Over supper last week I spoke of bugs in the North Woods with two men of great experience. These men know the woods. They built and maintained hiking trails in the great Minnesota wilderness.
We spoke of wood ticks and deer fly. The ticks can be awful in the spring and June. The deer fly can make late June and July awful.
Deer fly tend to buzz about your head and bite your limbs inside the canoe. One of these gentlemen suggested: Place a band of fly strip around your head sticky side out. The flies which tend to bump into your head will hit the flypaper. The sticky goo will take them out of action.
The other gentleman said wood ticks climb upward as far they can get. Therefore you tend to find them stuck in armpits, your groin, your waist if you wear a tight belt or your hair. He recommended wearing Duct Tape. Place a piece of tape around your collar sticky side out. Make sure your clothes are tucked in well then you will conquer of the ticks.
Here we have two non-chemical ways to control North-wood bugs.
I've not tried them so you will have to take their word for it.
They offered no solution for black flies and knats!
Showing posts with label Minnesota. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Minnesota. Show all posts
Monday, February 15, 2010
Thursday, July 09, 2009
Highway Memorial
I present another in the series of curious roadside attractions.
A road trip through the Superior National Forest brought me to this unusual roadside memorial. I found it along Forest Highway 7.
The 'memorial' stands close by an abandoned tavern and other building. near Slate Lake. The 'memorial' consists of an authentic old 
outhouse with a couple of stuffed dummies. She has a beautiful large glove and a yellow hat. He sports blaze orange socks. The old Christmas Wreaths add a festive, creative touch.
Winter in July
I found myself in Winter, MN on the Fourth of July.
Googling "Winter, MN" will show you its real and point to it on a map.
My GPS unit alerted me of Winter's approach as I barreled down the Stoney River Road in the Superior National Forest. The Stoney River Road lies atop the old DM and IR right-of-way to Forest Center.
Nothing seems to remain of Winter. My gps unit pinpointed the location of Winter between two banks where the old right-of-way cut through a sm
all hill.
A few miles down the road, in Whyte I discovered a large bog filled with wild Iris "Blue Flag Iris" "iris versicolor".
The flowers grew as far as the eye could see. It is impossible to capture that picture in a photograph.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Mothball Sunday
Mothball Sunday fell in Epiphany-tide this year. At least, it might have fallen last Sunday here in Cloquet, Minnesota.
Mothball Sunday is a moveable feast. It might be celebrated in Advent, during December. This special Sunday might add to the Twelve Days of Christmas. Most likely it will fall during the season of Epiphany. Rarely do we celebrate this Sunday during Lent. Some few years, we do not have this Sunday at all.
The date of celebration varied from year to year and even place to place. I doubt the Bible Belt ever experienced this Sunday in their churches.
You will not find Mothball Sunday determined by the Solar Calendar like Christmas. We don't calculate its place in our lives according to the Lunar Calendar like Easter. Meteorology governs the date of Mothball Sunday.
I considered it a big feast in the 1950's. On this Sunday a different incense wafted through the congregation. This feast, however, has slipped from our awareness and consciousness.
People would get out their rarely-used, really heavy, warm winter garments. When I was young these garments were very often made of wool. Taken from storage, they smelled of the mothballs used to protect them from the insects that feasted on wool. Church on Mothball Sunday smelled of mothballs. By the next week, if folks still needed these really warm clothes the smell disappeared as the heavy coat, wool pants or sweater aired.
For some years, I served as an altar boy. As we moved from one kneeling person to another at communion time, I would catch the whiff of Mothballs. Mostly the old people smelled (who who were then the age that I am now.) I thought of these woolen garments as quaint and old fashioned like the people who wore them.
People who were then the age I am now: Yes! I have my favorite cherished woolen garment. The 'long pants' I pack when outfitting myself for a canoe trip. Long pants is that garment warn on a cold, windy, damp day. I wear long pants when the evening chill has replaced the warm day and mosquitoes swam. I wear old army surplus woolen dress pants. Wood sheds water, seems warm even when wet, dries quicker than blue jeans, fends off the wind - especially when they have not been washed for a couple of seasons. When properly 'seasoned' - unwashed - a pair of woolen pants seems to keep mosquitoes at bay.
I know people on the trail smile at the old-fashioned quaintness of my outdoor gear. However, I don't smell - of mothballs at least.
New synthetic winter fabrics and hi-tech textiles and have driven most wool from our wardrobes, so Mothball Sunday has disappeared. Maybe folks today are more conscious of how they smell, and air out their clothes (10 minutes in the clothes drier) before they wear them. After all, when I was 8 we only bathed once a week. We usually bathed on Saturday before going to church. (Until a teenager, I though the maxim "cleanliness is next to Godliness" referred to the Saturday Evening bath before we when to Church on Sunday.
Last Sunday should have been Mothball Sunday in Church, but the air smelled clean like Irish Spring or Life Boy.
Friday, October 19, 2007
Nor' Easters
Big Blows:
November 23, 1905:
The peak wind gust with this storm, measured by the Weather Bureau, was 70 mph. there were no mishaps on Lake Superior as most ships stayed in port.
Mataafa Storm, November 28, 1905:
This storm wrecked or disabled 18 ships, including the Mataafa. The Mataafa ran aground just outside the Duluth pier. Temperatures plummeted to -10 degrees F. Of the 24 men on board, fifteen were rescued after the waves abated. Four men froze to death and the last five were missing and presumed dead. The peak wind measured by the Duluth Weather Bureau was 68 mph. The wind gusted over 60 mph in Duluth for 15 consecutive hours.
The Great lakes Storm of November 7 1913:
This storm is historically referred to as the "Big Blow", the "Freshwater Fury" or the "White Hurricane". This was the deadliest and most destructive natural disaster to ever hit the Great Lakes. The storm killed over 250 people, destroyed 19 ships and stranded 19 others. The closest sinking to Duluth was south of Thunder Bay, where the Leafield went down killing all 18 crew members.
The Armistice Day Storm, November 11, 1940:
The day began fairly warm with temperatures in the 40's. As the day wore on rain turned to blinding snow. Ten death were blamed on the storm, with 66 sailors dead on Lake Michigan. Forty-nine peopled died in Minnesota, most of them duck hunters who set out in the morning unprepared.
The Edmund Fitzgerald Storm, November 10 1975:
This is the infamous storm that sank the Edmund Fitzgerald, which at the time was the largest of the lakers on the Great Lakes. The "Fitz" had just loaded taconite in Superior and was headed to Detroit. Most of her 26 crew members were from the Twin Ports of Duluth-Superior. All perished.
The Socrates Storm, November 18, 1985:
Strong winds of 69 mph and high waves beached the Greek ship the Socrates on Duluth's Park Point for six days.
Record Low Pressure, November 10, 1998:
This intense storm produced Duluth's lowest ever recorded barometric pressure of 28.475 inches or 964.3 millibars and produced gale force winds of 55 mph.
March Blizzard, March 1-2 2007:
This storm brought over 20 inches of snow and winds over 50 mph to the Duluth area, the north shore of Lake Superior and extreme northwestern Wisconsin. Fifteen foot snowdrifts covered Park Point
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Sunrise
I rise about 4:45 each day.
The sun rises about 5:15. During June both the Sun and I struggle out bed about the same time.
Our paths out of bed cross most often in June.
So Lila and meet the sun near the river on our morning walk.
Lila Resting During Walk
During the few minutes I have before catching the bus to work I search out a new frame for the sunrise.
The sun rises about 5:15. During June both the Sun and I struggle out bed about the same time.
Our paths out of bed cross most often in June.
So Lila and meet the sun near the river on our morning walk.
Lila Resting During Walk
During the few minutes I have before catching the bus to work I search out a new frame for the sunrise.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Breath of Lake Superior
I love Lake Superior!
Lake Superior embraced me in my garden last Saturday. Her breath, that 10,000 year-old echo of the great ice sheet, suddenly touched me at my digging.
After a few warm spring days high pressure and the east wind drove cold temperatures deep inland from the lake. The temperature dropped to freezing during the night and barely surpassed 40º during the day. Snow fell. Folks layered on more clothing. Plants paused in their growing. City Hall, where I worked, turned on heat today after a cold day yesterday.
Right now it is colder by the lake 46º and warm at home 66º.
A refrigerator kept at 46º prevents stuff from rotting, turning green or wrinkling. Will this cuddling with Lake Superior keep younger?
Lake Superior embraced me in my garden last Saturday. Her breath, that 10,000 year-old echo of the great ice sheet, suddenly touched me at my digging.
After a few warm spring days high pressure and the east wind drove cold temperatures deep inland from the lake. The temperature dropped to freezing during the night and barely surpassed 40º during the day. Snow fell. Folks layered on more clothing. Plants paused in their growing. City Hall, where I worked, turned on heat today after a cold day yesterday.
Right now it is colder by the lake 46º and warm at home 66º.
A refrigerator kept at 46º prevents stuff from rotting, turning green or wrinkling. Will this cuddling with Lake Superior keep younger?
Friday, May 11, 2007
A Teenager's Bedroom
I firmly believe a young man should learn to pick up his yard as well as as women.
Hiking in the deep north woods this past weekend, I passed a number of properties which looked like the inside of many a teenagers bedroom: junk and disorder.
On one piece of property a red tailgate with a sticker reading, "This is not an abandoned car!" caught my eye. The vehicle was gone without it's tailgate. However, much else in the area appeared abandoned. I hiked by to see a few abandoned, crude wood buildings, an abandoned truck, an odd machine, piles of rotted lumber and, in the distance, an uninhabitable mobile home.
I suggest we institute some changes. In addition to a good credit rating and a clear title for purchasing real estate, a Certificate of Regular Cleaning should be required. Certification might include a tour of the local recycling center with free coupons issued for the first 100 pounds of junk.
Bottled water containers proudly proclaim, "ME-HI 5¢ CA CRV". In Michigan and Hawaii you get 5 cents. California thought ahead. The California Refund Value, CRV, can increase from time to time. Pick up a few beside the road for a 'free' cup of coffee.
Let's pass a law replacing the car dealer's name on the back of our automobiles with "MN $250".
While waiting for nagging to work, you can close your teenagers door. Closing a door doesn't work outside.
Hiking in the deep north woods this past weekend, I passed a number of properties which looked like the inside of many a teenagers bedroom: junk and disorder.
On one piece of property a red tailgate with a sticker reading, "This is not an abandoned car!" caught my eye. The vehicle was gone without it's tailgate. However, much else in the area appeared abandoned. I hiked by to see a few abandoned, crude wood buildings, an abandoned truck, an odd machine, piles of rotted lumber and, in the distance, an uninhabitable mobile home.
I suggest we institute some changes. In addition to a good credit rating and a clear title for purchasing real estate, a Certificate of Regular Cleaning should be required. Certification might include a tour of the local recycling center with free coupons issued for the first 100 pounds of junk.
Bottled water containers proudly proclaim, "ME-HI 5¢ CA CRV". In Michigan and Hawaii you get 5 cents. California thought ahead. The California Refund Value, CRV, can increase from time to time. Pick up a few beside the road for a 'free' cup of coffee.
Let's pass a law replacing the car dealer's name on the back of our automobiles with "MN $250".
While waiting for nagging to work, you can close your teenagers door. Closing a door doesn't work outside.
Friday, April 20, 2007
Thoughts about Obituaries
Lake Superior
A Bench by the Harbor -
I love Lake Superior. I took this photograph just a few days after our last snow. (We hope!) This bench sits close to the Duluth Aquarium.
I like the peace of this picture. Not a footprint in sight.
To be honest, I have entered the Funeral and Obituary Season of my life. Death no longer takes just Uncles, Aunts and Parents, but now cousins and friends.
I should read the obituaries. Mom read them until she died. She called when propriety required attendance at a funeral. Now my siblings and I muddle along hoping to catch them all.
True, newspapers make it easier. I can check the obits electronically. I can sign the guestbook of a friend in Fort Wayne from the comfort of my Cloquet office. Still I must remember to log in each day. Its useless to batch read obituaries a month at a time.
What do we really need? Automatic, email notification. I envision it this way.
I log on to the local newspaper and enter all those names I wish to track. When my cousin's husband, Fred, dies an email will tell me!
Yes, I see some technical problems. What if the family of my friend Dick Smith publishes his name as Richard. I think technology can handle it.
The Obit Notification may give me a number of false positives. It could email me about the Dick Smith who lives in Superior not the Dick Smith who lives in Duluth.
However, better too many notifications than missing an important funeral.
I have not solved one difficulty, however: Competition. Can you imagine graybeards my age at local bars and coffee shops. "Well, I have 56 people who are watching for my death. How many do you have?"
Ken
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Along the Superior Hiking Trail - Presumptions
We presume lots of things to be 'natural' or true. This quote unmasks the assumption.
"Tell me," the great twentieth-century philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein once asked a friend, "Why do people always say it was natural for man to assume that the sun went round the Earth rather than that the Earth was rotating?"
His friend replied, "Well, obviously because it just LOOKS as though the Sun is going round the Earth."
Wittgenstein responded, "Well, what would it have looked like if it had looked as though the Earth was rotating?"
We always need to wonder what's spinning whether considering the world or the truth.
I captured this photograph during a 'false' Spring day. Two additional snow storms came later that month. I walked here many times before but a different light and season created a new view.
"Tell me," the great twentieth-century philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein once asked a friend, "Why do people always say it was natural for man to assume that the sun went round the Earth rather than that the Earth was rotating?"
His friend replied, "Well, obviously because it just LOOKS as though the Sun is going round the Earth."
Wittgenstein responded, "Well, what would it have looked like if it had looked as though the Earth was rotating?"
Quoted in The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins
We always need to wonder what's spinning whether considering the world or the truth.
I captured this photograph during a 'false' Spring day. Two additional snow storms came later that month. I walked here many times before but a different light and season created a new view.
Taken near the western end of the trail, just off the Becks Road in Duluth.
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