Remember this summer when I saw "Mr. Robert Cat" along the road? This time, I saw a much bigger cat. Very big ...
And the very big cat had some inflatable companions for the holiday season ...
Hope they all survived our big blow okay. That's the big storm that passed through the Upper Midwest a few days ago.
It was a "three-day blow," like the title of the Hemingway story. The wind was really blowing hard from Tuesday through Thursday, especially on Tuesday night and Wednesday. We never lost power, and the house is still standing. Back in Rhinelander, some areas lost power for several days, and they opened the high school and YMCA as shelters.
Record low barometric readings were reported. Here, the reading sank to 28.59 inches (968 millibars). The low passed through Minnesota, several hundred miles west of us. It took its own sweet time.
Tuesday night, as the storm moved in, I drove off to a Wisconsin high school playoff game about 35 miles away. All the playoff games went on as scheduled, and I made the trip with my little digital camera--the big one stayed home. The little one is pretty good, but it's not the kind you want to use for taking night photos, especially on poorly lit football fields. I don't take my photos for the paper with that one. Otherwise, this is what they would look like ...
The home team is called the Bobcats. As I sat in the stands, I saw a real live Bobcat walking down the sideline, rooting on his team ...
Alas, things didn't go well for the home team. They trailed 17-0 after the first quarter because of two very short punts (into the wind) and a fumble in their end. The bobcat mascot got very sad. He was literally holding his head in his hands ... uhh, hand ...
The Bobcats fought back but eventually lost 24-20. The light rain and brisk winds we had during the game continued during the trip home. I saw a couple of deer along the road as I drove back west. I saw some wood debris on the two-lane road in places.
And then ... I got a glimpse of something that flashed past me, on the other side of the road. I turned around and went back east to get a better look ...
A dead birch tree had blown over and was completely blocking the eastbound lane. Luckily, I was westbound. In the next shot, the westbound lane is closer to the camera ...
More luck: I had enough of a signal on my cell phone to call 911 and alert the local sheriff's office of the tree blocking the road. Thanks to GPS, they could see exactly where I was. They said they would send out a truck right away, and I went on my way.
****
Our older son called on a recent Sunday night. He had passed along some big news to my wife the last time he called--but I was away that night.
In fact he had two things to tell us: The big one (from earlier) is: His girlfriend (and her dog) has now moved in with him (and his cat). Most of the excitement so far involves the dog and cat, who are having a hard time not acting like dogs and cats.
That decision didn't surprise me. They are old enough and smart enough. (He is 33; she, about five years younger.) They have gone on a number of trips together since they met last March. They have visited us twice and stayed in our spare bedroom. And they continue to grow closer. I wrote him after missing his earlier phone call, speculating whether they may want to look for a bigger place in spring. (Though I haven't seen his new place yet.)
The other news: He hesitatingly asked whether it would be OK if they do NOT come up for Christmas this year. I told him no problem--maybe they can visit once the snow melts in spring. Keep in mind--his Christmas situation has changed very much in the last 12 months: He has a close girlfriend now, and his grandma who loved him very much has died.
I know what he goes through to make those Christmas visits. It's a very long drive (550 miles each way) from Detroit to Mom and Dad, even in the best of conditions. In winter, he has to deal with snow, snow-covered roads, sleet, freezing rain and other fun stuff, since three of the five Great Lakes are so close. In the northern Lower Peninsula, about 100 to 150 miles of I-75 is often snow-covered and/or slippery due to lake-effect snow.
In short, it's not an enjoyable, relaxing drive by any means, and I speak from long personal experience. Maybe we can work out a video visit via Skype.
Our own holiday plans? Undecided yet. Our son usually stayed with us until just after Christmas--then he drove home. Some years, we visited my wife's sisters near Ladysmith around New Year's. Other times, we had quiet time at home. We need to talk about it.
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