Mother Nature....is she really a bitch?

Busy day today. Decided to close the place up instead of coming back late Sept. or early Oct.
This way coming back up in the fall is optional, not mandatory.
Got the Lund put away for the season. Used an intricate system of mirrors and pulleys to flip it over.

Sitting on the deck around 3:00 I noticed the water level was way down (north wind).
Remembering there was still one anchor bolt missing from the dock structure because the water has been too high to drill the hole, I seized the opportunity.
We grabbed every extension cord in the place, the rock drill, vice grips, hammers, wrenches, and the support strut which I had already put away. With the water rising fast I was able to drill the 2 inch deep hole to install the anchor. 
Now that the new dock is finished..................

I started thinking about what projects we might tackle in the next year or two.
Here are a few thoughts.
Replace the decking on the old dock.
Install clear vinyl roll up windscreens in the Bistro.
Re-cover the Bistro chairs.
Replace decking in front of the outhouse.
Install vinyl siding on the gennie shed.
Install a new screen door in kitchen.

OK, maybe that's 3 or 4 years worth of projects.

Being the last meal of the season up here, we planned on something special.

Surf and Turf (we split the fillet)

Mother Nature (she's usually a real bitch) had a special surprise for us too, on our last night.

Good one Mother Nature, now could you maybe tone down the 20 Knot winds for tomorrow when we head home?
See you next year................

Who Knew we had a Broiler

The last couple of days have been nasty, weather-wise. 
Windy, overcast and rainy. It cleared up this morning and turned out to be a fine day.
Took this last night when the sun came out for a few minutes.

Took the inflatable out this afternoon and visited "the Lake above the Bay".
It's a small lake a few yards from the Bay and about 15 feet higher. I found that an aging beaver dam is, at least partially, responsible for the water level in the lake.

This is the lake.

And this is the dam. It is leaking and the water flows into the the Bay through a small waterfall.

Shortly after leaving this spot the wind came up huge. I made it back to the dock but the wind was so strong it kept spinning the boat around. I finally brought it in by backing it up to the dock.

An observation: Other than a few sea gulls and a cormorant or two, we haven't seen any birds up here since we arrived on Aug 28th. Guess they've all gone south. Does this mean an early winter?

Something else I just figured out this morning, after pondering over it for about 10 years.

The propane oven has a "broil" setting, yet it doesn't have a broiler..........

Well it does. (I've also been wondering what the swing out tray behind the bottom door was for).

It's the broiler ......................who knew?     Bagels with melted cheddar!

I think we'll be closing the place up for the season this trip. Got some work to do tomorrow.

What do frogs, turtles and bear sh!t have in common?

They all got in front of my camera today!

Caught a fish yesterday afternoon. For most people not a big deal, for me, a monumental occasion.

Caught it in what Darlene calls (after a few glasses of wine) "The hallie smot spot."
Caught it on the first cast but that was it. No more.

Inflated the canoe this morning. The more I use this thing, the more I like it.
It's light, fast (10 mph with 4 hp) and gets about 30 mpg (gps verified).
We went out a couple of times, just gunk holing. The sun was in and out all day so seeing rocks was, at times, difficult. I have a few new dings in the prop.
Here are a few pictures I took, mostly of wildlife.

  

OK the last picture is not wildlife, it's bear sh!t. Where he gets blueberries this time of year is a mystery to me.

Time for a refill...........