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The Cruise--Details

I didn't include more details in the prior "The Cruise" post for two reasons. 1)  I didn't think anyone would be interested; and 2)  This trip didn't include much of the normal topics:  good beer, good coffee or John-style travel. But there are details, which may be useful to some people contemplating how such a trip is put together. On the first day of the trip, we drove three hours to pick up my mother in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  At 85, she isn't comfortable driving for long distances and hadn't flown for many years. We then drove 3 1/2 more hours to Chicago, where we checked into the Wyndham, where you can get a room that includes the cost of parking for up to 12 days.   We were up early on the hotel shuttle to O'Hare, where we then boarded the a non-stop American Airlines flight to New Orleans. Here, we checked into a Hampton Inn near the port.  My mother was pretty tired, so Julia and I went out for a Cajun dinner and live music.   Rememberi...
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If a Tree Falls in the Forest

I've been training hard during the last couple of weeks with my new pickleball partner for Wisconsin's largest pickleball tournament, taking place this weekend.  After that, I'll be ready for a "pickleball break."  

 

Thursday night Round Robin

Julia and I made reservations at one of our favorite COE campgrounds on the Mississippi River next week, where we can now take advantage of 50% off with the Senior Pass ($10/night) with electric. 

This morning, after taking Callie on a four mile hike in the country, I saw something very disturbing up near my Scamp.

Close Call

We had been experiencing a severe drought, and then over four inches of rain dumped on Wednesday and Thursday night.  The branches and leaves of the trees eagerly soaked up the moisture, causing severe stress for the now top-heavy oak. The trunk snapped and landed about two feet from the tongue of the Scamp 


It took about three hours today to cut up the part of the tree that blocked access to the Scamp,, move the rounds to my firewood processing area, and drag the small branches back into the woods.  On a hot and humid day, I may have set a perspiration record.  There is another twenty or thirty feet of uncut trunk going back into the woods.  It will make quality firewood but will wait until a cooler day. 

I ended up moving vehicles around and put the Scamp in our driveway until our camping departure.  There is another double trunk tree nearby (to the right side of the photo above, and it has a severe bend without breaking yet.  It'll be interesting to see if it's still standing when we return from our trip.  The  trunks are under far too much pressure from the wet branches to safely fell at this point. 

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MFH said…
Wow! How bizarre! I'd never imagined trees taking up enough water to bend them. Was the one that broke alive?
July 16, 2023 at 3:56 PM
John said…
Yes, fully alive with all of its (saturated) leaves). That land is on a steep hill. Usually if a tree falls, it comes up by its root ball. Not this time.
July 16, 2023 at 4:56 PM
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