Henkel Family Blog: 2014 A Superior September


Asters near River Falls WI

Copper Falls

This September was simply stuffed full of activities, fun time and lots and lots of canning and preserving. What a blessing when the harvest is plentiful and the cellar fills with good food for the coming year. Mark and Hilde spent lots of time working outside, as Mark had antenna adjustments after the windstorms and then he contrived an insulation for the west foundation which involved a lot of very awkward work crawling in and working on the gravel to install it under the deck. This result is very tidy and will prevent the freeze-up of water lines to the kitchen.

Hilde alternated between mowing and mowing (lots of rain and sun meant grass really grew fast) and using the abundant tomato and apple yield. Folks at the office and church got some of the excess, but she made lots of tomato sauce, stewed tomatoes, some of Grandma Schultz’s Ketsup, and many batches of tomato soup frozen for winter. This is the first year that the Wolf River apples have really produced and they were covered with huge apples---great for applesauce, baked apples and just about anything. For eating apples, two trees of ‘can’t remember what we planted’ produced very nicely and even a few snow apples. Hilde spent lots of time making apple treats, trying out new recipes and canning lots of applesauce.

Although Labor Day weekend was spent at home laboring, Mark and Hilde decided that they needed a break and headed up to Bayfield and Ashland early in September. The weather was perfect for a visit to Madeline Island, Sand Beach and Copper Falls. Spending time on the shore of Lake Superior just watching waves and seagulls is very, very soothing---and the various blues were amazing.

Then it was back to work, meetings and extra projects. After several application of spray, the enormous hornet nest was removed and Mark got to work on the brooder house, completely dismantling it, cutting off the rotten wood and adding in new to raise the height and improve the design. It was major work which he enjoyed doing, since the weather cooperated except for bringing out a new batch of ferocious mosquitoes. Both Mark and Hilde found bug repellant to be a daily need. Hilde’s project for the month was to repaint the master bathroom---full of awkward corners and no room for easier methods…just a brush and determination. One of those ‘glad that’s done’ projects, it did improve things dramatically.

There were meetings, many, many meetings, for Hilde, since September means budget hearings, zoning hearings and two of the 'spray irrigation of waste' meetings. It does help having everything on the iPad instead of balancing piles of paper, but each meeting takes prep time and often leads to more calls or follow-up. Mark was busy trying to rearrange his schedule to get discovery finished for the string of trials, but he did find time to go to the range with Dr. Stevens, for a little break.

The Henkels returned to Buffalo MN late in the month (part of the trial from 2012 will be retried in 2015), so Hilde got to visit with Laurel, who has retired there. They never ran out of things to talk about, but Mark did come back to the motel and wonder where Hilde was! It was the perfect time to travel through Wisconsin and Minnesota as the trees were reaching full color, the sky that gorgeous fall blue and the weather very warm for the season. Mark had depositions in Northfield MN also, so Hilde got to browse, enjoy the lovely town and river walk and get some serious walking in. Evie went to Carlton College, so Hilde could picture her there in Northfield.

Taking a more leisurely route homeward from the business, Mark and Hilde visited Eau Galle Recreation Area and discovered it is truly beautiful---kind of hidden away and lots of trails and color there. As September ended, Rudolph had two very hot days (82 each day!) during which they picked the last tomatoes and pulled the vines, and endured amazing swirls attacks of mosquitoes to pick fall raspberries. But, all good things do end, and on the 29th, the temps began dropping and dropping and seasonal (fall) weather moved in. A wonderful month!