Yak Rack & a Pomatini

We spent part of the day today making a (ka)yak rack for the truck, the idea being that when we go on longer trips, we can take the kayaks, bikes, coolers, and luggage all in the truck. For short kayaking excursions, we can still just throw the kayaks in the back of the truck and strap down. But this will be great for Madeline Island next month, Duluth in September, etc. Gabi's brother, Nick, helped us build the yak rack. It ended up costing under a hundred dollars for hardware and new tie-downs ~ we had enough 2x6's and 2x4's in the garage from previous projects that we didn't have to buy any lumber.

Also, when not in the truck the yak rack stays in the back of the garage as kayak storage. We've been hanging the boats from rafter hooks, and while that's fine for short term it can warp them if done too long. They'll stay much happier this way.


After finishing the rack and doing a dry run with the tie-downs we made dinner for the family: grilled fajitas. Basically, I grilled the onions, peppers, chicken and flank steak on my fabulous new grill and then we brought it all indoors (it's been raining most of the day! yeah!) and gobbled it up.

After Nick and the kids left, we hung out a little while with Nancy and Gabi's mom, and I made pomatinis (recipe follows). Seriously yummy. My new cocktail of choice. Try one! They're especially good on a warm summer day ~ which today was not. Did I mention that today, June 6, we had to bundle up in jeans and sweatshirts, and we even turned the heat back on!! Unbelievable! But at least it's raining.

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Brandi's Pomatini (Pomegranate Martini)

3 ounces pomegranite juice
1 1/2 ounces Grey Goose or other "top shelf" vodka*
3/4 ounces simple syrup**
juice from 1/2 lime
6 ice cubes

Mix all ingredients in cocktail shaker. Shake well and pour into desired glass.

*We've had these with both cheaper vodka and Grey Goose, and there is a very definite difference. Cheaper vodka has a slightly bitter aftertaste that clashes with the fruitiness of the juice.
** Simple syrup: mix equal parts water and sugar (I like organic or turbinado best). Bring to boil over medium-high heat. Boil gently for two minutes and cool.

Fishers and films

I can't believe it's been nearly a month since I've blogged. Life jumped up and smacked me, what can I say? There's been good, bad and the ugly, and the sublimely beautiful too. And, as always, I've drafted the blog entries in my head, then the days and weekends end and I'm too exhausted from the busy, distracting work of living to actually take the time to sit and write. It's too bad. There have been some really good drafts in my head.

The weekend of April 10 when we decided to go south in search of open water -- the lakes up here were still frozen over and the rivers running too wild to float. So we took the weekend off of work, we threw the kayaks in the back of the truck, and we headed to Red Wing. It was fabulous. We floated on the Vermillion Slough, the water so high that we parked a half a mile before the parking lot and then floated the rest of the way. The picture of Gabi above is in the parking lot -- and about three feet of water. While there we saw several Bald Eagles, one in a nest, as well as a fisher (aka North American marten) which was quite fun. We feel very fortunate for that, since they are supposed to be very shy animals.

I first saw the fisher in the water, trolling around some fallen logs that were swamped with high water. Then, he saw me and skedaddled, running for the nearest standing tree. He climbed up it very quickly, looking both awkward and elegant (and noisier than I would have expected) and then stopped about twenty-five feet up, in the vee of some branches. From there he peeked out watching us, and seemed to be as curious about us as we were about him.

Then, two weekends ago was the 8th Annual St. Cloud GLBTA Film Festival, and like every year before it was nail-biting mayhem at times and nerve wracking, sit and wait to see who shows up at others. The films were awesome. We had a great film-screening committee and they did a great job. Unfortunately, the turnout was much lower than we'd hoped.

This is the second year that our turnout has been down. This year was the lowest we've had. I can't help wondering if, in an era of Logo network, Brokeback Mountain, and Ellen with not only a highly rated talk show but also her full-page Covergirl spreads, that maybe GLBT film fests just aren't needed as much anymore. We're not starved for lack of mainstream images of ourselves. The popular culture and media landscape is so phenomenally different than it was even ten years ago. It's good, but I'm starting to wonder how and if our little film festival will survive.

***

Pic info: Gabi in the kayak taken by me. The fisher is from the wikipedia entry on fishers, at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fisher_(animal).

Rampant and Unrepentant Silliness

It was warm last weekend, here in Minnesota. Twenty-or-so above normal. Which means upper fifties. Warm, sunny, breezy: spring was in high gear and we responded in kind.

Rambling through town, we saw many folks out in shorts or capris, and a few uber-exuberant souls in t-shirts too. A few wore sandals but, really, the plethora of muddy puddles meant that sandals were kept to a minimum.

Admittedly, most of the people wearing shorts and capris were under 20. And we older and wiser ones could look at them and say, "Well that's just silly. It's not that warm."

No, Gabi and I did not wear shorts. We wore jeans, turtlenecks and flannel shirts, sturdy tennies. 

Yes, this is what we wore when we took our kayaks out for a drive.

There is open water, here and there, on the Sauk, Platte and Mississippi rivers. The trick is finding an open stretch between landings. The water's way too high and quick to paddle back upstream if you don't have to. But, oh, we wanted to be on the water.

Fortunately, when we went out to Cold Spring on Sunday to scope out the Sauk, we met the wife of a man who was bravely setting off from Frogtown Park for the six-mile float to the next public landing in Rockville. We jumped for muddy joy to see someone setting off, and Monday (we both took the day off) we were back with kayaks in the truck. We stopped in Rockville to leave the car so that we could shuttle ourselves.

We were smart enough to check the landing. 

An ice bar swooped out from the landing, still covering half the river. We walked a little upstream and down, where the ice had receded. We could see where a person could land, muddily, but no signs that anyone actually had landed his canoe.

In other words, somewhere along the line, the ice still covered the river thick and wide enough that our brave canoe enthusiast hadn't gotten through. We went back to the truck, looked at the map. Was the dam at the heron colony, or where the river bends back on itself at mile three, or at the gorgeous boulder garden after the ninety-degree turn at mile four?

Regardless, we wouldn't be floating down the river, not yet.

We got back on the road, me in the car and Gabi in the truck, and headed back to town. I saw her swear out loud in the cab and called on the cell phone to tell her. We laughed about being twenty feet apart and talking on the phone to each other. So we had to wave some more.

Neither of us could stand to let the day go by without a little exploring, so we stopped at Grande Depot, a fantastic shop where I94 and Highway 23 intersect. The Depot is full of gourmet treats, lovely cookware and dishes, artisan candles, handmade jewelry... you get the idea. Very fun. If you're in the neighborhood and need to find a special gift for someone, The Depot would be at the top of my list of recommendations.

We bought a bottle of very yummy dipping oil and, a few miles later, bought some good bread to go along with. Then we went home, put our plastic chairs on the sunny patio on the south of the house, and had a snack. It wasn't what we really, really, wanted to be doing, but it was good all the same.

Pic attribution: Image: "Colors" http://www.flickr.com/photos/13238706@NOO/2730411175

Another splendid Sunday

We could not have ordered nicer weather today. It's been sunny, with just a light breeze, and temps up to about 80. Perfect. So, yes, of course we took the kayaks out.



Today we went out on the Mississippi. We put in at Little Rock Lake, near Rice. The lake had a severe algae problem last year, and it looks like it might develop the same stinky problem this year. However, right now it's lovely, with just the occasional green glaze. It's a very populated area, yet full of little hidden coves too shallow for the pontoons and larger boats to get into.



Near the edge of the lake, where it merges with the river, we were exploring a shallow area that will be soon be choked with water lilies. Behind us, just hidden behind cottonwood, pine and willow trees, were several large houses. Someone was playing, of all things, a Sousa march at speaker-breaking volume. Then a train went by, sounding its whistle as it approached a nearby bridge. And a speedboat throttled up somewhere not too distant.

And amidst all this noise, we discovered a patient heron, standing quietly on a log while a couple of red-wing blackbirds busied themselves in the underbrush nearby. Herons are normally very shy, but this one let Gabi drift close enough for a great picture.



This is what I love about exploring the Mississippi as it flows past Sartell, Sauk Rapids and St. Cloud. The river is wide and deep enough for powerful boats to cruise up and down, but then you can also find these shallow, "secret" areas where the big boys can't get to. And in these places, the wild essence of the river remains. There are still unspoiled areas of great beauty, they're just small and infrequent, and you have to pay attention so that you don't miss them.

But, if you do pay attention, the beauty and wildness is there, surprising and remarkable in its tenacious, willful exuberance.

Whirl-a-weekend

I had such a great weekend ~ far too entertaining to pause in the midst of it and blog. It is that time of year, however, when I want to spend all my time outside. Kayaking, playing in the dirt, going for walks, just sitting on the patio watching birds splash in the fountain... anything and everything. I didn't read a thing all weekend. Barely watched t.v. (excepting, of course, for Battlestar Galactica), didn't want to cook, absolutely no interest in the computer... ah what bliss.

Friday, for my birthday, seven of us went to a new restaurant in town... Mi Famiglia. The ambiance is so elegantly swanky. We did not go for dinner, no, we went for cocktails and desserts. We ordered seven different desserts and then shared them all. The best part: each dessert came with a candle in it, and we lit all the candles. Then my friends held them all up for me to blow out after singing Happy Birthday. Very, very fun. We stayed three hours. Laughed ourselves silly.

Saturday, we had the family birthday party. We loaded up the nephews and niece, along with Gabi's brother and mom, and all headed out to Lake Maria State Park. We took the kayaks, although it was too windy for the boys to venture far from shore. I took a tour of the lake and saw blue and green herons, deer, turtles and lots of pelicans. Also had a couple (only) swells come over the side of the kayak when I was on the far side of the lake where the wind/wave momentum had some time to build. Thank goodness for the skirt! I was still soaked. But it was very fun.


(green heron pic from 10000birds.com)

After picnicking and kayaking we loaded up and went to another part of the park where we hiked out to a more secluded little lake. It was mating time for the toads, and their chorus was incredibly loud. The kids spent about 45 minutes investigating and catching toads before we walked back. I think we all were exhausted by the time we got home.

Sunday was cold and rainy, and we spent the day cleaning house and grading tests and homework. Gabi needed to get a huge pile of work done so that she could post grades today ~ and so certain kids would have the time, should they also have the inclination, to rescue their grades before the end of the year.

We had an amazing hail storm on Sunday. Fortunately, there aren't too many flowers out right now (the garden is about 10 days behind schedule). The only hail damage we found is some torn daylily leaves. Most of the hail was nickel or dime sized, although there were a few that were much bigger. After the hail came an impressive rainstorm. Dumped about 1/2 an inch of rain in a matter of minutes. Thank goodness, however, that we were spared the tornadoes. I've watched news footage of Hugo, MN and, as always, am dumbfounded by the devastation they bring.






Fortunately the iris buds are still tight ~ no damage from the hail.

Joy, bliss and lots of water

It was, as my lovely Gabi said, a weekend largely devoted to water. First, we hooked up the four rainbarrels purchased last week to the gutters installed two years ago...

We may not get our chores done speedily, but we do get them done, eventually.

First off, I must say how happy we were on Saturday morning to look outside and see sunshine instead of snow! Yes, the weather predictors had been saying, "The snow is coming the snow is coming" all week, and we were believers. Instead, we we were greeted by sunshine and temperatures speeding all the way up to the high fifties... yes, there's some sarcasm there. Still, a lovely day. We spent the afternoon fixing up the rainbarrels, and all was well and good in the world.

Sunday was simply beautiful. The first miniature iris were budding, lots of sun, the lawns turning malachite green. New growth is such a stunning color this time of year. It takes your breath away.

I bought some pansies and potted them up for the front and back steps. So cheerful to come home to.

In the afternoon we were took the kayaks out to St. John's University and Lake Saga-somethingunpronouncable. It was great. The wind was up a little, but not enough for whitecaps. Just some fun waves to bounce over the front of the boats. The water was frigid, but with our big, strange-looking skirts on the kayaks we stayed dry and warm.

Best was venturing into the little pond-like areas around the lake that are inaccessible for most of the year. However, yesterday the water lilies were still a foot below the surface and the water is still high enough that we explored further than we ever have before. We found a second beaver dam (old and abandoned, by the look of it). We saw dozens of turtles sunning themselves -- they're very easy to spot this time of year because they are a deep dark green but the watergrasses are still brown. In a month they'll be virtually invisible.

As always, we saw many varieties of birds at Lake Sag. Common loons, two kinds of chickadees, ducks, geese, goldfinches, kingfishers... and an eagle on our way home.

We also saw (and heard) a herd of 15 deer, does and fawns. They were incredibly noisy running across last year's dropped leaves.

So, yes, proof positive that winter is over.