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Nov 30-
Everyday it
gets a little better... It really is amazing how injuries to the
mental part of our beings will mimmic injuries to the physical part. Over
time, there is a gradual improvement. There can always be the occasional
bad day or bad moment, but in the overall picture things improve.
That is how is has been going with the Dee Family. Actually, Burt
never really did seem too upset. He has never been one to show too
much emotion. He loves it when Nora and/or I come home and gets excited
and he will get excited when we say we are going for a walk, but other
than that he has never been one to cry or get real excited. I am
sure that he misses her, but has been eating just fine since we had to
put her down and also is excited to go for a walk, so I am very thankful
for that. Nora and I are also doing pretty good. The emptiness
is slowly filling and we will all be just fine. I do not want to
dwell on this topic, but did want to let you all know that we are all doing
pretty good up here. It helps a ton to have each other (can't begin
to imagine what I would do without Nora and Burt) and we also have a very
special place that we live in. Still tons to be thankful for!
I really do not have
too much to report on. We have been getting out for our afternoon
adventures and will be thankful when this day passes so we can get back
out into the woods. Today is the last day of regular firearm deer
season and that means we are safe to head back into the woods tomorrow.
Muzzle loading and second bow season are still going on, but those hunters
number much smaller and are typically much more picky about what they shoot
at. Not that deer hunters that use a rifle are all careless or anything,
but I like my odds in the woods after Nov 30th much better!
I was hoping to take
Burt up to the golf course for our walk today, but Old Blue would not start.
I have a battery charger on it right now, but fear it might be the starter
that has gone not the battery. Time will tell. In any case,
I do not have any pictures to share with you. Quite frankly, you
probably would not want to see what was going on up here on Sunday and
Monday. U G L Y ! Really something how we got two decent snow
events this November and both were followed by a big thaw. The rain
on Sunday and Monday was really the pits, could hardly even go outside,
although Burt, Nora and I did brave the elements Sunday afternoon and went
for a very nice walk along the north shore.
Yesterday around noon
we started to pick up some snow and by evening everything was dusted.
2" overnight was enough to turn everything white again and it looks like
we could be off to the races by tomorrow through the weekend and into early
next week. These lake effect events are always so hard to figure
out exactly. Just when you think you are going to get hammered, nothing
happens and just the opposite can occur as well. The Keweenaw is
probably the trickiest spot in the UP to forecast for as most of the other
LES belts up here behave themselves better. I can add that the higher
terrain up here picked up more than 2". The higher terrain in Keweenaw
County picked up about 5-6 and there were reports of up to 8" down near
Mass City/Rockland. I believe the Ironwood area also picked up close
to 8".
Things also look to
be cold, not nasty cold, but still below average and well below freezing.
That will help to freeze things up too. I can say that things are
already starting to freeze. The shallower lakes like Rice Lake are
froze and there was a bit of ice on the Portage late last week and I bet
by this weekend there will be a bit of ice as well. None of our trails
up here need the lakes to freeze and a lot of the wet areas that caused
problems in the past have been fixed, so we should be pretty good to go
once we get some snow. Who knows, if we get the snow we are suppose
to get in the next few days, the groomers might be out this weekend.
My new sled is just
about ready. I needed to get the clutch and jetting set on it for
this elevation and Al was going to perform some of his special clutching
magic on it as well. I did get to ride it for the first time a week
ago when I took it down to Al's. Not much of a ride, just down the
street a few blocks, but enough to let me know that sled has a bit more
kick to it that the 700. Hopefully this weekend I can do some more
serious testing of the clutch and carb work. I also need to break
in the 700 as it got a new crank this summer.
My other two main reasons
for writing today were 1) The folks that run the JohnDee.com Store wanted
me to let all of you know that the last day to order items for deliver
on or before the 24th of December is December 12th.
My other reason is
to say that by trusty ride for several years the Pol-Cat is up for sale
on CrashedToys.Com.
I do not know how much it will actually fetch, but Joe from CrashedToys
and I are combining forces and will be donating $500 of the sale to the
Make A Wish Foundation which is the charity also receiving the proceeds
from the 1st annual JohnDee.com Snowfest. I can say a little about
the sled. I has a lot of miles on it, over 12K to be exact.
There are some battle scars on it as well, but none of them jump right
out at you and none of them effect the performance of the sled. The
engine is still in great shape and starts right up in 2-3 pulls no matter
what. The track has 2 seasons on it and is a 1.35" "full wave" track,
meaning the lugs go all the way across the width of the track rather than
just sticking out like fingers. I put the suspension from a 1997
Arctic Cat ZR in it. It adds a ton more travel than the 1994 8" travel
it did have. It has one of Al's magic clutching jobs on it and to
ride it you would never know it was a 1994 580cc motor. I know before
I got the 700 RMK, I could pretty much handle any 600 sled and did take
a few 700's in sprints, so the clutching work is just amazing. It
really is a reliable sled and if I really had any need for it would have
kept it in a heart beat, but I just did not need 3 sleds. So would
I recommend you go and get it as your primary sled? Well, probably
not if you plan to ride a lot. If you only plan to take a few trips
a year and put maybe 700-1000 miles on it a season, then it might be OK
for you. It would make a really nice backup sled, especially if you
enjoy boondocking. That is basically what that sled is set up to do best.
I suppose to spice up things a bit I am also willing to throw in a back
country tour up here in the Keweenaw to the person that buys it.
I cannot promise a full day tour as I have to work every day but Saturday,
but we could certainly head out for 4-5 hours and have a blast. You
can even bring along a few of your friends. So there you go.
Your chance to own the Pol-Cat and take a ride with me up here. What
could be better! Just kidding!
I guess that pretty
much covers it for now. Hopefully I will have some snowmobiling shots
in the next entry!
Good night from the Keweenaw..
-JD
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Nov 27-
Once again,
we all would like to give a huge thanks to our extended family on this
site for the outpouring of support we got from you all. It has been
a tough past couple of days, but we are holding our own and all the kind
words and concern has really helped to warm our hearts. As mentioned,
we are all doing pretty good considering the loss. Boy, when the
doctors said she had a very aggressive form of lymphoma, they were not
kidding. She really started to slip quickly this past week.
My whole concern ever since we got the bad news was that she was not to
suffer one bit on our account. I actually think that is what I was
most stressed about from the time of diagnosis to the time of her passing.
I can say that she did not have any pain in her last few days and that
her final moments were spent with those she loved the most, in her home
she loved and in a very peaceful manner. We were so fortunate to
be able to have a saint by the name of Dr. Grant Olson be able to come
out to the house on Friday with his assistant Robin Wakeham and help put
Baileys to sleep. Baileys was in my arms those final moments, with
Burt and Nora at her side as well. She was calm and relaxed and probably
wondering what the heck all the fuss was about. The actual passing
was very peaceful. The drugs went in and about 5 seconds later her
head eased to the floor and a few moments later she was with the angels.
All I can say is that I pray that I can be so fortunate when my time comes.
She really passed from this life to the next in a peaceful and beautiful
manner.
But if there was every
a creature that deserved it, she did. I realize I might be a little
biased here, but she was the sweetest, most kind hearted and fun loving
being I have ever known. Anyone who ever met her instantly fell in
love with her and she had the ability to bring a smile to anyone in just
seconds. Right now the hole she left behind is quite large.
I still cannot get used to grabbing just one treat at treat time and I
want to grab both leashes when it's time for the morning walk. But
I know in time the new routines will become second nature.
If you haven't figured
out yet, this journal is being dedicated to her. I guess you could
call it my eulogy to her. Nora and I have been spending much of the
past 2 days talking about all the things we loved so much about her and
that made her so unique. I have already mentioned how she was just
this big old ball of sunshine. She could brighten any moment and
did so on countless occasions when we needed it. To her life was all about
fun. If it was fun, she HAD to be part of it. It was like she
was constantly on her first day of summer vacation. Remember all
the energy and happiness you had on that day? That was her.
She was a very early riser, I believe because she was so excited to start
the day and get busy having fun. She had absolutely no problem showing
her emotions. I'd have to say that the strongest muscle in her body
was the one that wagged her tail. It just never stopped. They
say that a dogs way of smiling is to wag their tail, but Baileys could
do both. She actually could turn the sides of her mouth up and wag
that big old yellow tail like a helicopter blade. She also just loved
to give out kisses. One of her nicknames was the "Kissing Bandit"
just because she just had to kiss you a few hundred times a day.
Sometimes kissing was not enough and she actually had to grab your hand
or wrist and put the whole thing in her mouth. Not to bite you, just
to say: "I am so excited to see you I just have to have part of you inside
my mouth!".
I can also say with
pride that she was "Daddy's Little Girl". Not that I ever forced
her to be, she just was. I could really go nowhere without her being
with me, including the bathroom! She just loved to be with me and
sometime I would feel bad about getting up from the living room to go into
the office for 10 minutes to make sure the website had not exploded and
she would follow me, lay down at my feet and fall asleep. Only to
have to get back up and follow me back into the living room or maybe the
bedroom after my quick check of the site. As much as she loved to
give affection, she also loved to take it. A hug or kiss on the forehead
or cheek would get that tail just a wagging. Another of her favorite
things to do was to take a nap with us. All I had to do was walk
into the bedroom and sit on the bed and she would come running and find
her way onto the bed and stake out her spot. She just could not lay
on the bed with you, she had to be touching you in some way. Be it
just leaning her back against your legs or your back or sometimes laying
her head across your neck or chest. She loved the physical contact.
Lived for it really.
She could be a brat
to her brother, but that was just on the surface. Deep down she loved
him as much as anyone and would love to cuddle with him as much as Nora
or I. She also would just walk up to him while he was sleeping and give
him kisses. He took it about as well as any brother might take getting
kisses from their sister, but it was cute. The neat thing was in
her last days I think they both knew what was going on and she did not
act like a bratty sister and he seemed to want to be even more of a "big
brother" to her. They would cuddle together just like they did when
they were pups and they just seemed to put all sibling rivalries aside
and just take in as much of the final days as they could together.
We all were just amazed
at how fast the disease spread and took it's toll. The last time
I wrote a journal, she was still doing very good. The picture I posted
below for her memorial was taken on Thursday the 17th of November while
we on a walk over at the Lake Linden Park. She was still eating anything
she could get her teeth into and still getting around just fine.
On Saturday the 19th we went up to the property to take care of the burn
pile and while I got the fire started, she just did one of the things she
has always loved to do- lay
in the snow. She also managed to find a
little stick to chew on and keep herself occupied while I tended to
the fire. Notice the ever watchful big brother in that last shot?
Later that same day we all braved the
north shore for a walk. We did not walk the beach much because
of the raw wind off the lake, but we did take a fairly healthy walk down
the road there. A neat thing happened while we were walking the road.
A
bald eagle appeared about 50 feet overhead and then proceeded to follow
us while we walked down the road for at least 10 minutes. I have
never experienced anything like that with a bald eagle. It was just
soaring on the updrafts caused by the air coming off the smooth lake surface
and hitting the trees on the shoreline. In the whole time the eagle
was overhead it did not have to flap it's wings once. Nora and I
both seemed to take the eagle as a sort of spiritual sign that everything
was going to be just fine. The creator had sent one of it's most
magnificent beings to check on us and let us know he had everything under
control, and he sure did- and does!
The woods have been
off limits to us since the 15th, but that does not mean that we cannot
walk some nice areas. On Sunday we headed up to one of our favorite
roads to walk during deer season. The snow was starting to melt,
but it was still a very beautiful moment in our lives and both
the hounds had a blast sniffing out all there was to sniff and walking
as a family.
Monday was the first
sign of a slide in the way she felt. Both Burt and Baileys have always
loved to eat. My brothers have dogs that will let food sit in their
bowls and just go up to it and nibble a bit from time to time. Not
our two dogs, if there is food in the bowls, it needs to be eaten!
My brothers dogs will attest to that! Well, on Monday morning Baileys
did not eat her entire breakfast. We thought, or probably more accurately
hoped it was because she had been getting some snacks in the middle of
the night to fend off the hunger caused by the steroid injection given
to her to help battle the cancer. She did take some treats on Monday,
but she only ate about 1/2 of her dinner and I knew at that point the slide
had started. Tue she still was eating about 1/2 of her food, but
we also started to supplement it with some safe human food that she liked
and she would scarf that down. I did start to notice her energy levels
dropping on Monday and Tuesday though.
Wednesday she actually
had a pretty good day. Nora was really concerned for her because
of the fact that Baileys did not sleep much early Wednesday morning, but
she actually ate most of her breakfast and was excited to go on the morning
walk with Burt and I. Wednesday afternoon we headed out to the
beach at Big Traverse for our afternoon adventure and she seemed to
be feeling pretty good. She romped on the beach with her brother-
even chasing him around a bit and even wanted to go and check
out the new playground they set up for the warmer months. Burt
had fun, but also was the ever
watchful brother.
Thanksgiving day she
started to slide more and really did not want to have much to eat at all,
even her favorite- noodles. I was really hoping she would want to
have some Turkey Dinner as that is also one of her favorites and she did.
Here is a shot of her and her
brother relaxing on the couch after their turkey dinner. Ate
about 2 cups. However, I could see that things were progressing quickly
in how she felt and with her energy dropping and he appetite just about
gone I made the decision that we would put her down on Friday before that
rotten cancer got the chance to give her any pain. As mentioned we
were blessed by the fact that the vet would come to the house and help
us say good bye. Most of Friday morning was very peaceful.
I had a very light day as far as work went and we actually made a trip
up to the property that morning so that she could have one
more good lay in the snow. Other than getting in and out of the
truck, that is about all she seemed to have the energy for. She was
not in pain, but two of the main things she lived for; eating and exploring
were really not a part of her life and that made the decision to put her
down all the more firm.
Once we got back to
the house we had a bit of time before the vet was to arrive. We actually
came to the time in the morning when they both would get a little rawhide
chip to chew on and it just warmed my heart that she wanted to take one
and chew on it. That was one of the routines she really looked forward
to every day and I was so glad she got to partake in it one last time.
I have already covered
the details of her last moments. An hour or so after that Nora, Burt
and I went for a walk at the Lake Linden Park. All day there had
been a very pretty lake effect snow going on. There was little to
no wind, so the flakes just fell straight to the ground and they were those
big fluffy lake effect flakes, not the tiny ones. That snow kept
up all day, including our walk at the park, but for a brief moment, the
sun peaked it's head out and in that brief instant I knew she was back
with the angels, but her spirit was still all around us. I can still feel
her spirit here with me. It lifts me up and makes me smile just as
she did when she was physically here.
We all miss her, but
will never forget her. She will always live on inside me and her
and her brothers teachings are a big responsibility for what is good about
me. They taught me the true lessons of life, like only a true friend
could. Some have said that I have lost a pet, some have said I lost
a family member. That is all true, but to me I have lost something different,
something much, much more. I have lost my best friend. A friend
that knew me better than I knew myself, but always let me be myself and
loved me for it. I may have lost that best friend, but I have two
more by my side and we all will never lose what Baileys gave to us for
as long as we live. There is a song that ever since I first heard it I
knew I would identify with the loss of Burt and Baileys. It's by
Garth Brooks and it's called "The Dance". It pretty much sums up
my attitude about life as a whole and my attitude about things at this
very moment. I could have missed the pain, but then I would have
had to miss the dance. What a dance it was. Thanks Baileys,
thanks for everything.
A really neat slideshow
was created by a visitor to the site and sent to me, I will sign off with
it.
Good night from the Keweenaw..
-JD
-
Nov 25-
Nov 18-
Nora and I would
like to start out this entry by thanking you all for your very kind, loving
and thoughtful posts and e mails. It has really helped to cushion
the blow knowing that there are so many folks that are thinking about us.
I did get a call from the vet and the lymphoma was confirmed by the biopsy.
The lymphoma type is actually a very aggressive one and without any treatments
she likely has weeks left with us. I have actually been able to come
to terms with what is happening and what will happen in a few weeks and
actually am at peace with things. The first few days after I found
out were very, very rough, but slowly and steadily I have been able to
grasp what is happening and focus on the positive things like how wonderful
her life has been. We have decided not to use any chemotherapy.
The success rate with this type of cancer is actually very good in the
fact that 80% of all dogs treated are able to attain a remission.
However, there is a difference between a remission and a cure. A
remission is when the cancer is shrunk to the microscopic level, but is
still there and eventually comes back harder and faster and usually with
a resistance to the chemo. We all know what a cure is. My life's
purpose for the rest of her life is to make her as comfortable and happy
as can be. The chemo would have at least some kind of side effects
and then after about 6-10 months of remission we would be right back to
where we started. If there was a good chance that we could cure her
with the chemo, I would strongly consider it, but I just cannot ask her
to go through the discomforts of chemo just so that we can have her with
us for a few more months.
I am even thinking
about not giving her any steroids either. The vet gave her an injection
of a steroid last Friday after her surgery to remove one of the lymph nodes
and the past few nights she has been panting in spells and she is always
thirsty and hungry and that is not a great way to live out the rest of
your life either. From what I have been able to gather, she will
not have any pain throughout the course of the rest of her life.
I had a cancer of the lymph system and it got extremely serious (more advanced
than hers is right now) and I never felt any pain with mine. So I
am comforted by the fact that the cancer will make her tired, but not in
any pain. I have been told that the cancer will likely spread to
her spleen and then her liver. Once in the liver for a while she
will not be able to keep food down and then it will be time to say our
good byes.
She is doing very good
right now and like I said I am at peace with things and feeling about as
good as one could with things currently going on. Burt does seem
to maybe sense something is up, but does not seem to be upset or anything,
just aware of something. Nora seems to be doing well too. She,
Burt and I will be a wonderful support team for each other through all
of this and we will all be just fine once time has been allowed to work
it's wonders. So again, thank you all for your kind words and support,
it is very much appreciated and has helped!
We have been very busy
having fun the last week or so. The last journal talked about the
weekend. On Monday it was sort of the calm before the storm up here,
so I thought it would be neat to take a trip to one of our favorite beaches.
It was not exactly what most folks would consider "beach weather" with
temps around 40, a breeze off the cold waters of Lake Superior and some
clouds, but the 4 of us are pretty tough and actually had a great time.
We have been taking lots of pictures and video. I actually have 30
shots to share with you and we have used up a full video tape in the camera
already. One of the shots we took on Monday as a
nice family photo on the beach. Can never have too many of them.
Of course we did not arrive at such a nice shot in one take! There was
this one with Baileys
still showing she has plenty of spunk left. There was this one that
was not framed right
and I was goofing off. Nice going dad! Then there is this
one, which is actually my favorite. She sure is a sweetie.
After the posing, the
hounds were released to have their fun. Burt did not waste too much
time heading for one
last dip in the lake. I can tell he is getting a little older
and wiser as he only waded up to about his belly and decided that was far
enough. Baileys stuck her feet in and took a little drink, but she
has never been much of a swimmer. She's more into exploring things
on land and enjoying
the view of the lake more than the feel. Me
too (fsv).
As we were finishing up our walk, something compelled me to turn around
and I was taken by the sight of our
four sets of footprints in the sand as the sun set on a beautiful Keweenaw
autumn day. It always amazes me that most of the time it is the simplest
things in life that are the most glorious.
Tuesday the weather
was starting to turn a little foul, with winds picking up and some drizzle
and light rain that developed in the afternoon. A storm was promising
to bring some meaningful snow and I figured we would not be needing the
lawnmowers any more, so the hounds and I hauled them and the garden hoses
up to the property to store them in the shop. No pictures of that
adventure, but it did stop raining long enough for us to do a little exploring
of the woods. We did not venture far because it is deer season and
we did not have any blaze orange on. No one is hunting our land,
but better to be safe than sorry!
The rains started changing
to snow Tuesday evening and then about 11 pm they intensified and by sun
up Wednesday we had about 6-7" of new snow on the ground. Here is
a front of house
shot Wednesday. It was really neat to have some snow on the ground
and it always amazes me on how fast and dramatically the view of things
can change with a good snowfall. Here is a shot of the
neighborhood coated in white. The snow up to that point had been
very wet and heavy and stuck to everything and I mean everything.
Here is a shot of the oak
tree across the street. Here is a shot of my
frozen anemometer. It has not measured wind speed or direction
since about 2 am Wednesday.
Wednesday afternoon
we waited for Nora to get home and then headed up to the property to play
in the snow a little. The
hounds wasted no time in exploring things up there. We also stopped
playing for long enough to take another
family photo. That one will likely be used with our Christmas
card this season. There was about 8-10" of snow on the ground up there,
but the blazer had no problem getting through it and making
a path down the driveway. First tire tracks in the snow on the
driveway. After the family photo op (first pic was the winner that
time) we did a little exploring
in the snow. Now before people start e mailing me about how we
should have had blaze orange on, by law we did not and for practicality
sense we were never really that deep into our woods, only about 100 feet
from the clearing. So we were about as safe as if we had been in
the clearing. In any case, you don't have to travel too far from
the clearing to
be in the thick of things.
Wednesday afternoon
and into the overnight hours we picked up another 12" of new snow.
Most of that was the light and fluffy lake effect type, perfect to put
on top of 8" of the snow cement we got earlier. The hounds and I
went over to the Lake Linden Park for our afternoon adventure. There
were still some lake effect snow squalls blowing in off the lake and every
once in a while it came down
pretty good. Between the 6-8" of heavy snow and the 12" of additional
fluff, we went from bare ground to "belly
deep" in about 36 hours. Here is a shot of Burt
showing you don't need to own a snowmobile to have fun in the snow.
It's just amazing how much they love the snow, probably as much as I do.
I wonder if I had an influence on them. The heavy, wet snow did a
good job of flocking all the young red pine back behind the camp ground
at the park and we were treated to a
really pretty sight with them in the foreground and the lake and some
rays of sun in the background (FSV).
We picked up another
inch last night to bring out total for the past 3 days to 19". Looks
like a bit more tonight and probably some more next week. Should
be plenty for opening day of snowmobile season on the 1st. This is
the most snow we have had on the ground at our house this early in the
season since I moved up here. I am really encouraged by this. Big
snow seasons always start strong. Of course there is the odd year
that starts strong and then fizzles, but you cannot have a big snow year
up here without running pretty strong from start to finish. We just
get too much snow in a regular season to have a slow start and still end
up with a big season. Here is a very wintry picture of the
front of the house from this morning. It also felt and sounded
very wintry when I went out to take it. The temp was 5 degrees above
zero and the snow was all crunchy.
This afternoon we all
headed out to the property again. I plan to burn the scrap wood pile
tomorrow, but needed to dig
it out first today! Burt was helping out and also doing some
sniffing. Here is a shot of Baileys
doing some sniffing. We also brought out some pumpkins to smash
and feed the deer with. Both Nora and I were really surprised to see that
the dogs love pumpkin!
One of the things I have read about is how a healthy diet can help fight
cancer. This is mostly when combined with a medical treatment, but
Nora and I figure if they love something that is also good for them, we
may as well give them that. So we plan to pick up squash at the store
and see if they like that too.
We did not spend too
much time at the property. We will be back up there tomorrow to burn
the scrap pile. With the rest of the afternoon we headed north a bit to
the higher terrain of Keweenaw County. There are only a few places
that you can go by auto and get to the higher terrain of Keweenaw County
and one of my favorites is Phoenix Farm Road. Now before all of you
plan a drive up there on your next visit here let me just say that there
really is nothing that special up there. It's just a road that heads
up a hill outside of Phoenix. No farms can be seen and the road just
dead ends. Why I like it so much is that it is very quiet and perfect
to take a walk on with the hounds at any time of the year. Today
we found ourselves the only ones on it and as peaceful as it gets.
One of the hounds favorite
things to do is to stick their heads (and sometimes whole bodies) into
the culverts that run under the roads and old railroad tracks up here.
What is amazing is that they don't need to see the culvert to know it's
there. Today we were walking along the road when Burt just jumps
off it into the snow and starts digging. A little bit later and he
is sticking his
head into a culvert! Baileys patiently waited for her turn and
then explored the
culvert as well. We had a really fun time this afternoon walking
along the road, watching the hounds do their things and just enjoying the
moment. As we passed a little two
track going off into the woods, I could not help but think about the
upcoming riding season. It's little tracks like that which are so
much fun to explore on sled in the winter. The walk over and feeling very
contented in the experience we piled back into the truck and headed back
down to Hwy 41. Just before you reach the end of the road and the
Hwy, the snowmobile trail crosses the road. Here is a shot of the
trail, just sitting there waiting for all the snowmobilers to arrive.
On the way home we
took the scenic route, taking Cliff Drive rather than 41. The cliffs
were really pretty (FSV)with
the trees all coated in snow. Right now both hounds are sound asleep
after their busy day. I am probably not far behind. I had a busy
day too and it started at 4:30 this morning, just like they all do during
the week.
I have not taken the
800 for a spin yet. For one I have wanted to spend as much time with
my family as possible. However, it also is still setup for the altitude
out west, so the carbs need to be adjusted. Plus the woods are off limits
right now, so I really could not go for an honest to goodness ride.
I have a bunch of stuff to add to it as well and wanted to get those items
added before I take it out. I have a feeling that I will be out taking
it for a shakedown ride soon and of course there will be some shots of
the first ride. We look to be off to a fast start this winter and
that holds some exciting prospects.
Good night from the Keweenaw..
-JD
-
Nov 13-
Once again,
I had plans to write sooner, but things this week got rather hectic and
my writings had to be put aside. I even had some nice material with
the storm of last Wednesday, which I will cover in a moment, but first
I have some very sad news. Last Tuesday morning while giving Baileys
one of her many pets for the day, I noticed a lump on her neck. My
initial reaction was one of gut wrenching fear. I battled cancer
when I was a child (another story for another journal) and that is exactly
how they found mine- a lump on the neck. So that morning I called
their vet in Marquette to schedule an appointment for her. I had
to do some things Tuesday and the storm would be going full force Wednesday,
so I scheduled it for Thursday. On Tuesday she only had the one lump
on her right side, but on Wednesday a lump had appeared on her left side
too. That was actually a little comforting to me as I knew that a
tumor could not grow overnight, so my thought was that her glands had become
infected. My only concern was that she has been on antibiotics for
a few months trying to battle a skin infection on her chin, so I was a
little worried about what kind of an infection could develop in her glands
that would develop and thrive with all of those antibiotics going into
her system.
Nora was able to join
us on the trip to Marquette, which was a great thing, especially since
she offered to do the driving. We got to the vet and Baileys was examined
and the vet gave us the bad news that he feels she has lymphoma.
It was her lymph nodes on her neck that were swollen and the other lymph
nodes on her body were also swollen. The only way to be sure is to
do a biopsy of one of the lymph nodes. So we had a very sad ride
home Thursday evening. I actually rode in the back of the truck with
her, while Nora and Burt got us home. Friday morning after my morning
work Baileys and I headed back to Marquette to have the biopsy done.
That surgery went well. The vet was kind enough to let me hold her
as they put her under and I was able to be there by her side when she woke
up. In about an hour after the surgery, she was feeling good enough
to go home, so we wasted no time and headed home. I have been in
hospitals and had more than my fair share of surgeries and know how nice
it is to have someone you know and love at your side when you wake up and
also know that I feel the recovery goes better the minute I leave the hospital
and get home.
The vet seems to think
that there is about a 90% chance it is lymphoma. The other 10% chance
it being some kind of an infection that is resistant to the antibiotics
she was taking. So I have pretty much resigned myself to the fact
that she has lymphoma. I am not trying to be negative about things,
just realistic. I did do some research on canine lymphoma Friday
after getting home and it looks like Baileys will have a few weeks to be
with us in this life. The vet did give her a steroid injection that
can help a bit. He as seen a dog survive for 5 months with the steroid
injections, so we will likely keep those up as it is a simple shot with
the only side effects being she is more hungry and more thirsty- which
we can remedy pretty easily. The vet does not speak very highly of
chemotherapy. My research on the internet so far has seemed to contradict
what he has said a bit, but I need to do some more research to determine
what is the best course of action. Baileys has had a wonderful life
and is getting up there in age. What is most important to me is that
the rest of her days (however many) are spent in comfort and in the loving
company of Burt, Nora and I.
I'm sorry if you turned
to this journal holing for some fun stories of our adventures up here,
but I felt that I needed to tell you all this for a couple of reasons.
Number one is that I think there are a lot of you out there that feel connected
to us and would have wanted to know what was going on. Secondly,
I am not myself right now. Although I have feared something like
this could happen, once it did it really has hit hard. Both Burt
and Baileys have gotten me through some of the roughest times of my life
and have been a huge part of my life for almost the past 10 years.
For the past 7 years they have been able to be by my side 24/7/365.
I feel blessed beyond words to have been able to have that kind of a relationship
with them and will make the most of every day, minute and second I have
left with them. They taught me that doing that is what's most important
in life and now that
lesson is being practiced to the up most.
I am also blessed by
the fact that we do still have some time left and that she will not have
to suffer in death. There is a vet up here that will come to the
house to put her down, so she will not even have to endure the stress of
going to the vet to be put down. I have Burt and Nora for support,
something that I don't think I could get through this without. So
it will be a difficult next few weeks or months, but we will make the most
of it and try to embrace all that we have in this moment and try not to
worry about the future too much.
So the bottom line
is that updates to the journal may not be as frequent, or maybe more- I
just do not know. However, I wanted you all to know what was going
on in case it seemed like something was different. I can also add
that I would welcome any help with questions that pop up in the Ask John
or General Discussions. That is if you know the answer or can find
it with a web search. So please feel free to help me out in those
areas if you want. At least for now.
On Wednesday we did
get out to the lake to see the storm do it's thing to Superior. I
wanted to head down to the upper entry on the south side as that is where
I have experienced the largest waves. For most of the shoreline of
the Keweenaw, there seems to be a reef off shore about 1/2 mile or so that
seems to break up the larger waves. At the entry, there does not
seem to be that reef, so the waves seem to come in full sized. They
did some redemption work out there like they did to the Lake Linden Sands.
They actually made it so that you can drive your vehicle out to the lake
shore, which was nice because it would have been a nasty walk from the
old parking lot to the shoreline. At times the wind would blow so
strong that I could barely even stand up. The peak gust at the airport
in Calumet was 66 mph and the peak gust at Stannard Rock about 50 miles
east of the Keweenaw and 50 miles north of Marquette was 71 mph.
That's only 4 mph less than hurricane strength.
We did make it to the
upper entry and I did take some shots. This is a shot of the
breakwater to the upper entry (fsv).
The waves were about 10-15 feet high at that point with an occasional monster
that seemed to be closing in on 20 feet high. Here is a shot with the
navigational aid almost completely obscured by a breaking wave.
That is actually the shot that I sent down to Tom Skilling at WGN in Chicago
that he used on air Wed night and in the Tribune on Thursday. I was able
to get into a position (without putting myself in harms way) to be able
to take a shot looking
right down the breakwater. Would not have been wanting to be
out there! There looked to have been a little overwash from the waves
that flooded the
roadway from the old parking area to the shoreline.
With the fencing they
put up out there we did not walk around out there and the woods were off
limit on a day like that so we just headed home and walked out on the Lake
Linden Sands. The hounds did well in the wind, probably better than
me. I did not get blown over, but there were a few close calls.
Here is a shot of a
very angry Torch Lake. Moments before that shot was taken, the
wind was so strong that you could not even see the lake with all the spray
coming off of it. There were also a few snow flurries that fell while
we were out driving around and at one time we were doing about 45 mph and
the flakes were actually passing us up! Out on the sands, the flakes
felt like bird shot hitting me in the face. I think I actually had
some small sores on my face from where they hit.
That was the first
really big wind storm we have had up here for quite some time and needless
to say there was more than just a few trees that fell. We actually
went out to the property late Wednesday afternoon and thankfully all was
well out there. The winds started blowing pretty hard at about 5:30
in the morning and when the cam at the property updated Wed morning I joked
to Nora that the workshop must still be standing. With that comment
made, the cam failed to update any further, so I actually got a little
worried. Not that the building collapsed, but that a tree may have
fallen on it. Not the case, just a software glitch. While in
the shop while the winds were blowing, it did not even creak. I could
hear the wind roaring outside, but the building stood solid. I think all
that 1" siding on it really strengthened it up.
We then went home to
find that the winds
had done a number on the snowstation. The snow platform had been
blown off and the depth gauge was all out of sorts. We are getting
ready to have another big blow up here today and I have temporarily taken
down the platform and the gauge. The new anemometer worked like a
charm. I recorded a gust to 46 mph, but I have a feeling it probably
gusted stronger than that, but in the random nature that gusts work, it
may have missed the anemometer. One thing that did happen is that
the wind was so strong it blew the directional element of the anemometer
off. All I have to do is turn the pipe it is on, but really something
how strong the winds were.
We did not lose any
trees, but our neighbor
did and it fell on our other neighbors backyard and crushed their fence.
If the tree had been about 20 feet taller, it would have hit their house.
On Thursday afternoon before heading off to the vet we went up to the tracks
for our afternoon walk and surveyed the damage. Not as bad as I thought
it might have been, but still quite
a few trees and limbs down.
Well, it looks like
I have come to the end of this one.. I sure hope I did not get you all
down too much with our news about Baileys. Please know that she is
in no pain what so ever, I never had any pain with my cancer either and
mine got as serious as it can get. Her spirits are still good and
we still have some great days ahead of us.
Good night from the Keweenaw..
-JD
-
Nov 7-
Gonna slip a
quick one in here. I have a few things to talk about and a bit of
spare time, so I may as well get out a journal entry. We are actually
in a pretty quite time of the year up here. Not necessarily quiet
from a weather standpoint, but from an activity standpoint. The color
show is all over, bear season is over, main firearm deer season is approaching,
but not here and snowmobile season is still 3 weeks and 3 days away.
The weather has actually been fairly quiet up here. We dodged one
little snow event yesterday. We did pick up a few flakes in the afternoon.
Here is a shot of the first
snow falling on the shop and here is a shot of the snow
coming down a little heavier while we were taking a walk on the snowmobile
trail up at the property. It never came down hard enough for long
enough to get any accumulation up here, but in areas of the central and
eastern UP they picked up as much as 3-6". Even a report of as much
as 8" in northern Luce county.
I can honestly say
(and this really is no lie) that I am not that jealous of the snow in the
eastern UP. Since moving up here I have mellowed out a little as
far as early season snow goes. Sure I will always take it, but in
reality, I don't start to get too excited to get snow until we are in about
mid November. That is the time that we could start to hang onto what
we get and that is what really counts as far as I am concerned. Last
year places up here in the Keweenaw picked up nearly a foot of snow in
mid October, but it all melted within a few days and it's the melting part
I can really do without. So, as pretty as it is when it is falling,
if it is not going to stick around and be useful, then I really do not
miss getting passed over by it.
Now, with that said,
I am jealous of the snow they are getting out west in places like Togwotee
and Cooke City. There the snow is getting pretty deep and will be
there to stay. They have had a little melting today, but new snow
will fall in the next few days and it will also get colder. So I
have been checking those cams out at first light and check them a few times
during the day too and they get my blood pumping! Our own weather
does not look to provide much snow for the next week or so. One bit
of light snow or flurries is possible Wed and then another is possible
by about Sun. There are some signs of a pattern change to take place
as we head through next week, in fact one model is saying a huge storm
to hit by the middle to end of next week, but I am not going to allow myself
to get too excited about that right now. This same model yesterday
said it was going to be in the upper 40's to low 50's for that same time
period. So I'd say it's having issues! None the less, the model
is at least indicating what is possible around this time of the year and
that is a little exciting.
I had my first dream
about riding the 800 last night. At least it was the first dream
that I can remember about riding it. The only things I remember about
the dream was that I could go anywhere and do anything on it. Others
were getting stuck all over the place and I could just ride up to them,
help them out and then ride off. No hill was too steep and no powder
too deep. I know the first time I get stuck, I will have a good laugh
at that dream! I can say that having the 800 in the garage does make
me a little more anxious for snow and I suppose that a quick 8" would have
been enough to take it out for a spin, but it is still setup for a higher
altitude and so I can't really let it all out until I change the settings
in carburetors for my elevation. I would not want to blow it up before
the season even starts! The adjustment of the carburetor does not
come into play until the throttle is open over 1/2 way, so I could scoot
around the neighborhood a little with no fear of harm.
I have already ordered
up some accessories for it, things like a windshield bag, handlebar bag
and a few other items that should help out it's performance a little, so
I will be watching for the UPS truck in the next few days! Always
fun to anticipate those brown boxes from the big brown truck! Just
like a kid at Christmas.
While out at the property
the other day, I did spread some carrots and sugar beets in view of the
camera. I'm not sure if you can actually see them, the carrots may
be in view just past the driveway where the trailer used to be. I
also do not know the rules about baiting if you are not hunting.
I know if you are hunting then you cannot have more than 2 gallons of bait
out at one time and so I put out about a gallon of carrots and a gallon
of sugar beets. I stayed away from corn to avoid it rotting.
There have been tracks out there since we finished building, so eventually
they will find the bait. I also hope to put some kind of a snow stick
up there, but looking at where the camera is aiming and the fact that we
are actually going to try and keep the driveway open this winter, the stick
may have to go over by where the trailer was (where the cabin will be)
and that may be too far away. We'll see.
I have also been able
to get the weather station fully functional. I am still working on
the page with the charts and data and hope to have it up sometime this
week. It is nice to have an accurate wind gauge going. Will
be neat when the west winds are howling!
My only other item
is a picture to share with you of the School Forest this past Saturday.
Nothing really too special, just a shot of the
woods, with the trees all bare. This really is one of my favorite
times of the year. Great hiking weather, the woods all quiet before
the storms and the anticipation of the deep winter snows to come.
That is one of the best things about living here is that they will come,
it's a guarantee!
Good night from the Keweenaw..
-JD
-
Nov 3-
I can't believe
it has almost been a whole week again. Things have been a little
crazy around here lately. Not from a bad sense, but just from a busy
sense. The weekend was pretty busy. We went to the Calumet
football playoff game with the Wescots from Lac La Belle Lodge on Friday-
hooking up for pizza first. The wood for the cabin was delivered
on Friday evening too, but we were not there when it came. On Saturday
the plan was to head up to the property and move all the wood for the cabin
into the shop so that it can dry even further over the winter and will
be at a decent moisture content when it comes time to start using it next
spring. I knew that there would be a pretty healthy amount of wood
to move, but I think both Nora and my mouths dropped and eyes bugged when
we turned the corner on the drive way and saw
this! Yep, that's all the framing members that we will need for
the cabin, but all the outside siding and interior ceiling and wall paneling.
I will be making my own tongue and groove paneling for the ceiling and
exterior walls and will use drywall for the few interior walls we will
have. Next season all we will need to purchase is the materials for
the foundation, the roof trusses, sheeting for the roof and loft to get
the building up and shelled in. Then of course there is the plumbing,
electrical, floor coverings, doors and windows, so we still have a ways
to go, but it is nice to have the framing members on site and paid for
already. I will have lots of work ahead of me next spring.
I will need to surface all the framing lumber as they are in true 2 x dimensions
right now. But the way I figure, April is always a sort of depressing
month with not much to do, especially the second half of the month, so
that is when I will move the shop equipment up there and get going!
Getting back to the
wood moving, Nora and I were able to get all the 1 x stock moved in the
morning. Here is pile
number one and here is pile
number 2. It was getting on lunch time and it was also a beautiful
day (one of the only ones with sunshine in the past 2-3 weeks) so I also
wanted to take advantage of the day and take the hounds for a nice walk
in the woods, so after all the 1 x stock was moved and stacked, we headed
home. After dinner Saturday we headed back up to take care of the
rest of the wood. I knew it would get dark before we finished, but
I brought some lights up there so that we could work once the sun set.
The first wood members we worked on that evening were the 2 x 10's.
They were beasts as they were still pretty wet and were also 12 feet wide.
It took Nora and I both just to move one board at a time. Thankfully
we did not have too many of those! Next we moved the 12 foot 2 x
6's and ended up with this
pile. The last pile of wood was the 8
foot 2 x 6's (the pile on the right hand side). It was completely
dark by the time we finished and when I turned off the lights, I could
not believe how dark it was. I could not even see my hand in front
of my face! I forgot how dark it can get up here in the woods when
the skies are overcast. Nora helped me stumble to the truck and then
we were able to resume normal activity with the dome lights of the truck
and then the headlights, but wow, is it dark up there! Will be good
for viewing the stars and northern lights. I did get up there on
Sunday to take a picture of the
front of the shop with all the wood put away. It is really something
to have all that work done and it is also the first time in over a month
that the front of the shop has been free of all lumber.
I can't really remember
what we did on Sunday other than I have work I need to do for my business
on Sunday and I am sure we took a walk somewhere! Monday was Halloween,
so that kept us pretty busy. Plus on Monday I was working on getting
the web camera for the property going. There were a few hurdles to
get past and so the web cam prep work carried into Tuesday, but by Tuesday
evening I had that all ready to go. It was too late to go up and
setup the cam on Tuesday evening and then on Wednesday I got to go down
and meet up with Doug from CrashedToys.com and pick up the 800 RMK.
Before loading the Pol-Cat up to take down with me, I hopped on it and
posed
for one last shot. It really is a great sled and I almost did
not want to part with it, but we really do not need it and it would just
sit there, so I figured it would be better to get rid of it and let someone
else have fun with it. Also before loading it up, I left my mark
on the sled. Actually I have left many marks on that sled, but this
one will be fairly recognizable that I left it. Who knows, maybe
that will fetch another 10-20 bucks in the auction! We plan to auction
it off in early December. I will be making the announcement in here
and probably in other areas of the site as to when it is up for auction.
Driving down to northern
Wisconsin yesterday to do the sled swap with the Pol-Cat sitting in the
bed of ol' Blue, I felt as though I had achieved another milestone in becoming
a true Yooper. On the way back, I think I even enhanced that milestone,
with not just a sled in the back of the truck, but a
sled that was worth 3 times the value of the truck! Plus I was
thinking that the sled was long enough that if there had been snow, I could
have flipped a coin to see which device carried which one back to Lake
Linden! I am really psyched to have the 800 here. I think I
was trying not to get myself all worked up about it when it was still down
with the CrashedToys crew, but now that it is here, I am pumped! and pumped
for snow! It looks like we may even get a little up here later this
weekend. Not that I am going to be able to go cruising down the trails,
but maybe a quick little lap around the yard or something. I did
start it twice and both times it started on the second pull- that is a
great omen! Nora is psyched to have the 700 as her ride now too.
Hopefully we will be able to take some fun rides this season. It's
always fun to head out for dinner on the sled.
I did get the cam setup
at the property today, although for some reason the dial up connection
was not working. I have been having problems with that lately and
need to call the internet provider that I use for a dial up account (runs
the trail cam and also doubles as my backup when the cable internet is
down) and see what is going on. The cam at the property I am going
to call "Construction Cam" while we are doing construction and then "Wildlife
Cam" once we are done. The cam will be put in the woods up at the
property and you'll be able to see what creatures are roaming around in
our woods. I would suspect we will see plenty of deer, some bear,
coyotes and who knows what else. Seems like I have already written
all of this, but oh well, is fun enough to think about and mention twice!
The cam is set to automatically reboot like the trail cam, so maybe the
dial up will be working tomorrow. If it is, I will make the image
it takes available. The link will be on the AL Cam page.
The last item I have
been working on the past week or so is the weather station. I did receive
the station last week, but the anemometer did not work and I also needed
the software and interface hardware to have the weather station talk to
one of my computers. I got the software on Tuesday and the replacement
anemometer came today and all are working perfectly. It is neat to
have a working anemometer, that is the first time I have had that.
The original LaCrosse stations anemometer did not function correctly out
of the box (even though they claimed there was nothing wrong with it) and
then stopped working all together. I am really happy with my new
Davis station. Granted it has only been going for a few days, but
it seems like a better system altogether and I have heard nothing but good
things about them.
I am going to be doing
the weather info on the AL Cam a little differently. The setup I
had before is back up, but I plan to actually create a whole separate weather
data page. The Virtual Weather Station software can plot out some
really neat graphs and other displays, so I will be working on a page with
all that info, but it may take a little while to figure it all out.
So I guess that gets
you all caught up on my doings for this time. Who knows maybe the
next time I will have some pictures with snow in them to share with you
all. A nice thought to end it on.
Good night from the Keweenaw..
-JD
-
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