Tree House

My oldest brother, Tom, and his wife, Sam, are building a tree house. Most of the work is being done by their kids and grandkids. 

The supports were up when we arrived at the lake last week.

Then five 24-foot steel beams arrived.

It was fun watching the progress last Monday. There was lots of discussion and cooperation. 

Lifting the beams into place was a great team effort and included the use of a tractor and pulleys.

While the beams were going up and being welded into place, a niece began building the platform for the steps. I have some very skilled relatives!

Great nephews got in on the action too.

That's Ray on the ladder. They were measuring beams to get the overhang even.

SIL Sam went up to check the view.

Today they began the flooring. Our nephews worked a while;

then the great-nephews were given instruction and took over! It was fun to watch the progress.

I sat on the screened porch with my brother Tom and watched the action. Tom is disabled (he's a Vietnam Veteran with Agent Orange problems) and can't help. However he can supervise and is in on all of the discussions. I heard today that there is a possibility of a lift being built so he can enjoy the tree house too.

Here is a picture of the cabin with the treehouse on the left. It will not block anyone's view of the lake which is amazing!

And here is a view of the lake from the floor of the treehouse.

When the 12' by 24' base is covered, meaning the floor is finished, the work will stop for now. Eventually this base will be expanded back towards the house a few feet and the walls and roof will be built. 

We are headed home tomorrow. Hopefully the next time we come, the treehouse will be finished.

Sam's Flowers

My SIL Sam has an amazing green thumb. She is also extremely artistic. I'm always in awe of her flowers/plants and her inside/outside decorating. She and my oldest brother, Tom, live at the lake about half of the time. I just wandered around their yard and took some photos yesterday after the rain. 

There are even cacti.

My favorite are the daisies.

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Today was a gorgeous day. This morning we took a walk and stop by Tom and Sam's cabin to check on the tree house. Yes, they are building a BIG tree house. My nieces and nephews are doing most of the work. Work was just beginning for the day when we arrived. Five steel beams were to be lifted into place today which meant many hands were needed along with winches, tractors, scaffolding, and lots of discussion. We stayed all morning and helped where we could - neither of us lifted any beams though. After lunch, we returned to find that the remainder of the beams were raised and the welding into place had begun. More on the treehouse later.

Ray and I decided that going for a swim would be a good way to cool off before dinner. The lake was cool enough to be very refreshing.

Tonight was a pizza party at my brother Jim's house. We had 32 there. (There are still more coming in the next couple of days.)

Rainy Day

For the last few years, our niece Tracy has screen-printed shirts for everyone attending the 4th of July celebration at the cabin. This year, people had a choice of red, white, or navy. I chose red - this is my shirt.

A little background: The original cabin here at the lake was built by my grandparents in 1947. As children, my brothers and I were here every year with our parents and as adults, we were/are here as often as possible. My dad inherited the cabin in 1966 after both of my grandparents passed away. Dad died in 1981 and Mom kept the cabin for a few years but eventually sold it to 2 of my brothers and myself (one brother did not want ownership). Fast forward a few more years - one brother sold his share to my oldest brother and bought a cabin 3 doors away that is now his permanent residence. My oldest brother really wanted the original cabin and bought my share with the understanding that we could visit whenever we wanted. He has remodeled some of the cabin but retained the footprint and much of the original character including the large screen porch that my mom added in the 80s.

When Tracy arrived yesterday, she asked, with a silly grin, if I had seen the shirts yet. No??? She held one up - it looked great but...

 do you see it down at the bottom? It's the Wienermobile!

Maybe I'd better explain. When I was born, I was named after the song "I dream of Jeanie". My mom loved the song and dreamed of having a daughter after already having 2 sons. She spelled my name "Jeanne" and was positive that the boys couldn't find a nickname. Ha! The day we came home from the hospital my brothers called me "Jeanne Weenie"! Growing up, I was often called Weenie and eventually Wiener. As adults, the name didn't surface much until I had nieces and nephews old enough to talk - of course I was known as Aunt Wiener (thanks to their dads). And now I have also been called Grandma Wiener (thanks to those same dads, my brothers).

When niece Tracy found out Ray and I were coming over the 4th (our first time at the 4th celebration in many, many years), she decided to commemorate it on the shirt. She thought about adding "Year of the Wiener" but eventually decided to just sketch a replica of the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile - everyone in the family knows immediately what it means. I do love my family - really! 

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It rained until about 4 pm today. It's been a rather quiet day with a little shopping, some visiting, and then dinner out with everyone that's here tonight. Last week I loved spending time with my brothers and now we are adding spending time with their kids and their kids.  In this moment, I am content.

Scorching Days

The moonrise Thursday night was about 9:47 PM and the thin clouds dispersed. Ray got some good shots and I got this. It was a nice evening  except for the bugs so I didn't stay out long. I forgot that I have a little lantern that really discourages the bugs.

Friday began with HEAT, wind, storm watches, and high humidity. It was a great day to do the laundry. Then we got full sun and higher temps. We visited with some family and did a grocery run - lots more family is arriving and we're planning on 20+ for lunch on Saturday. We planned to go to an outdoor concert (country music) Friday night but it was still above 90 degrees at concert time so we decided to stay home and swim. It was 89 degrees at 8:30 PM but the sun was no longer shining on us.

Today was hot - no surprise! We checked out the Farmer's Market in Spooner, Wisconsin and found a little to add to our produce stash. When we came home, these Canadian geese and goslings were on our beach.

We had a crowd for lunch at my oldest brother's cabin. 'Us old folks' got the big table on the screened porch. On the Meyers' side (my dad's side of our family), we are the oldest living generation. (My Aunt is from my mom's side of our family).

Someone wanted a picture of the Meyers' kids and we included our Aunt Helen. From the left is Jim (#2), John (#4), Tom (#1), Aunt, and me (#3).

It was a great day even though the temps and humidity were high. Many people have arrived (and many more will come in the next few days). It was wonderful having all 3 of my brothers here along with their wives. My youngest brother and his wife were just here for today. We also have some nieces and nephews and their children here, and a cousin from Arizona also arrived. It was a great day of visiting and reminiscing. 

We enjoyed a few visitors after we got back to our cabin in the very late afternoon. The day finally cooled down and we've just come in from swimming - it's almost 9 PM.

One of these days I'll have to show you this year's t-shirt; our niece began making shirts for this 4th of July gathering a few years ago. Every year is a little different. This is our first year being here in a long time and my presence is noted in the shirt design.

It looks like rain for tomorrow. I'm pretty sure this party will continue no matter what!

Interesting Days

The last few days we've seen rain, wind, cooler temperatures and very warm temperatures. It hasn't been boring! 

We've checked out some of the stores when it was rainy. Sadly, the Thimbles Quilt Shop in Spooner, Wisconsin closed in December. There is another quilt shop in the same location - Cottage Treasures. The new shop does not have near the inventory and is more involved in long-arm services and photo transfer for memory quilts. 

One day, we found some fantastic strawberries and have been enjoying strawberry shortcake.

We hiked at Hunt Hill Audubon Sanctuary again. This time we hiked the Frances Andrews Trail and the Bear Trail. 

The terrain was very different than the other day when we hiked.

We saw a gorgeous lake but as you can see, the day was overcast and gray.

After we returned home, I found a tiny tick stuck on me. Ugh! Ray removed it. My brothers tell me it just wanted to be my pet. 

By Wednesday afternoon, the weather cleared and the sun came out. We enjoyed some swimming and more visits with family. More family has arrived and starting tomorrow, we'll see more every day for a while.

Last night Ray was shooting the moonrise from our beach so I decided to take a picture also.

It's been very warm today but we did get in a walk and then went to a really nice Farmer's Market with my oldest brother and his wife. Our great nephew chauffeured us - he just got his driver's license. I didn't get any pictures of the market - maybe next week. At the market we enjoyed maple root beer, homemade blackberry ice cream, and maple cream. We came home with some healthier food - strawberries, tomatoes, lettuces, radishes, green beans, sugar snap peas, new potatoes, and some fresh baked bread. 

Tonight we have some clouds so we may not see the moon rise in about 15 minutes. We do know that tomorrow will be another great day...

Gorgeous Days

Sunday was a gorgeous day - sunny and in the 70s. Perfect! In the afternoon, we hiked at Hunt Hill Audubon Sanctuary. We've never been to Hunt Hill before but will definitely return.

We began on the Vole Trail.

A walk in the woods

There were lots of wildflowers.

When we met up with the Bog Trail, we took a short detour from our route.

Bog Trail Marker

When we were on the bog, we saw many of these wild calla lilies.

Wild Calla Lilies

Back on the Vole Trail, we continued walking past many wildflowers. I loved the daisies.

When the trail left the forested area and changed to the prairie, we began seeing Black-eyed Susans.

As we approached the Prairie Platform, a wooden structure by the trail, we spooked a deer. It moved up the trail and

a very young fawn followed! I didn't get a good picture of that baby; it's right by mama's back leg.

After our hike, we went swimming - well, I actually just walked out into the lake while Ray swam. 

The evening ended with a fire 

The first fire but it won't be the last

and s'mores.

The first s'more but it won't be the last!

We were up early to see the sun rise this morning. It was another beautiful day.

We've enjoyed a leisurely day that included a jazz concert on the beach tonight.

Musicians are faculty at the Shell Lake Arts Center

There were lots more people behind us and to our left.

I want to share the two cairns in our yard.

I'm not sure why I love seeing piles of rocks but I do!

Some family members are arriving tomorrow; I hope our beautiful weather continues.