Ice Fishing

I decided I wanted to go ice fishing for a day in Upper Michigan for my birthday the beginning of March.  I never had been ice fishing, so this was going to be a new experience for me - one I've always wanted to try.  Our friend on Lake Gogebic agreed to be our fishing guide for the day.  There was one major problem though.  Two days before our fishing trip, they received 14" of wet heavy snow which was going to change the environmental dynamics of the day on the lake - and boy, did it ever.

Instead of being able to walk out approximately 1 mile on this particular lake where we were going to fish, we could only walk out a short distance because the snow was so deep and the weight of the snow was pushing the water up through the holes that were drilled, thus making a mushy, slushy watery mess to trudge through.  It was so hard to walk.  And by the end of the morning, my feet were wet and cold as the depth of the slushy snow we were trapsing through eventually made over the portion of my boots where water could seep.  But in the end we caught 17 average bluegill (which I didn't even take a picture), the scenery was exquisite, and I could finally say I logged in my first ice fishing experience.  I think I could get to like it.  I could see when the weather conditions are good, how fun it would be to just pull up one fish after another.  The fishing is usually always that good on this lake, so I hear!

Pulling our fishing gear out to the lake

The slushy messy snow we were walking through

The drilled ice fishing hole.  There was about 2 feet of ice.

Russell ice fishing

A beautiful photo of someone's wood shed on the lake

We spent the rest of the day visiting with our good friends.  Our friends then showed us toward the end of the day how they call the deer in to eat on their property.  Jerry walks outside with some corn in a coffee can, shakes it, and calls them " C'mon boys and girls, it's dinner time."  And all of the sudden about 15 deer come running out the woods to eat this corn that he throws to them. 

And on the way home the next day, we spotted a bald eagle in a tree along the highway and was able to stop and zoom in on him with my telephoto lens.

It was a great getaway for two days, and a memorable birthday.  Thanks again to our hosts!

Well, He Did It

As was foretold in a previous blog post of a few days ago, to a mom's horror, Michael decided to pull his pants down and pee at the playground tonight in front of two young girls.

Family Photos

Making Maple Syrup

Each year my family makes maple syrup back on the home farm.  The early warm weather allowed for early tapping this year, but the extended heat put an early halt on the sap running from the trees.  We went home for a weekend visit and got to partake in the annual festivities.  This was Michael's first experience with maple sap collection.  Approximately 100 taps are inserted in the trees, and I believe the yield this year was 42 gallons of syrup.

Michael trotting to the maple sap bucket on the tree

He went to every pail to get a drip of sap on his finger....

...and had to taste each drip on his finger.

Bags or pails are used to collect the sap from the tree

Danielle (Andy's oldest daughter) pours the sap from the bags into a pail

Then the sap is poured through a strainer into a 500 gallon plastic tank...

...to be hauled back to the farm to be cooked down into maple syrup.  I think we brought home 230 gallons of sap that day.

This is the sap cooking (boiling) in the stainless steel pan.

The Life of a 2 and 1/2 Year Old

Afternoon naptime seems to be getting a bit more challenging these days.  It's not unusual for me to put Michael down for a nap, only for him to come out several times with requests to go potty, have a drink, or to see "what I'm doing".  Most of the time he just plays in his room or bed for a 1/2 hour or more before he drifts off to sleep.  Well, yesterday after 45 minutes of playing in his room and the typical stall tactics, I finally thought he fell alseep.  So I mosied outside to the back of the shed which is a walk from the house to finish some work, and who to my surprise comes strutting through the back shed door but Michael looking like this (with his bubble bottle and wand)....

He was fully clothed when I put him to bed......and since I didn't have my camera in the shed, this picture was taken when I brought him back to the house.

Russell also found Michael one day in the garage doing this....

Crushing aluminum cans!  He opened the aluminum can storage bin, found something to stand on, and was just crushing away.  The last time he saw me do this was last summer!

We have been enjoying this record-breaking warmth for the last two weeks.  All of the snow we had here in the woods is completely gone as of March 19 (which is rare for this time of year).  The trees are close to leafing out (which is not good because we know a hard frost will still probaby happen).  Michael is savoring every moment being outside.

Picking turkey feathers in the woods

Tickling Grandpa with turkey feathers

My brother recently started telling make-up stories to Michael, and now that's all Michael wants me to do is tell him stories, non-stop.  "Tell me a story, Mom" are his famous words.  He likes stories about crocodiles (which my brother started), or stories about riding bikes.  We actually can make up any story about any subject, and Michael says after the story is spoken, "I like that story, Mom."

Bill telling a "crocodile" story

Santa brought Michael a "play" tool bench with every possible tool imaginable this past year, and would you believe he hardly ever plays with it, and still goes to play with Russell's "real" tools.  Here is a picture of Michael with a rachet and socket tightening a nut on the back of a trailer that Russell was fixing.  Incredible.

Michael loves to eat, but small portions every hour or two.  It is difficult to get him to sit and eat a full meal at the kitchen table.  He eats some, and then an hour or two later, finishes what's on his plate.  This boy can pack away the groceries, and I'm not kidding you, before bedtime which is between 8:30 and 9:00, this boy will put away a full 6 oz yogurt, a banana, an apple, and sometimes a dill pickle or crackers.  And then he polishes off about 8 oz of milk.

Michael is quite the conversationalist these days.  He still repeats almost everything I say.  I used the word "condiments" and the dinner table the other day and he repeated the word "condiments" clear as a bell.  He can articulate almost any word, and speaks in full sentences.  Amazing.

Michael - Mom, can you give me a ride on the 4-wheeler?

Mom - Michael, mom doesn't know how to start the 4-wheeler.

Michael - (very excited and animated) You just turn the key, and push the button, Mom.

As I'm changing Michael's poopy diaper one day back in February.

Michael - Mom, can I see my poop?

Mom - No, Michael, you don't need to see your poop?

Michael - Please, Mom, please?

Mom - OK, here it is (as I show it to him).

Michael - Wow, that's a big terd!

We have started potty training, and it actually is going pretty well.  He goes pee pee on the toilet, but won't go #2 on the toilet.  I have him in pull-ups all day, and if he goes pee-pee in the toilet, he gets one M&M (which like I said is working pretty well).  Well the other day, Russell showed him how to pee outside, and now I've got troubles.  Now every time we are outside, this boy has his pants pulled down, and is going pee pee!  Now that's fine living in the woods with no one around, but I'm waiting for the day when he does this at the park or in the grocery store! 

Warm Weather

We are having the most phenomenal winter weather (as is the rest of the US) even living in northcentral Wisconsin.  It has been close to 40 degrees every day this week (which is usually unheard of), the snow is melting, and I'm getting spring fever!  But we all know winter isn't over yet, and we'll probably get slammed again several times with snow and cold in the next 6 weeks, but for now we'll take every last bit of warmth that comes our way.  Our life has been consumed cutting and splitting wood for next winter's burn.  This is one of my most favorite outdoor activities, and this warm weather makes it all the more enjoyable!

We did get some more snow a few weeks ago, and here is Russell and Michael plowing the driveway with the tractor.  Michael will ride for up to an hour on the tractor.  He just can't get enough of the tractor.  One day he even fell asleep in Russell's arms on the tractor while he was plowing!

Michael is quite the conversationalist these days and is big into saying "please" and "thank you" for everything I do for him.  He has such good manners.  We're currently trying to break eating in the livingroom which is something I perpetuated many, many months ago.  I'm tired of cleaning the furniture and the carpet.  This is one of many of my parenting mistakes that we're trying to fix, and it hasn't been fun for either us or him.  But we are making progress!

Lately these days Michael likes to act like he's floating in the bathtub, and he lays himself down in the bathtub and puts his hands behind his head (now mind you, I only have a few inches of water in the bathtub)...

And tonight, Michael enjoyed an oreo custard sandwich from Culver's....

And lastly, it is so depressing the Packers won't be playing in the Superbowl tomorrow.  But to make myself feel better, I'm posting a picture of some of my family from the last Packer game that was played this year.  I wish I could have a devoted blog post to one of my family's Packer parties here in the postseason, but that will have to wait til next year.

It's All About Michael....

It is a must that Michael wash his own strawberries now.....

It is a must that Michael take his shirt off frequently throughout the day....

It is a must that Michael air up his own rubber balls with the hand air pump....

It is a must that Mom take cute pictures of her little precious boy....

And see these cabinet doors....

This is Michael's new hiding spot...

*****

In other news winter has returned with a vengeance (boo hoo), and Michael and I were both sick with the GI flu this week on top of a nasty cold.  But this was the first time in Michael's life at almost 2 and 1/2 years old that he has vomited.  He was such a trooper through it all.