Picture of the Day for October 11, 2013

This lonely sentinel, which was placed in operation on October 11, 1897, carried out years of service but it didn’t draw masses crowds to visit it like other lighthouses, especially with no land access. No fancy brick or stone building, no awestruck view, nor a fancy spiral staircase to take you to the top of the light, just a ladder for this short forty-two foot lighthouse.

There is not even a keeper’s house next to it for company, but instead the keeper came on a plank walk from the LaPointe Light Station, which was a little more than a quarter mile to the east, to wind up the weights for the 1,200 pound bronze fog bell every four hours.

So the lonely forgotten Chequamegon Point Light on the end of Long Island in the Apostle Islands, did its task without much recognition, with a re-used fourth-order lens from the old LaPointe Lighthouse, to guide ships into Ashland’s port with its fixed red light. The lighthouse had even less human interaction when the light was automated in 1964 until it was deactivated in 1986, replaced by the tubular structure that is now used.

Ignored Old Plain Lighthouse

Picture of the Day for October 10, 2013

October 10, 2013

After an appointment yesterday, I officially joined the ranks of ‘leaf peepers’ as I wandered on some back roads looking for autumn color. With the dry summer, the colors are not as bright or as red as some years but once in a while you still find a pretty spot or two. Course when I’m ‘leaf peeping”, I hate to share the road so I can stop for a picture and therefore try to find less traveled roads.

And this ‘road’ is less traveled, which is a good thing since it is only wide enough for one vehicle at a time. And while the picture makes the road appear flat, the road is very steep, climbing about two hundred and twenty feet in a quarter of a mile so when stopping to take this picture, I tried to keep the car slowly moving ahead instead coming to full stop.

Looking out the driver side window, you see the sharp drop to the valley below and you wonder how the trees are even able to grow on the rocky, steep wall. The passenger side window reveals the steep rocky wall continuing upwards with only this narrow path cutting through.

I didn’t want to see how good my brakes were, so I went up the trail instead of coming down it. But worse is when you do meet someone else and one of you have to ‘backup’. I was lucky this time as I met no other vehicles but I did last year but was lucky that I was already was at the one spot where it is wide enough for two vehicles as I had parked to take some pictures of the rocks, otherwise it wouldn’t have been such a peaceful drive backing up and picturing myself as a little crumbled speck on the valley floor below.

Up an Autumn Trail

Picture of the Day for October 9, 2013

October 9, 2013

The young chicks have left the nests a while ago and now most of the birds have left and gone south for the winter. The year-round birds, like the nuthatches and chickadees, seem happy that the ‘summer invasion’ is over and they have the bird feeders to themselves again.

After all the work the female bird works on her nest, it seems a waste to see it abandoned. The blustery fall winds or the heavy snows will likely dislodge it and the nest will tumble to the ground, barely recognizable as a home that raised a feathered family.

Nest for Rent – Very Cheap Winter Rates

Picture of the Day for October 8, 2013

October 8, 2013

While not as colorful as the autumn leaves, these fishing net floats have some color even if the old wooden ones are pale and worn. But then the autumn leaves are brand new with less than six months of service when they become colorful and not years of service like these fishing net floats.

Box of Fishing Net Floats

Picture of the Day for October 7, 2013

October 7, 2013

The recent rain seems to have washed the leaves and the leaves are now showing off their autumn colors in full force.

Waving Red

Picture of the Day for October 6, 2013

October 6, 2013

The honey bees are enjoying the late blooming asters and the way the bees have been collecting pollen, I don’t think it will be a mild winter so I better get busy like the bee and get the outside work done before the snow flies!

Busy as a Bee

Picture of the Day for October 5, 2013

October 5, 2013

I guess I was one of the ‘leaf peepers’ the other day as the red and yellow are making their appearance. I was actually looking at the wind damage and I saw other huge limb of the maple broken so I was taking a picture of the limbs and the yellow leaves just got in the way!

Signs of Autumn

Picture of the Day for October 4, 2013

October 4, 2013

In the middle of the Civil War, Raspberry Island Lighthouse’s fifth-order, fixed lens was exhibited for the first time on July 20, 1863 as part of the lighthouse system guiding sailors in the Apostle Islands area.

Isolated on an island may seem appealing to some but it also presented some hazards too. Light-keeper Francis Jacker was almost dismissed when his light was out on September 13, 1887. A westerly gale forced Keeper Jacker to move the station’s sailboat from the dock to a safe anchorage near the eastern end of the island. He was unable to haul the boat up to the boathouse due to the the dilapidated condition of the boatways and in the darkness, Keeper Jacker sailed beyond the end of the island.

Unable to fight the gale back, he drifted over to Oak Island, where his boat was heavily damaged. On the desolate island without food or fire and only scantily dressed, Jacker finally was able to hail a passing Native American after nearly three days.

The light was out the night of the 13th, but fortunately Keeper Jacker’s family had arrived for a visit on the 14th and displayed the light for two nights until his return. Lighthouse officials reinstated the position of assistant keeper, which had been abolished at Raspberry Island in 1882, after this incident and Keeper Francis Jacker was not discharged due to the credible reason for the outage.

Raspberry Island Lighthouse

Picture of the Day for October 3, 2013

October 3, 2013