Kathy and Eric's blog: May 2025 Birchwood and Lake Superior

We began the month with clouds and a bit of rain. Bird Migration is beginning, we got 4 new year birds on the 1st!

Rainy days are good for collecting and cutting firewood

Saturday May 3: Happy Derby Day! the sun is shining although a bit cold.

We lost a neighbor today. Gary Gunn was nice, fun and always had a story to tell. we will miss him.

Sunday: first Ruby Throated Hummingbird came to the deck! We seen the elusive Fisher on our walk this morning.

Rita picked me up at 11:30 for lunch at Lincolnwood. Terry and Pam picked us up at 5:00 for dinner at Cousins. a major eating day!

Sunday we had both Sandhill Cranes come in the late afternoon. no babies! They were acting kind of weird, hanging in the woods, laying down but eating corn. Something must have killed the colts.

Monday May 5: day to put the pontoon the water for the season! Beautiful day...

20 minters later he made it home!

nice ride in the afternoon after a visit with Sheron Gunn.

finished a puzzle! record time, of course it is only 300 pieces but....

Wed: 1st mowing session of the season. Sold the brush hog and 2 bottom plow! I am sure we gave it away but at least they are gone!

Eagles nest on Mud Lake

Thurs May 8: a great day for golf.. we went to Lynndales. Considering we have not touched the clubs in over 6 months, we did pretty good

Saturday: the fruit trees are in full bloom! Plum and Pear, the apple trees are just starting to bud

a bit of a cooler day and northerly winds kept us from going on the big lake. we went down to snoop on the neighbors, it was nice and calm. So we hung on the pontoon, snooping on the neighbors (putting their dock in ) . Eric threw a line in the water and walaa. he got the first fish of the season! a small northern but still a fish...

Sunday May 11 Mothers Day. Very windy but very warm day. Rick and Rita smoked a chicken and invited us over for dinner. The food was sooo good, so was the conversation.

The birds are slowly migrating, we are getting 3 new year birds each day.

Wed May 14: today we are leading a Bird walk in Spooner. not sure how many people will show up. but the weather is perfect and we should get migrants passing through. We went on Monday to scout out the area and got 51 birds. We had about 13 people show up! 54 species at two different places. The group did a lot of talking but it was fun. Weather was warm and sunny.

Bug Busters came today to spray the property for mosquitoes

the Bleeding Heart and Apple trees are now in full bloom!

Friday May 16: what started out to be a pretty normal day but turned crazy at 10:10. I heard some crazy noise in the living room, then seen something swaying outside, the electrical wires were drooping and swinging, then a crash and the wires were gone. A tree had fallen on the wires and hit the deck. Luckily Eric was out by the wood shed and not feeding the birds. The wire snapped and was lying on the ground. A flame and puff of smoke by the tree, I called the Fire dept and Barron Electric.

After about 20 minutes the first volunteer showed up. We ended up with 5 firemen and 2 Barron guys.

it took until about 1:30 for the power to come back on.

Eric tried to get out the door that leads to the garage, but the door is stuck! What!! I noticed the other day that the handle was kind of loose. Something must have broken in the mechanism and would not pull the pin. Well after a lot of cussing and trying to find out how to open the latch online, Eric finally manhandled the lock and got the door open. Its now 3:00 pm..

After a much needed shower we headed to Birchwood for dinner. A stop at Spider Lake Saloon for one beer. We have not been in there since before Covid. Mary's Bluegill Bar for a wonderful Blue Gill and Perch dinner. One last stop at Bear Tracks for one beer before going home and relaxing.. Too much drama for these two old people.

Saturday: Riley and crew showed up to take quick care of the tree! only 45 minutes to get the job done.

a few cool, cloudy and windy days leading up to the Memorial Day Weekend.

Wednesday May 21: off to Superior and Ashland for the birding fest. cold windy but sunny weather expected. Oh it was cold, cold and very windy today when we arrived at Lake Superior.

We did end up with 3 new year birds but it was tough. We went to Duluth for a bit of birding and shopping. Lunch at Havana's in Superior. A great Cuban restaurant, good service, great food. a bit too much as we only ate less than half of our food. it will make great left overs.

After checking into the Hampton Inn we went to Central Pub for a drink. Nice little place, special on wings tonight. the place was very busy and lots of carry outs. must be good wings!

Thurs May 22: we head to Ashland for 2 nights, the birding fest is happening this weekend. We did not join any walks but are sure to run into a few groups. A much better weather day. We left the hotel at 7:15 arriving at the Hotel Chequamegon which is right on Lake Superior at 3:30. Great walks, Subway sandwich for lunch. 4 new year birds including a night time session for the Eastern Whip-Poor-Will and the American Woodcock. Dinner in our room, left overs from Havana's.

Friday May 23: We left the hotel at 6:30, breakfast begins at 7:00, so a quick stop at McDonalds for a sausage McMuffin was on the menu. We made 4 stops before getting to Bark Bay Slough at 9:30. A quick ride through Herbster and Cornucopia before getting to Patsy's Bar in Washburn for a wonderful White Fish luncheon at 1:30.

A few more stops before getting back to the hotel for a nap at 3:30.

Northern Saw-whet Owl

We got 4 year birds today. the day began cloudy but not windy. By 2ish the sun came out. After a nap and shower we finished the Cuban sandwich from Wed at Havana's. bird count is USA with Hawaii 450, without Hawaii 377. I was hoping for 11 birds this trip. And we got them!

Lee and Sue Hildebrants son, Dane, is in a band in Ashland area. Just so happens that there is a music fest happening this weekend and his band is playing at the brewery in Washburn. The band was to begin playing at 8:15. kind of late for these two old people but we got a nap in and are ready to visit with Lee and Sue and listen to some good music. The music did not disappoint, the beer was good and the visit was very fun. We don't get to see them too often so there is lots to talk about. Got home about 10:30!! 2 nights in a row.

Saturday May 24: Going home today. began the day at the hotel breakfast bar. Pretty good food. but it does not open until 7. we got one more bird before leaving Ashland for a total of 12 year birds. We stopped a number of times in Ashland before heading home. Lunch at the Sawmill Saloon in Cable. Great walleye and burger. Rain and clouds by the time we got to Hayward for grocery's. Got home in time for a quick nap, the sun came out for a wonderful evening by the fire pit.

A afternoon cruise on Mud Lake, seen the neighbors. Looks like the Eagles next got some damage from last weeks storm. both parents are not near the nest, no babies in the nest.

Mon May 26: Memorial Day. mostly sunny but still cool. A Purple Martin showed up again to scout out the house. as usual we keep our fingers crossed that someone will move in.