In - out, In - out, In - out, In - out

(030528 Video Diesel in-out patio screen door) (This is short) . . I got tired of letting the cat and dog... in - out, in - out, etc, so I carefully rigged the door with counterweights, nylon string, and pulleys so it's easy to open and it closes automatically. Problem Solved. Both Tuna the cat and Diesel the dog can come and go as they please.

NOW, If I could only train the Chickens.

Entertainment = Birds

A Cardinal visits the feeder. (Pic cube w cardinal in opening)

A Plastic cube street light fixture converted to a bird feeder hangs on Ace's computer window and provides close-up entertainment. The birds cannot see IN the window. (Pic closeup Cardinal in opening)





(Pic corncob cardinal closeup)
A variety of birds feed there, and often Squirrels are there too. Sometimes two squirrels enter and fight. Then the feeder turns into a Squirrel blender as they fight. (Pic squirrel in opening)

2007 Lucky rescue - 16' waves, 85mph winds.

Lake Superior: Years ago, I was boat-camping at one of the few safe protected spots in the 23 uninhabited Apostle Islands, on South Twin Island, 2 miles from the next nearest island (Rocky). Labor day weekend, we were alone on the islands, 2 of us, September, an overcast day, no rain, it was a beautiful evening. Weather forecast - windy, cloudy. As usual I tied up the boat as IF it were going to storm, safely tied halfway out a 150' dock, bow out to sea, two way-oversized anchors to keep the boat off the dock and 6 more lines to keep it in position, 500 feet of rope, ready for anything (almost).

At 3:00am I was awakened by the wind blowing on our tent. I grabbed a flashlight and went to check on the boat. The waves were tossing it around quite badly so I stayed and pulled on the ropes from the side, acting like a human shock absorber. I figured it was just another weather front blowing in and by daylight it would quit (it usually does) but instead, the wind and waves kept building. It was an unusually early Lake Superior Gale (usually in Nov). From 3:00am until 3:00pm waves kept building. Out in the open lake, there were 16' waves and 85 mph winds (an ore boat reported) and at my dock there were 12' waves and 60mph wind. The wave crests were blowing off in a mist and pelting me with buckets of frigid icy water. For 12 hours I stood on the shaky 6' high dock in 60mph winds freezing and holding the line tight to absorb the shock. The dock was shaking and trembling each time a wave hit, and so was I.    I watched as the shingles blew off the fishing shack behind me, and as some of the docks end boards being ripped off the dock and go sailing past me with nails sticking out, and far into the woods behind me in the strong wind. I was hoping the dock would hold up, it was shaking badly. I was hoping I would hold up, I was shaking too (cold).

But by 2:00pm, the ropes started snapping including one of the main bow lines. So with the boat bobbing up/down 12 feet, and in 60mph winds, I had to lasso the front deck cleat (nearly impossible in the strong wind and took a long long time) and JUST as I finally got it, the remaining 1800 lb test bow line snapped (whew). The water was only 6' deep where the boat was so it smashed on the bottom a few times and I knew I couldn't save the boat, and the wind continued to get worse. The 2,000# boat was often standing vertical on the lake bottom on it's stern sometimes, only the one remaining new bow line kept the boat from blowing over backwards and I was afraid that rope would break too, so we decided to try to beach the boat... nearly impossible. Fat chance, watching how the huge waves slammed the driftwood logs down hard on the beach and then tons of water crashed over them, really poor odds of success. But, it was our only chance and we had to be super fast and make NO mistakes. If we failed, the boat would be smashed to pieces and washed away. We'd be marooned with almost no food (on the boat because of bears). After a lot of rope rigging was prepared, our plan was to catch it between waves, quickly swing the bow around and quickly pull it as far ashore as we could, bow first onto shore BEFORE the next huge wave crashed down on it.

Good timing and good luck. We were about 90% successful. With the next wave smashing and pushing the stern we managed to winch it up mostly out of the water but as that wave hit, the stern cleat snapped off (whew) which was the only thing holding it from swinging broadside (doomed). But with each wave we were able to winch it up a bit farther and finally saved it (and our food). It only had a little bit of water in it (miracle). Another miracle is that the auxiliary motor stayed on after flopping loose for hours, it had made contact with the bottom frequently.

After 12 hours and with the boat safely beached, I was finally able to go ashore out of the wind to recover. I was surprised to find that I had a really Really bad case of hypothermia, quite seriously bad. I was shaking uncontrollably for several hours. Hot chocolate probably saved my life. Nearly all my toes were black and blue from tugging on the ropes so hard and eventually I lost several toenails, one never recovered, even today.

In typical Lake Superior fashion, the rest of the day actually became quite pleasant and soon it was calm. We were able to get everything back in shape, off to the next island to continued with our trip. One of many hundreds.

If anyone reads this far, I have many more similar adventures.