This morning, I woke up to the sight of tall red pines outside my window. Actually, that’s not quite accurate. I woke up at the loverly hour of four AM. UKW had a six AM flight out of Chippewa County International Airport. Although the Mogog drove her over there, I could not let her leave without one last goodbye. She was making coffee when I got downstairs and we both had a bit of a start (and then a giggle) when we looked out the front door to see the Mogog standing next to the Frog Hopper in his standard white drywall dust covered overalls. Too big (and too white) to be a skunk. I lingered a bit over my coffee (and facebook, et al) after all the goodbyes were said, then I clumped back up the ladder to read (on my phone) until the tall red pines became visible with the daylight in the swamp.

It was a wonderful faaarrrdrill of a week up there at the Moomincabin. UKW, the GG & I held down the fort. The Mogog, The Commander, all four of the beach urchins (daughters and nieces) were in and out. And a supporting cast of thousands… That is, many friends and relatives who made minor appearances on our particular stage. You betcha they are not minor players in our hearts and they are not minor players at their own cabins with their own families.

If I had to pick a favorite day, it would be a tossup between the serendipity of our first Saturday, when we got up early and embarked on an impromptu blueberry picking trip and the Tuesday we made the sojourn to Canada to meet up with Radical Betty’s buddies and hike to Betty’s Cove. But there were many, many, many other good times.

Today? O. M. G. We have been spoiled all these years being able to leave the Moomincabin and not worry too much about closing it up at all. Not so much today. The garbage? The garbage alone for the last week filled two cans. I deliberately did not pay Waste Management to pick up our cabin trash this summer, not because we can’t afford it but because I knew that there would be only one week or so when we wouldn’t be able to either put it out at the Squatter’s Paradise or schlep it back to our handy-dandy A2 Garbage Cart. I thought I would figure it out when I had to. And I did, but not without a little help from my friends cuzzint. So, even though we had two vee-hickles up there, we had nowhere near enough room for two big cans of garbage. The Mogog came to the rescue. “Oh, that’s just a vanful. I’ll take it,” he said in that soft gravelly voice that shows his gentlest side. (Love you cuzzint!) I left the recycling and a bunch of beer-snob [I say that with love] bottles that Glens doesn’t accept. When I next travel north, I’ll be traveling light enough that all of that stuff’ll just rattle around in the back of the Frog Hopper.

Food? Can you say “leftovers”? I am not complaining. It is always like this when you have an ever fluctuating number of people around for a week or thereabouts. We were lucky enough to have UKW and her super kitchen organizing skills on hand for the duration. I’m sure that otherwise, we’d’ve had much, much more leftover food to schlep. Even so, I left some stuff. Condiments. Orange juice that doesn’t expire until September 14th (hmmm, wonder what’s in that…). With luck, my MacMullan cuzzint Teri and crew will visit soon and they are welcome to stay at the Moomincabin if they want.

Today? We got a later start than we may have another year. We cannot just schlep down Piche Road to the I75 SUV Speedway when we’re ready to leave the Moomincabin any more. We headed in to FV to touch base with The Commander and give her a chance to say goodbye to the Callyforny granddaughter that she won’t see again for a while. And then. Clyde’s at St. Ignace. Slow but friendly service and good [greasy] food as always but perhaps a bit heavy for the kind of heat we had all day. BIG-TIME backup at the Big Mac. Alas, no commuter lanes were open, not that I could’ve navigated to one with all that traffic. The rest of the trip was pretty okay. A few slow-downs here and there but no dead stops of the sort that allow a modern kayak woman to check her email on her phone. I had to keep shifting up and down and inching along.

We are here on The Planet. Elizilla split off in the Ninja at Flint to visit friends in the Dee-troit area. Mouse took one of the Comm’s looms (with permission) to her apartment. UKW is probably hanging out with her friend Forward [I think/hope that’s his name!] out in the PacNW by now. And so we have scattered, or at least we have begun to scatter.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, to everyone who has helped my little branch of the Fin fam over the last few months. For those (mainly The Beautiful Jan but others have offered) who have been driving The Commander to social events. To UKW and the GG my husband and The Comm’s grandchildren who have helped drive her back and forth to the Moomincabin for our beautiful little summer sojourn.

Tomorrow morning, I will wake up to the sight of drywall and cheap furniture covered with shambling mounds.

Love you all so much. –KW

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