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Sunday, November 26, 2017

Let's go for a walk

I am currently living on a ice sheet. Being just the right elevation and distance away from The Big Lake I am in an in-between climate zone. It is a typical autumn day by the lake and a few miles farther inland and higher up there is ski-able snow in some areas. Walking is treacherous at home and I miss walking so as long I have daylight I'll head out to Croftville. It is a road that dips down off of Highway 61 just a few miles out of town and hugs the Lake Superior Shore. The Croftville Road is about a mile and a half long and is a mix of residential and Mom and Pop resort cabins. It is currently a dry and snow and ice free zone.

I parked my vehicle and started out on the blacktop (one of only a handful of paved roads in the county).
I walked past some of the nicer homes.

Some of the cabins.
Some of the yards and features.


There are still a few old sheds or, as the realtors sometimes refer to them, cozy rustic cabins.
It really is a nice place to take a walk, though, with a few nice places to look at the lake and a calm and peaceful place to take a walk, especially this time of year. Daylight is a rare commodity as it is getting light by the time I leave for work and dark when I come home. Weekends and days off are the only chance to really enjoy it, but always at the mercy of the weather. Today was cloudy, but lovely.
Even though the sky was mostly gray the drab colors of late fall didn't look too bad. Of course, Croftville is in its own "banana belt" where the lake moderates the temperature and humidity. It always tends toward cool and damp, but the lake is still warmer than the air and the humidity is offsetting the dryness of the coming winter. I was joking with one of the residents there a week or two ago telling her that I heard it only snows a couple of times per winter there which is a good thing as she drives a Prius with highway tires.

 That is the Coast Guard station in town in the distance.
The surprising thing that I had never noticed before while just taking a leisurely drive down the Croftville Road were these.

The speed limit on this road is only 20mph, but walking gives you a much better chance  to see what you have been missing. I think I'll take advantage of this road on weekends if I have to go to town or maybe after work when the days start getting longer. That may be the end of February, but at least the mosquitoes won't be an issue then and besides, I can walk faster than they can fly.
As always, click the pic to embiggen.







19 comments:

  1. Thank you for the delightful tour of your neighborhood.

    I think that the free library is a great idea!

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  2. “… cozy rustic cabins…” - perfect realtor doublespeak.

    I recently picked up an IndriĆ°ason Inspector Erlendur mystery at a Little Free Library in Seattle—they have a lot better selection than the ones I've looked at in my home town.

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  3. Thanks for taking us along with you on your walk!

    You make me remember why it was so hard to keep up with the walking in the wintertime when we lived in Buffalo.

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  4. Lovely scenery, nice walk. Still, your weather is too severe by half.

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  5. How I loved walking with you. That dark in the morning, dark at night thing got me down when I was still working. I hope you can triumph over it.
    The little libraries would ensure that I stopped. Each and every time I did that walk.

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  6. I thoroughly enjoyed our walk together.

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  7. What a wonderful place to walk! I loved seeing this Jono.

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  8. What fun to have a tour of your 'hood! I love the idea of those Little Free Libraries. That might make it onto our to-do list... someday... if our house construction ever ends... ;-)

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  9. Nice walk along a nice neighbourhood. When it gets snowy and icy, I don't plan to walk very far, especially this coming winter as I am having hip replacement surgery in January. However our local Soccer City indoor soccer facility hosts walkers every morning from 8am to 10:30 am where we can walk in the relative warmth on a cushioned field. No free libraries available there, but I pass one on my way home.

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  10. I enjoyed the photos, especially the stone wall and the "rustic cabin" with the ... dogwood? I think, but all of them are interesting. Yeah, walking will soon be an issue here as well. You guys really get winter rolling early, though, don't you? You go-getters, you!!

    There have been times I've driven someplace else so I can walk, too, but it's usually to have a change of scenery. It's kind of a pain but it's better than not walking.

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  11. What a beautiful place to walk. The rustic cabins remind me of my aunt's outhouse near her cabin at Otter Tail Lake in Minnesota.

    Love,
    Janie

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  12. Jono--

    Is that a glove in one of those book boxes? What's with that?

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  13. What a lovely walk and so happy no ice or snow is there.
    The different cabins are wonderful to look at and I love the free libraries. I have thought long about putting one on my land/road but I live in an out of the way street.
    I am thinking of having a tiny pocket park. I would have to get the ok from my association and or the county. I have it all designed out. Maybe after the first of the year I might look into this.

    cheers, parsnip

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  14. I loved that...and loved the book trees...

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  15. wow, what a gorgeous setting! Thanks for sharing!

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  16. There's nothing quite like a nice leisurely walk, is there? And free little lending libraries to boot! Sweeeeeeeet!

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  17. eViL pOp TaRt, You're welcome. There are more of those little libraries popping up all over.

    Professor B, "Seasonal creek" is used out west. It means there's an erosion problem. We have specific tastes in literature and they hard to find in small regional libraries, too.

    Pixel Peeper, I envy your walks except in the summer.

    vanilla, Yes, sometimes it gets a bit severe.

    magiceye, Your location is so exotic to me that I would probably keep walking until I dropped from exhaustion.

    Elephant's Child, At least my office has a window. I am always curious so I have to stop and see what books are there.

    Linda, It was enjoyable, wasn't it?

    Cat Lover, In the summer it is quite a popular place to get a little fresh air and sunshine. Or lake fog.

    Diane, Make sure the house is all done before you get distracted. You've got too much invested to quit.

    Shammickite, It is good to have a nice place to walk in the winter. I might join our local Y for a bit this winter for just that reason.

    jenny_o, Yes, that is red osier dogwood, a favorite treat for the local moose population. The lake has a bit of influence on local weather, but not anything like an ocean does to yours.

    Janie, I have seen much nicer outhouses, though. Ottertail Lake is only about 7 or 8 hours southwest of here in another beautiful lake-infested part of the state.

    Sioux, That would be the local lost and found at that little library.

    angryparsnip, A pocket park seems like a terrific idea! I could make a few right here on the farm that could be really lovely. I had better sharpen the mower blades this winter.

    JACKIESUE, Thanks!

    Silver Willow, It is a delightful neighborhood with some very nice people residing there. I do know a few of them at least.

    Debra, I think the weather this weekend will be conducive to another walk down that road. Maybe I'll start from the other direction this time.

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  18. I love the term "rustic cabin" when talking about a run down shed. :D

    The free libraries are a very clever idea.

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