Month: November 2012

November 30, 2012 – Annual “Rural Route Reader?”

highhopesgardens November 30, 2012

I thought I was way ahead of the game this year.  I had the annual Rural Route Reader conceived, created, and sent out to the printer the last week of November.  There’s always with a bit of trepidation when the package comes back from the printer. I open the package, hoping the printer put the pages together correctly and that the layout made the digital journey to the printer the same way it looks on my computer.

This year my trepidation paid off.  The package was the right size, 11×17, and the right number of copies, but the Reader underwent a radical transformation.

It’s almost as if a poster for a Christmas program in Vermont was switched at birth with the Reader!

There will be a slight delay in getting the Reader out this year.

November 25, 2012 – Apple Communion

highhopesgardens November 25, 2012

One of the favorite services of the  Ames UU is the Apple Communion.

Today was the day.  The early spring and regular last frost meant there were virtually no local apples this year, so these came from Missouri.

After bringing us along with the life and story of the apple, she’s finally ready to let us commune!

November 19, 2012 – Brief Morning on Lake Superior

highhopesgardens November 19, 2012

Before the noon funeral, we were afforded a few brief moments on Lake Superior.

silhouettes on rocky beach at sunrise

We awoke before the sun and headed down to Brighton Beach.

ore boat at sunrise, lake superior

Merchant vessel Walter J. McCarthy Jr. heads out of port for points east.  She’s a modern great lakes boat, about 1/5 of a mile long, measuring 1,000 feet long.

November 20th on the lake in fall coats?

lester creek, creek in late fall

We also took a short walk up Lester Creek.  All of the shots today were taken within the city limits of Duluth, a great place to get outside.

November 18, 2012 – Truck-B-Q

highhopesgardens November 18, 2012

On our way up to Northern MN for the funeral of my step-grandmother who passed away at age 90, blessings on her memory, we ran across this contraption.

At a gas station south of Duluth, saw that Red Green continues to inspire the denizens of Northern Minnesota to think creatively.  Attaching a smoker/grill to your pickup truck so you can have your dinner ready when you get to the hunting shack – just brilliant.  After all, what could go wrong with flames near the engine compartment of your truck?

November 10, 2012 – Late Extraction

highhopesgardens November 10, 2012

We only had one good hive this summer, and for one reason or another, didn’t get around to extracting it until today.

We put the  supers in the back of a car and parked it in the sun to help the honey warm up even more.  It wasn’t enough and still had to hear up the frames to extract.

The yield from one five gallon bucket.

The top of one of the buckets.  We ended up with three 5 gallon buckets about 3/4 full each.  Now we’re set for soap and honey for a while!