Have you noticed that ever since we returned home from camp there has been no need for air conditioning?  We have enjoyed a beautiful October in August – sleeping with windows wide open under all manner of blankees.  Even the trees are confused!  I imagine we’ll be golfing year ’round again this winter?  But I digress . . .

There are folks who live on the other side of beautiful Lake Darling from us.  That should come as no surprise since there are few undeveloped lots on the lake.  And every year, four folks from Camp Ballantine invite us and a couple from Lake L’Homme Dieu over for a nosh from the Big Green Egg.  These six are all snowbirders, so the invite generally coincides with the end of summer – the hosts are leaving early this year because August has been too cold!  We have no idea how we got on this list – it maybe a Lake Wobegon thing, the supervisor’s strong and I’m good looking?  😉 But we get to see what the world looks like from the other side, i.e., sunsets.  It looked dicey this year as it rained most of the evening – but just at the right time . . .

[Arrowwood waterpark building on the left.]

[And to the subject at hand, without further adieu – the Big Green Egg!  Mmmmmm!]

[And inside folks are enjoying the contents of the Big Green Egg.  They will not be shown here as they are all in the protected age group.]

And last week son-in-law Danny made a return visit to Minnesota.  He was going to the Canadian border to learn how to build a Rocket stove for their future retirement home.  This is his story . . .

I attended a Rocketstove construction workshop up north of Ely about 5 miles from the Canadian Border last Saturday.  We dry fitted the fire brick into a “stove core” then fired it up and continued to build out the mock-up.  There were about 8 like-minded people in attendance along with some children.  Our instructors (Ernie & Erica) have built over 700 stoves thus far, they are traveling cross country putting on workshops to educate the masses.  

This opportunity allowed me to put the past couple years of research into “hands on experience” and was an amazing day of hard work and valuable lessons.

[And now we all know a “green” way to cook and space heat!  🙂 ]

A few of the Northern Minnesota sites along my ride back to Alida from the Boundary Waters Canoe Area which is North of Ely.  I was able to take all of these photos without exiting the vehicle.

[You know all these – and to know ’em is to love ’em!]

Back at the “harn,” Danny stirred up a hornets’ nest bush whacking and got stung several times in several places.  It was a well-coordinated attack.  On the plus side, the inside of the “harn” is really shaping up!  🙂

See you at the fair?