Weekly weather report

This is the perfect time of year to be a yooper or to visit the U.P. We've had just over an inch of rain. The daily high ranged from 71 to 83. The gardens are grown and everything is green and lush.

The biggest problem we have now are the mosquitoes. They love me this year. All the books tell us that a bite may itch for a day that's it. My mosquito bites itch for weeks. I scratch until my skin bleeds.

One suggestion for bug bites and stings is lime juice mixed with a little water but if the skin is not intact it may sting. To me the sting is better than the itch.

Have you ever tried salt for stings? Clean the bite with soap and water then mix a small amount of salt with a drop of water. Dab this mixture on the bit for about a half hour.

Aspirin is also worth a try but don't swallow the aspirin. Crush one or two pills and make a paste with water. That should take down any inflammation.

This remedy is always a last resort for me but I've used it. Rubbing alcohol. It stings like crazy when I've scratched to the point of bleeding but the itch stops!

Of course I've also tried many over the counter remedies but I'm still itching. Lucky for me it is usually only the first few bites of the year that give me a serious problem.

What's Happening?

What's happening in your neck of the woods?

Many people I know are taking care of gardens, both flowers and vegetable gardens. There are not too many talking about camping but those who are camping are staying closer to home.

We can see boaters on the bay but, again, less than usual. A fish cost considerably more when you factor in the price of gas. I haven't seen many party barges on the bay. They are probably partying at home.

At least summer is here even if we do need to enjoy it from the deck. At least we have good seats.

Richardson Murder on Dateline.

Dateline NBC is going to air there story on the Richardson Murder Trial. They have been covering the murder case for two year. They were at the six week long trial in Manistique.

The story will air on Sunday, June 29, 2008, 10:00 PM on TV6. I will be very interesting to hear how Dateline view the investigation and trial.

TV6 Marquette has archived material on the trial, including raw trial footage, interviews with Richardson, and news coverage, visit their Richardson Trial page.

Fireman's Tournament

Busy, busy, week-end. I'll bet you can't do it all.

Everyone is invited to the 55th Copper Country Fireman's Tournament on June 28th. They year Baraga is hosting. It will be a full day of events.

The Fireman Games begin at 12:00 noon at the Baraga Armory. There will be a parade at 7:00 PM and a dance at 9:00 PM. The Parade will feature the Blue Notes Drum and Bugle Corp from Ishpeming, the Copper Country Clown Band, and the Superior Pipes and Drums (as in bag pipes).

June 28th is also "Tin Lizzie Day," from 10 AM to 3 PM in Alberta. They have the Vintage Car Show, craft show, 50/50 drawing, food, and museum tours. There is admission for this event but it will be well worth the Adult price of $5, seniors $3 or bring a carload for $10.

And that's not all!!!

Covington is the place for the Finnish Music Festival on Saturday and Sunday. This in the 10th Annual Festival. They also will have the UP Made Artist Market.

I think you can do it all and take in the Pasty Fest too. Plot your plan of attack, go with an empty stomach, a full wallet, and a smile. Ready, Set, Go........... somewhere.. at least one if not all.

Anyone have more events to add to the list? I didn't have to look too hard to find these. I believe this is the weekend for the Hot Air Balloons in Escanaba.

PastyFest

A Pasty Fest doesn't happen just anywhere. It could only be in the UP. Calumet is the place. June 26 - 28 are the dates. Some very unusual events!

How about this on the 26th at 7:00 PM, A "Pasty Poetry Throwdown" at the Conglomerate Café in Calumet. You are invited to come and read your pasty-themed poetry.

On Friday from 2:00-5:00 pm Keweenaw National Historic Park open house at the KNHP Headquarters, Community Service Awards Ceremony at the Calumet Theatre Ballroom at 5:30, and at 7:30 pm The New Christy Minstrels concert.

Saturday, June 28 10:00 am Pasty Parade Downtown Calumet, and later in the day they will have free horse-drawn wagon tours, Agassiz Park. Of course, there will be vendors, artist, crafter, and food, especially pasties, with a Pasty bakeoff at 1:00 PM. I can't leave out the Kids games and live music and a 5:00 PM Karaoke Sing-Off

It sounds like my kind of event!! See you there, maybe.

Pelicans

Click here to see more pictures.

Keweenaw Bay had some unexpected visitor today. A flock of about 30 Pelicans could be seen at the head of the bay between Baraga and L'Anse. These very large birds flew over our house so I grabbed the camera and tracked them down.

I've never heard of, or seen, Pelicans in the UP before. My son tells me they were here last year. They are gone now so maybe they were just passing through. A little research on Wikipedia.org didn't help finding out if it is normal for them to be in the UP. I believe these were American White Pelicans. They were very white with a little black and very long narrow orange peeks.

Anyone have more information??? Should we keep our eyes open this time next year?

Lumberjack Days

The 4th of July will be here before you know it. The UP has many 4th of July Celebrations. Baraga's Lumberjack Days have been around so long I can't remember when it all began.

This year's theme is "UP Finest!" We should have a variety of floats because theme will mean different things to different people. I can see a float featuring record buck racks. Another might feature some of the local musical artist many who have recorded albums. How about a float that give out samples of wine! Carrousel Winery in South Range makes some excellent wine. Of course, we'll have the usual Terex and Pettibone equipment. There material handling machines are used around the world and would definitely be the UP's finest.

This year the Army Reserves Band will be performing in the parade. Mark you calendars!!

Too busy

This isn't the time of year to be inside at this computer. It's time to enjoy the great outdoors. Time to sit on the deck, or the neighbors patio, and watch the boats. It's time for picnics and baseball, boats and bikes.

My flowers are taking all my time or what little spare time I have. I love flowers and tend to overcrowd my gardens trying to keep constant flowering plants. It's probably time to rethink the whole plan.

We haven't had a lot of rain so I need to keep the sprinkler going. Can't forget the miracle grow. Maybe it's time to start composting. One thing leads to another.

I love bulbs. They don't take much work and come back year after year! These daffodils are gone but they'll be back next May.

Low flying airplanes

Kennecott is still waiting to begin work at their Eagle Project on the Yellow Dog Plains. A permit, issued by the Michigan Department of Enviormental Quality, is still being challenged in court. If Kennecott is eventually allowed to proceed with the nickel mine it would be our country's only nickel mine in operation.

Our region is the most prospective areas for nickel exploration in the world according to Jon Cherry, manager of Kennecott’s proposed Project Eagle. The company is using the low flying planes to conduct magnetic geologic studies to determine future prospects. The technique is similar to an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging),” They are measuring magnetic differences in the Earth’s crusts, and the variations in magnetics provide detailed images of geologic features. The fly-over survey will cover approximately 100 square miles which includes mostly Marquette County and some portions of Baraga and Dickinson counties.

We've seen the plane, at least we think we have. How about you?

More Critters

Deer!! The nerve. This is the second night a very bold deer has walked through my yard. It isn't even dark. I run to the window to make sure it doesn't stop by my flower garden. It better not munch on my flowers, I have enough trouble with the chipmunk. It had better keep going. The only thing I have to shoot it with is my camera. Rifles are not legal to shoot in town, even in the Upper Peninsula.

I wonder if anyone would even notice a rifle shot with all the fireworks going off. Every night someone has a fireworks show. It sounds like war games must nights. Oh well, I could never shoot a deer anyway. They are nice to see........ as long as they don't stop in my garden.

Pests

Have I complained about the chipmunks before? This isn't Alvin and the chipmunks, there is nothing funny or cute about my chipmunk(s). I will admit that the grandsons love to watch this critter but I'd love to strangle it. It digs in my newly planted flower pots. Everyday it digs in a new pot! It boldly sits on the steps watching me carefully water and care for my flowers. It would not dare go near a flower pot with me outside, it waits, it knows I need to sleep sometime.

Flowering Apple Trees

Click on the photos for a much larger view. Click on the title to go to my WebShots album for many more photos.


The weather hasn't cooperated and everything is blossoming later than usual but these trees are in full bloom. The photos were taken, in my yard, on June 7th.

A trip to WebShots

Click on the photo
This is NOT my photo but it is a unique view of the Mackinac Bridge. The bridge has always been exciting to cross but as I looked at this photo, I may never think of the bridge in the same way.

When I don't know what to write about in this blog, I take a trip. This trip took me to WebShots. It didn't take any gas and only a little energy. I find more about the UP on the internet than I do when I look out my window.

There are lots of places on the www where I go to look at the world. There are lots of places on the www where I post pictures. Have you checked out Flickr! How about Shutterfly? Here's my UP Special on shutterfly.

70 degrees

Would you believe??? Someone was trying to tell me we had only had 3 days all year that hit the 70 degree mark!! That is pretty bad even for the UP. No wonder I can't get my plants to grow. But, I couldn't leave well enough alone and I had to check things out.

My research proved the above statement incorrect. The weather history claims we had a day in April that was over 70 degrees. April 23rd to be exact. The temperature soared to 71 degrees. May was better with 5 days over the 70 degree mark, May 13, 15, 25, 28 and 29.

And now it's June. How about 5 days, counting today. June 6 and 7 made it all the way past 80 degrees.

Some people will argue with me because they don't remember it being warm but the north wind can probably be blamed for that. A weather station protected from the cold wind can be very deceptive.

Bridgefest

Mark your calenders. Bridgefest will be here before you know it, June 13, 14, and 15.

Bridgefest is one of the best celebrations of the summer. How about this for a schedule:


Friday, June 13th
3:00pm-11:30pm Vendor/Exhibit Booths Open Houghton Waterfront
5:00pm-Midnight Houghton Rotary Seafood Fest Ray Kestner Waterfront Park
6:00pm Keweenaw Chain Drive Registration MTU Commons
6:00pm Parade Line-Up Super 8 (Houghton)
7:00pm Parade Begins Houghton to Hancock
9:30pm-??? Beach Party/BBQ Ramada (Hancock)
9:30pm-??? Marty's Goldenaires Ray Kestner Waterfront Park


Saturday, June 14th 8:30am-9:00am Keweenaw Chamber of Commerce Fishing Derby Registration Porvoo Park (Hancock)
9:00am-10:00am Flag Day Service Veteran's Park (Houghton)
9:00am-11:00am Keweenaw Chamber of Commerce Fishing Derby Hancock Waterfront
9:00am-2:00pm MTEFCU Swap Meet MTEFCU (Sharon Ave. Houghton)
10:00am Keweenaw Chain Drive 16 & 32 mi Best Western Franklin Square Inn
10:00am-??? Beach Volleyball Men's & Women's Doubles Hancock Waterfront
10:00am-11:30pm Vendor/Exhibit Booths Open Houghton Waterfront
11:00am-4:00pm Hancock Rotary International Fest Ramada (Hancock)
11:00am-1:00pm Keweenaw Family Olympics Ray Kestner Waterfront Park
11:00am-5:00pm Coors Light Nascar Simulater Medical Arts Building (Houghton)
11:00am-??? Tim's Toyz Kiddy Carnival Ramada (Hancock)
11:00am-Midnight Houghton Rotary Seafood Fest Ray Kestner Waterfront Park
Noon & 1:00pm Hurontown Volunteer Fire Department Jaws of Life Demo Ray Kestner Waterfront Park
1:00pm Fire Fighters Race 5:00pm Community Race American Red Cross Rubber Ducky Derby Houghton Waterfront
2:00pm-??? Vollwerth's Hotdog Eating Contest Ramada (Hancock)
3:00pm Keweenaw Excursions Boat Cruise Houghton Waterfront
3:30pm Junior Keweenaw Chain Drive Portage Health Systems (Hancock)
5:00pm-??? Beach Party/BBQ Ramada (Hancock)
8:00pm Keweenaw Excursions Fireworks Cruise Houghton Waterfront
Approx. 10:00pm (Dusk) Fireworks Portage Waterway


Sunday, June 15th
9:00am-10:00am Cardboard Boat Regatta Registration Houghton Waterfront
10am-4:00pm Vendor/Exhibit Booths Open Houghton Waterfront
10:00am Cardboard Boat Regatta Races Begin Houghton Waterfront
10:00am Beach Volleyball Co-ed 4's Hancock Waterfront
11:00am 10-S Tri-athalon Hancock Waterfront
Noon-??? Tim's Toyz Kiddy Carnival Ramada (Hancock)
Noon-??? Personal Watercraft Race Hancock Waterfront

Renewable Fuel

One plant closes and another opens. A manufacturing company that produces biomass fuel is making a major investment in Upper Michigan. Renewafuel plans open a $10 million project to produce environmentally friendly biomass plant at Sawyer to produce fuel cubes. The company is 70 percent owned by Cleveland-Cliffs. They hope to use the low-emission fuel as an alternative to burning coal.

The plant would annually produce 150,000 tons of fuel cubes. The cubes are made from materials like corn stalks and wood by-products. Two thirds of the cubes would be used at the Cleveland-Cliffs Empire and Tilden mines.

The plant itself will create approximately 25 jobs. The raw material will come from the UP, using material within a 75 mile radius.

Grand Marais

The picture is from David DeDene, more photos can be found at the following website. Grand Marais wind

Grand Marais is a quaint little town. The beach there is very inviting with it's nice white sand. We've only been there once but I always think about going back to stay for a while. Who would think that the sand could be a problem. Each year, 100,000 cubic yards of sand drifts into Grand Marais' harbor, in a few years, the entire harbor could be full of sand.

The Corps of Engineers quit maintaining the break wall in 1943. There's been absolutely no work done on it since then. It's completely deteriorated allowing sand to fill the harbor.

Some areas of the harbor that were 55 feet deep several years ago are only 4 feet deep. The Grand Marais is the only harbor of refuge in a 90-mile radius for vessels to take shelter in bad weather.

Grand Marais has a "Save Our Harbor" committee. They have approximately 1.7 million in appropriations but need six million more in federal and state appropriations and grants to build a new breakwater.

Niagara Mill

Ok so it's Wisconsin, not the UP, but it is a border town and what happens in Niagara affects many Yooper, so, we can talk about it! I said, and I'm the boss of this page.

New Page officials have announced that they will be shutting down the Niagara, Wisconsin plant on July 12th, three months before they had previously indicated.
The surprise announcement is based on increased operation costs and decreased demand. The gas prices hit again.

Approximately 300 residents of Niagara and the Iron Mountain area will soon be without jobs. That is a tremendous loss for the area.

New Page officials say they currently have two potential buyers looking at purchasing the mill to produce non-competitive paper products. They say there haven't been any actual offers yet. Employees aren't too optimistic on a sale.

The mill currently produces coated groundwood paper which is used largely in commercial printing, magazines, newspaper advertising inserts, directories and books

For a photos, check out Webshots

What a way to start June.

It is far too nice to be insides. Sorry folks, I'm going out and plant flowers. Maybe you will spot me on my webcam.