My best friend, Sandy and I began planning a trip back in the late spring.  Since we live over 800 miles(~1300km) apart, planning is a must. Originally she was going to make the 13hr (one way) drive but I convinced her to just find a flight.  We picked dates then began the search for a getaway place. We were fortunate to find a great place to stay in a town that Mini-me and I fell in love with a coupe years ago.

This cute little town is Ely, MN. It sits on the edge of the BWCA (Boundary Waters Canoe Area) It’s protected waters. No motorized vehicles allowed including boat motors. I’m not really a “camper” or canoe person but I love that we have this area in the state for those adventure types.  I do love hiking though.

We hiked the same trail Mini-me and I did two years ago. I love how the trees have wrapped their roots around the bedrock.

The reward at the far end of the loop is a beautiful water fall. We did much more climbing around than I did on the previous adventure.

I’m hopeful this video will work for most people.

After our hike we explored in town…a little shopping and a fantastic burger.

I had to take a picture of this store front…and, of course, go in. My first job was at a Ben Franklin store. I thought they had been sold or went bankrupt. The nostalgia has great. I even bought some yarn…just what I need…more craft supplies. HA!

We laughed and talked and hung out until all hours of the night the first night. The moon was lovely across the water.

The mosquitos were fierce though…

Luck for us we had the cutest screen porch that was separate from the cabin which overlooked the lake.

We had some rain and Canadian wildfire smoke but we made the best of it sitting and enjoying the lake and each others company.

Summer break is finally here!!

It’s the time I take to recharge and actually take some time to do the things I want to do while still handling the must do. As usual, I wrote a summer projects and goals list in my everyday list journal. I know I won’t get everything checked off the list but I also don’t want to forget about things that I might want to tackle.

Gardening

Last time I posted I had just started seeds in the house…most of them germinated and survived the transition to outdoor living.

Excuse the weeds. Its been so rainy here that the garden is too wet to use the hoe. In this garden aka shed garden I have 9 tomatoes, cucumbers, green and wax beans, peppers, potatoes, carrots and a few snap peas.

Here in my deck box garden I had herbs, radishes, carrots and beets all growing…but then I had the opportunity to get the deck professionally refinished. I covered the herbs with pots to protect them but the rest was wiped out.  I decided to plant some flower seeds for this year but I’m not holding my breath. The squirrels are digging like crazy and the deck guy is coming back to do some touch-up. If it gets wrecked again I’m just going to dig out the dirt and replace it with fresh. It could probably stand a refresh anyway.

Speaking of the herbs. I was able to transplant them into this giant terracotta pot. They seem to be doing fine. Behind them I have two pots of Scarlett runner beans. I’ve never grown them before but decided to give it a whirl.

I removed the bench that has sat in front of the house since we moved in. I plan to take up the landscape rock in between the house and sidewalk, regrade it with dirt then put down landscape cloth and mulch. I want this to be more of a gardening, green space than rock.

This is another new addition to my garden…I’m going for greens and herbs in here. I like that its moveable so if the heat gets too much for it in the front of the house I can easily move it around back where its more shady.

I built these two trellises yesterday for the pots. I finally got some of my favorite vining flower to start from seed and needed a place for it to climb.

I picked up a couple of hanging baskets at Costco for some instant color but also have been planting flower seeds like crazy such as in this smaller tiered planter.

Wildlife

The yard has been teaming with wildlife this summer. I was upstairs sewing and caught this out of the corner of my eye just strolling through without a care in the world.

Mr. Frog scared me when I went to turn on the hose.

And the birds! I have seen more birds this summer in my yard than any other. This is an Eastern Bluebird. I had never seen one before. Evidently there has been a Bluebird Recovery program here in MN for 40 some years. They actually dropped the recovery part from the organization name since the program has been so successful.

And this cute Goldfinch couple snacking from the hanging baskets. I also put up two hummingbird feeders in the backyard. They are getting lots of visits but I haven’t gotten a picture yet.

There are baby bunnies living under the shed which is adorable but very destructive when they start eating my plants. The squirrels are simply annoying…digging in all the pots…creating chaos where ever they go.

Crafting

As I mentioned earlier I’ve been sewing…nothing new there. It’s my go to creative activity lately. These are just some scrappy blocks in process.

These little embellishments came from a sewing table clean-up. I love using little bits that might otherwise end up in the trash.

I couldn’t leave you without a picture of Marvin. One of his latest hobbies is to watch me get ready for the day. Evidently I need to be supervised so I don’t forget anything. What a goofball!

This morning had me pulling weeds from the cracks in the driveway. Next I’ll be working on pricing items for the neighbors garage sale. I’ll miss the first day as we’ll be helping Mini-me move into her new apartment. She found one better suited to her needs and closer to campus. No need to drive even on the coldest of days.