been.  Trials and triumphs abound as we near the 1 year anniversary of our move to Minnesota.  October 1st will  mark the 3-month anniversary of my mother's passing.  At the race, people will be wearing shirts to honor their loved ones who have fought cancer.  I won't have a such a shirt, but it will be on my mind as I run, as it always is when I run.  I am a healthy person who  challenges my body by my own will.  People battling cancer, or any fatal disease,  are put through challenges because they want to live.  At this race when I reach mile 11 and the hip pain starts in and the fatigue and the blister on my second toe, I will think of my mom and know that I can endure these little pains because she endured the big ones. What's 2 more miles, right?  This Saturday when I'm approaching the end of the race, I will be listening to a song by Jeremy Camp called "Let it Fade".   I'll be listening to it and thinking of my mom and her battle. It will give me the inspiration to power through and know that great things are ahead of me.  So if you think of it around 10:00am on Saturday, get out your iPod and listen to that song.  Think of me running my crazy ass off right then, pray for my legs to carry me through, think of my mom and her courage.  And for those of you who live by faith, think about the great things that await us.  That's what I'll be doing.  

The Furry Pumpkin Caper

We've had a pumpkin sitting on our porch for a few days, waiting to be carved up for Halloween. One morning, much to Tyson's chagrin,  we woke up to find that it was missing.

The crime scene, with the only evidence that it had ever been there.  Some lazy bear decided it would be easier to rip the slat away from the porch than to use the stairs.  Perhaps he had already done his cardio that day and didn't feel like taking on the elevation.  Or he figured that anyone who doesn't stain their porch so that all the wood matches actually deserves to have it roughed up a bit.

The lonely little stem.  To be fair, the weather has left the bears with little to no food this year.  So they are starving and out in search of their dinner, especially with the winter approaching. He didn't hit any other house this night.  I guess one medium pumpkin is the perfect size to fill a bear belly.

He really did a nice job, I think.  Nothing else was moved or bothered. No poo.  Didn't even sat my car that was sitting so close.

3 little pumpkin pieces on the tricycle.  I like to picture a fat little black bear with the bike pulled up to the porch, using it like a bar stool and reveling in this huge score.  Or maybe this was supposed to be his quick getaway that didn't pan out.......or maybe stealing a kid's pumpkin is enough and the bear drew the line at the bike.  

Catching Up

I've been caught up in life lately and neglecting the blog. But I'm back now and ready to ramble away! So as my blog hiatus is over, I've got some catching up to do for the month of September. In the future I will find things to write about no matter what. Even if I have to go break some laws for some excitement to relay back to you, I'll do it. Although there isn't much for laws in the Northwest Angle so I'd have to go in to town commit crimes. Not to mention I go to Bible Study at the Sheriff's house here, so that just seems rude.  Anyway, let's dive in.

The guys got starting on some fall projects by painting the cabins.  This consists of my husband painting, Brian being the errand boy who fills the paint and Big Rick supervising.  It's their system.  Tyson, per usual, had to be front row to watch all the excitement.  We are forever the looky-lou's on the scene.

Labor Day brought the annual Pig Roast in our campground.  Rick and Brian were up at some early hour, like 4am, to get it started.  Then Brian and John kept it company through the day and supervised the roasting.  There were men gathered around this thing by 7am.  What is it with men and their need to watch stuff that has to do with fire or grilling?

The crowd gathered under the tent.  There were also deepfried turkeys and tables full of potluck food.  It's the last hoorah of the summer, before the regulars go south.  Why would you want to leave here in the winter and miss the possibility of experiencing 40 degrees below zero?  Not to mention the bone chilling wind and months of gray.  Silly people.

Tyson was so excited to get there, he was asking me every 5 minutes if it was time for the party. I finally had to draw a picture of 5:00 so he could watch the clock himself.  It was either this or duct tape on his yapper, but people always seem to frown on the duct tape.

Animal sightings this month:  1 black bear while I was running, 1 giant beaver while we were driving and 1 little skunk while we were biking.  Of course a million deer is a given.  The dog chased the bear away, so that was uneventful.  The beaver was much larger than I realized it would be.  He (she?) was clicking down the road, nowhere near water, with what appeared to be some very impressive Lee Press On Nails.  He did not have time for us and was rather bored that we were talking to him.  Snob.  The skunk was busy spraying the 2 dogs that were with us, so we did not get a close look at him.

My beautiful home town of Wenatchee is on fire.  My friends and family can hardly see the the road in front of them, let alone breath.  Please pray for these fires to be contained and life to return to normal!

One day Tyson opted out of Daddy Daycare and chose to clean cabins with me.  He does an impressive shower and is horrible at the vacuum.  With a little training I think we'll have the perfect candidate for child labor and our next employee by the summer.

Rick was able to get some work done with Andie strapped into the tractor.  She seemed to enjoy farming and they had a lovely morning of work together. Take Your Kid to Work day was a success!

Go ahead and make this one your screen saver.  It's ok to admit when other people have cuter kids and husbands that take sweet pictures.

This guy stopped by. He didn't know I was taking a picture of him.  Or maybe he did and let me do it.  He must be used to it by now.

Fall is here and the whole place seemed to empty out on Labor Day.  The campground is now quiet and there aren't as many people coming in from the islands.  It's a little sad to think the cold is coming and there won't be any action outside.

The leaves are changing and the mornings have reached 33 degrees, that I've seen. Now all we're left with is Angle gossip.  There are always stories about the locals to keep us awed and entertained.  I think I'll start a rumor about myself so I can be in on the action.  I'll get back to you on what horrible/crazy/mysterious/jaw dropping thing I've done.........Hey, it could happen.

Yesterday our baby girl turned 1 year old.  She has 7 teeth and an attitude.  No motivation to walk or stand for that long.  And she has a special smile for her daddy, who has years of ulcers and waiting up ahead of him.

Happy Birthday to Andie Joy!

Sunrise

 Over the last couple months, Pat has become my faithful exercise partner.  We get up in the dark to be on the road by 6am, Pat on her bike and me running, in training for the next half-marathon in September.  The commitment is good for both of us in terms of motivation and the calm of the morning when everything is still and quiet, before I go to scrub toilets and she takes on the grandkids.  She has taken on a few roles in my life since we've moved here. Obviously the mother-in-law, but now the roles of friend and mother.  I left  such good friends behind in Washington and I feel the loss of that companionship in my life everyday, as well as the longing to hear my mom's voice.  My friends and my mother can never be duplicated, they are all exceptional people.  But Pat easily fills the space in my heart that aches for them and she makes it easier.

 I think most of you know she lives in Warroad during the school year and works in the library, so we only see her on the weekends.  Last week was her last full week at the Angle, so one morning we got up at the usual time but we didn't exercise.  Instead we sat on her porch with coffee and cameras in hand and watched the sunrise.  This is the first time I've stopped to look at it and we lived here almost a year!  Since there is not a single mountain around here, you can see the sun as comes right out of the lake.  It is magnificent.

 Pat and Rick's beautiful porch.  I'm sad that I went the whole summer and only took time to sit on it once.  But this is good, meaning that we are busy and the resort is doing well.........it also means we have young kids and pass out in bed as early as possible at night so we can get up with the baby through the night and up again EARLY in the morning. Early birds, these kids.

 The pictures can't do the sunrise any justice, but I think you get the idea.

 All of our cabins face the water and our guests can see this everyday.

 Hummingbirds that appear to be sharing a feeder, but really were fighting the whole time and trying to take each other out like little mini World War II bombers.  They really do sound like they have engines when they fly around.  In my opinion, this the is the biggest a bird should get.

 Weather providing, this is the view I can have everyday of my life.  Not too shabby.

A shot of the porch in the daylight.

Updated Bucket List:

1. Breastfeed a baby while icefishing.
2. Attend a Tupperware party in a bar on a Friday afternoon.
3. Watch the sunrise on the lake that I live on.