The day after the sweat lodge, on our way home from Bond Falls I found this fledgling Broad Wing Hawk on edge of road...just a few steps from being road kill. I gently walked up to it, placed a towel over it and was able to pick it up and bring home. Mark, Laura and I all on our cell phones and I got ahold of a licensed rehabilitator of raptors and he basically told me to find the exact spot we found bird, walk into the woods and let it go ?!!....Mark remembered exactly where we had stopped, there was a drive way?...found the spot, parents circling overhead. Climbed up and down the ditch and into the woods, gently placed bird on ground and he was able to flap up to a branch about 10' above the ground and wait for his parents. When we got back in the car, a small feather floated down right onto the car....the nest was right above us. I see these birds when I drive to Iron River. A Ojibwa elder told me, it is probably one of my helper spirits :-)

My sister was here for two glorious weeks in August. We went to a PowWow and got to dance together and the next day had been invited to a sweat lodge...so inspiring. Hadn't seen Laura in about 6 years. We had a blast. This day we are at Bond Falls and was a great day. I am trying to get her to move up here :-).

My bountiful garlic harvest...learned alot this year. Still have to order garlic to plant very soon. It is getting cold fast here but have plenty of time before the ground freezes. Not as big as garlic you buy in the store but so much more flavorful!!!!

The weather was odd this summer but got lots of snap peas, pole beans, zucchini, cukes, pickle cukes, and a variety of hot peppers. The carrots were great! The cabbage immense and Mark make hot pickled cabbage out of most of it. The tomatoes made a poor showing. The potatoes are not quite done. Got four crops of radishs to Marks delight. Of course my raspberries pumped and made lots of jam...this year I found a wonderful citrus pectin so could use way less sugar. Now Mark loves the jam I made...I thought it was too sweet myself although Victoria told me she diffenately wants my sweet jam. Transplated three of the pepper plants and brought them indoors.

Mark totally redid inside porch (air lock), pulled out walls, insulated, drywalled the ceiling too and redid hard wood flooring and painted...it is awesome, a year round "plant room" Yipee!!!!

Just baked Mark three dozen peanut butter cookies with reeces peanut chips plus two loaves of zucchini bread. I think it is okay but the men who have tasted it go nuts, rave about it...wonder if it is that Vietnamese cinnamon and fresh ground nutmeg that affects men so...............