7/16/08 LOTS GOING ON

Thursday, 7:45 AM. 53 degrees, wind SW, calm. The channel is calm, and the sky is pretty much overcast. The barometer predicts rain, which we got a trace amount of last night.
We have a coast guard house next door, and we have had a succession of Coasties as neighbors, mostly young families with children, whom we have enjoyed immensely. Their tour of duty is usually two years. The house is currently between occupants, and is getting some work done, including a new roof. The Coast Guard has a roving construction crew based in Salt St. Marie, who are doing the work. They are a disciplined and effective work force. It is good to see our tax dollars being used so effectively. The Guardians ad immeasurably to the security and economy of Bayfield.
The old playground on 6th and Wilson is being updated and the old swings, etc. are being replaced with a lot of fanciful new play equipment. Being an old foggy, I see nothing wrong with plumber pipe swings and teeter-totters. But, watching my grandkids play on such new equipment makes me realize how out of date I am, as they really enjoy it. However, I don’t see climbing walls and zip-lines as any safety improvement, as evidenced by Katie’s broken arm, courtesy of a zip-line in Denver. But, time marches on.
I ran into acquaintance Glen at the recycling center yesterday (I was getting rid of the old dishwasher) and asked him if he has been spending any time at his little trailer out near Andy and Judy’s place on Hwy. K. He said he has stopped going there until the blackberries are ripe, when he figures the bears will vacate the area. A bear broke into his trailer a couple of days ago, opened his refrigerator and made off with a steak Glen had been looking forward to grilling. All the bear left behind was the potatoes. The only good thing to say about the incident was that the bear didn’t use any of his charcoal, and he did close the refrigerator door.
There is a concert at church tonight and as usual I am ushering. There is still a lot of work to do around here beforehand, catching up from or company and being away last week.