2015 Part 3

In 2015 Part 2, we reached through the end of June, which I was hoping was the end of the "toil and trouble" portion of the year. One thing I forgot to include in my June comments was my attendance at the 28th annual Spinner Invitational where I, for the 28th consecutive year, did not win the coveted Governor's Trophy (see previous post Spinner Origins for the background on this event). The good news is that I also didn't win the equally distinguished Captain D. H. Wyatt Trophy, presented to the golfer with the high net of the day (yes - last place). I will dispense with more on this year's Spinner tournament as I will go into the topic in detail in an upcoming follow-up post on the event's history. So let's move on.

July

Daughter Cathy and her hubby Matt had moved back to Michigan in March and had been bunking in at our house during their search for a new home. In May they found one in Beverly Hills that suited them just fine. After closing in late June, they were ready to move in. 

When Cathy moved from Michigan to Alexandria, Virginia, in 2008, we packed everything she owned into our van and the trunk of her Pontiac G6. Here are a couple of shots from that memorable relocation.

Although Cathy and Matt have been zealous in including only essential possessions in their apartment moves from Washington and Hoboken to San Francisco, they now have more stuff than would fit in the van (also, key members of the old moving crew have taken senior status). So now they're "pod" people. Here are a couple of shots of Matt with father Paul, working the pod.

And a shot of the new abode in "The Hills". If they ever move again, they'll have a basement to contend with.

After a few days recovery from watching the Kuhlman move, the family retreated to Wiser Times for a little R&R. Here's a shot of WT all spruced up and ready for company.

The weekend included my mother Dolores and sister Wendy who came up from Florida for the party, shown here lounging on the deck.

Also attending from left to right below were sister Cindy, Nancy, Cathy, Matt and Christy, enjoying some time on the beach.

Coco was there as well, Here is a shot of the little darling fresh from a dip in the lake,

And another of her engaged in a favorite pastime, nuzzling deep into smelly, matted lake weed (which of course, necessitated a second cleansing dip in the lake).

 

Of course, the day wouldn't have been complete without an appearance from this regular, whom I refer to as the "Mighty Kickboarder" (this is the photo I now use on my AARP ID card, as it clearly confirms how comfortable I am with my senior-hood).

A couple of weeks later the family was back in town for a bridal shower for our "vacation" daughter, Taryn Dyle, and her betrothed Sam Kim. They met on the love boat known as the GM Tech Center. Both are artists at heart with day jobs to fund their projects. Here's a shot of the Burk family representatives, daughters Cathy and Christy flanking my lovely Bride.

And the happy couple-to-be, accepting cards and gifts.

Here's a shot of Sam and Taryn with the gracious shower sponsors, Taryn's mother Robyn and Aunt Liz.

Now we go from the sublime to the ridiculous. The week after the shower Robyn and Dave joined Nancy and me at the cottage for a quiet weekend of recovery. But, always thinking of my guests, I decided to lay in some entertainment - the installation of a new septic field. See how the Dyles were enjoying the show, by their expressions below, as we had a simple lunch sufficiently away from the work zone.

Those of you less fascinated with the more basic elements of just how the world works, might want to skip down to August. For you heartier souls, here is a blog-suitable summary of this noteworthy event.

First, let me say that as a city boy, and a humanities major, my understanding of life-support engineering principles was limited to what buttons to push or levers to pull to get through the day. But as life has unfolded, especially cottage life, I've slowly built a working knowledge of what to do if the buttons or levers don't work (that is, if the yellow pages are unavailable). But the sophisticated and mysterious operation of a septic system was still beyond my ken. So the fact that we had reached the point at the cottage where a new system was needed, held both trepidation (financial) and excitement (new learning) for me. 

It began simply. Two guys showed up in a pickup with some large diameter PVC pipe, some space-age plastic that looked like barrel halves, and a couple of shovels. That was it. No fancy machinery, no special protective gear, no yellow police tape. The older of the two guys asked where the old field was, and the two commenced to digging. By hand.

As it turned out, I was lucky. My tank (a very large concrete cube with two chambers) was fine. Indestructible might be a better word. Apparently the old concrete tanks hardly ever go bad. It was the drain field from the tank that had failed. I say field, which is slightly overstating the case. Because of the nature of the ground here on the shores of mighty Lake Huron, all the old field consisted of was sections of terra cotta pipe laid end to end, with no seals between sections. The pipe ran about 18-20 feet buried in sand, which fortunately serves as an excellent natural draining material. It had likely lain there undisturbed since the house was built in 1972. 

So, all my local sanitary engineers had to do was remove the old pipe (which was fully engorged with long, stringy tree roots), lay the new unified PVC drain pipe of equal length, cover it with the plastic barrel halves to create an air space to accommodate temporary overflows out of the tank, and rebury the whole structure back under the sand. The whole thing was done in less than three hours, and came with pretty much a lifetime guarantee (yes it was verbal, and no I got nothing in writing, not even a license plate number).

I must say, it's been about nine months since the work, and we've had several large crowds without any septic-related issues. So I'm optimistic we have a long term solution at what I would consider a bargain-basement price. Anyway here's a brief photo history of the job. First we have the engineers having dug out the old pipe and widened the trench for the new apparatus. Note the close watch Coco is keeping on the work. Digging in the yard usually falls within her jurisdiction. 

Here is a shot of the old pipe, flowing with compacted tree roots. Before this project, I always thought tree roots were the large, gnarly things I trip over while mowing the lawn. These things look like something out of a cheesy sci-fi movie - The Thing That Ate Wiser Times, or Attack of the Giant Brussels Sprouts.

Here we have the new plastic half-barrels that form the overflow chamber,

And the local engineers admiring the completed field just before burying their wizardry back within the ground for (hopefully) another 40 years. I'm amazed at how well 16th century engineering can work with 21st century materials.

July ended with a customary Burk family get together at the beach. Here are a couple of opening pics of first Uncle Matt getting reacquainted with the other two little kids in for the weekend, Leili and Cyrus.

And the reunited family sitting down to dinner. From left to right - yours truly, son-in-law Matt, daughter Christy, Nancy, daughter Cathy, granddaughter Leili, son Ted and grandson Cyrus.

August

August began with continuation of the family visit. Keynoting the visit this year was what I call Texas kayaking. Here's how it went. First a crew was picked. These two were first in line, so they got the gig.

Next, an appropriate craft was needed. This sleek beauty filled the bill - an LL Bean two-seater convertible ocean style kayak with detachable back rests and paddle straps on the side (no compass in the stock, unfortunately).

So we were ready to install the crew and launch. This proved a little tricky, but was successfully accomplished with the assistance of additional staff.

Finally, the adventure was off. Here are a couple of shots of the mission, including an unannounced visit by the Wiser Times shore patrol to check on progress and adherence to safety protocols. Note that the captain is using the "three kayakers-one paddle" technique, to avoid unwanted splash play from the forward cabin. The outing was considered a fine time by all.

Unfortunately, while the shore patrol was on their inspection tour, there was a little larceny on the beach. A popular green sand bucket came up missing. The Wiser Times security cams caught this shot of the thief in the act. We had a suspect in custody, but the charges were dropped.

  

Shortly after the kids' visit ended, I returned to Florida to hang out with my mother for a week. During that visit I was able to visit Baxterland, a stylish retreat on the northwest corner of my mother's property, frequented by my mother's Boston terrier - Baxter. Here's a shot of this new addition from the road, complete with custom signage. Note Baxter himself coming forward to see what the commotion was about.

And a second shot from the rear entrance, showing the guest accommodations. Baxter loved to monitor the traffic on Carnation Lane from his shady special place, and enjoy some quiet outside time.

I should note here that as of late January, Baxter is no longer with us, passing away just a few days from his 12th birthday. The loss was not unexpected, as poor Baxter had acquired a host of health issues in his later years. But he was my mother's best friend, and had been a source of great solace since my father died in May of 2014. Here is a picture of Baxter during happier times, patiently waiting his turn to rip open a present, Christmas, 2010.

On a brighter note, Lola has moved in with my mother. She is a four pound, six-month old pure-bred Chihuahua. She seems to be friendly, smart, cuddly and easy to train. I'll meet Lola next month during my next trip to Florida, after which I may have a more elaborate report. For now this recent pic of the new roommates will have to suffice.

One other event occurred in August last year that deserves mentioning - my 50th high school reunion. The reunion was so rewarding for me that I'll soon write a post about the whole experience, my role as a new reunion committee member, the old friends I have reconnected with already and others that I hope to reconnect with in the near future. Let me just say for the moment that it was great. We spent the weekend in Bay City where I grew up, had a tour of the newly-energized city, a visit to the refurbished and enlarged T. L. Handy High School (now one of the better-equipped middle schools you will ever see), a ride around the Saginaw Bay on a tall ship based in Bay City, and an excellent dinner and program with 179 of our nearly 500 surviving class members.

More to follow in that dedicated post, but for now let me share this group shot taken just before the formal reunion dinner. So to my fellow classmates I say "welcome to the blog". I'm the good looking guy in the light blue shirt.

That brings us to September, for which I will need to go to Part 4.

I have to say, looking at these good weather pictures has made life through dreary February a little more palatable. I'm already thinking about escaping the great indoors.

2015 Part 2

This post is a follow-on to the last one, continuing the review and comment on my journey through 2015. We pick things up in early spring.

May

May in the Burk household is traditionally what we refer to as Hell Month. This is that period where we dig out from winter, fire up the sprinkler and lawn care systems, plant flowers and generally tidy up the place for summer. This often includes a home improvement project or two (see previous post on Hell Month for a more detailed description of this annual ordeal).

2015 was no different. Most of the month was spent raking, scrubbing, sweeping, de-cluttering and resting up from it all (with the occasional backyard libation - someone's gotta make sure the Adirondacks, yard swing and hammock all still work). I also continued a tradition I started last year of spending a long weekend around Mothers Day in Florida with my mother. We hung out, watched '60s TV dramas, played a little cribbage and had a Mothers Day lunch at Hooters, one of my mother's favorite wing shacks (for you sons that don't know it, on Mothers Day mothers eat free at Hooters, at least in Tampa).

But the highlight of the month was definitely our annual spring picnic held the first Saturday after Memorial Day. It was our 35th, I think. As laid out in the Hell Month post referred to above, the picnic is the driving force of Hell Month. Our motivation for sprucing the joint up is that we invite all our friends over for a big do before we disappear to the cottage for the summer. Nancy and I have been blessed with a great group of long-standing friends that we are so happy to have. Getting them all together for a laid-back cookout once a year has been an idea that just never seems to get old. So I'd like to take this opportunity to introduce many of them, thanks to the photographic services of my Tech Team buddy Quinton.

First up is a familiar face to this blog - Jimmy Wyatt (also known as Hacker or Disk Man in our little circle). If I am the captain of the annual picnic, Jimmy is the quarterback. He has ably organized and performed the grilling services at the picnic since its infancy in the '80s. The man knows his way around a cheeseburger.

This next shot is of two other picnic "staff" members - my Bride Nancy, the czarina of all things Burk, and Quinton, the official photographer of the picnic and several other social events in our annual calendar. Nancy, of course is well known to you all. Quinton came to work with us on the IRS Research team 10 years ago or so and has become a good friend through our mutual interests in music, movies and many other avocations.

Here is the latest member of the picnic entertainment crew, Coco, our then fairly new-to-the-family Australian shepherd/chocolate lab mix. In this picture, Coco is performing her favorite trick which we call "won't anyone give a poor starving girl a little bite of anything that was once alive?" Even more impressive, this oft-seen trick was entirely self-taught. Despite her wanton begging, I must say that Coco is the first Burk dog in over a decade whose personality is suited to attendance at social gatherings.

Now that we've covered the staff, let's move on. Here's a typical shot of picnic goers in lounge chairs, quaffing cold ones - on the left, Brian Bauer, long standing Music Night friend and golfing buddy, with my son-in-law Matt Kuhlman.

Here we have a shot of two other long-standing picnic attendees, Taryn Kim (nee Dyle) and her father Dave Dyle. I could say a number of things about these two, as we have been close friends with the family for over 30 years. But let me just note that among their many talents and interests, they are both dyed-in-the-wool car people, she a designer and he an engineer. One of their past favorite activities was to cruise the neighborhood on trash night looking for some castoff treasure they could again make useful and stylish. 

Here's a shot of me with two old friends, Bill Boltrick on the left and Pat Rouan on the right. We're deep in discussion of a weighty matter. As I recall, the issue was whether or not at our next Spinners golf tournament (see previous post The Spinner), we should just accept reality and move to the yellow senior tees. Can't remember what was decided.

Here is Taryn again with her new husband of a few months, Sam Kim. Sam is also a car guy - a clay modeler I believe. Sam is also into family, music and golf and has fit right in with our larger crowd quite nicely.

Here are two other long-time attendees (and former staff) - daughters Christine,

and Cathy.

When they were in residence, the girls contributed a number of cleaning chores in preparation for picnic day. Cathy was also traditionally responsible for procuring the seven bags of ice needed for the event, a job she still undertakes to this day, along with picking up a few of the designer beers so popular with the 20 and 30 somethings today.

A fixture at our picnics, known for her excellent baked beans as well as her outgoing personality, is Robyn Mullinger (Dyle), bride of Dave and mother of Taryn. Here's a shot of Robyn (on the right), enjoying a glass of white wine and chatting with Linda Mathews (bride of Pat). 

.

One of Linda and Pat's contributions to the Burk family was their assistance with our move to 651 Vernier during Labor Day weekend of 1986. Two weeks after that, we helped them move into their current home in Beverly Hills. Seems like only 30 years ago.

This shot is of Laura Forest, another 25 year plus friend with Dave. Laura, bride of Brian, once received one of the highest compliments I ever heard one of my children pay. It was from Cathy who said somewhere around age 12 or 13, "Laura speaks great kid." 

Next up is another shot of Nancy with daughter Cathy's mother-in-law Kit Kuhlman. Kit and her husband Paul have made the trip down from Owosso the last couple of years to join us for the picnic. We hope they continue the tradition.

This is a typical shot of life at the annual picnic - a multi-generational group gathered around the great room bar engaged in pithy discussion. My guess is that Brian (in the center facing the camera), is holding forth on the finer points of wedge play.

This shot is of the Villeneuve family, good friends, former work associates, and actually fairly close neighbors - father Joe, his bride Lydia and their son Michael. 

Here's a pic of Michael in one of his favorite picnic activities, quietly stepping away to the basement rec room to catch up on a little reading (Harry Potter, I think). I believe Michael has held the honor the last few picnics of being the youngest attendee.

 

Below is a former holder of the youngest attendee status in earlier picnics, Justin Reinhart, son of Jeff and Deandra (shown a little further on). Justin was a part of what we used to call the Nintendo64 gang, the kids that after a hotdog and few cookies would find their way down to the big screen TV in the rec room to match Mario Kart and Wave Runner skills.

Here's another shot of Justin embarking on one of his current picnic interests, having graduated from the Nintendo64 gang and acquired full rec room game privileges.

Another typical gathering spot at the picnic (especially when it rains) is around the game and pool tables in the basement rec room (also referred to in past posts as "The Lab"). Here is a shot of just such a moment with Bill and Jim in the foreground and Steve Ristagno in the background waxing philosophic with his bride Vicki (to Steve's left with her back facing the camera), Joe (to Steve's right partially hidden behind Bill) and Laura (far left in the picture). It's a very heady location, being not only the home of this blog but headquarters for the Music Night tech team you've heard tell about (I should note here that the usual admission fee for touring The Lab is waived on picnic day).

The picnic also affords opportunities to sit back and catch up privately with family and friends, as depicted here, with son-in-law Matt having a chat over a cold one with dad Paul. 

And in this shot of daughter Cathy hanging with longtime family friend Linda Crandall.

Here are a few more pics from the 2015 picnic to wrap up my May. First Jim and Pat sharing a humorous moment with Nancy Boltrick (bride of Bill) looking on.

Brian, Jeff Reinhart (Justin's dad), myself and Bill enjoying a "boys" moment out on the driveway basketball court.

Me playing go-fer to Jim in the heat of barbecuing.

Jeff and Deandra Reinhart (the closest of friends - those who will provide a home for your dog for an extended period of time :-) chatting with (backs to camera) daughter Miranda and Brian.

Brian, Dave, Deandra and Jeff again gathered at the bar with Laura on the left (back to camera) and Miranda on the right (facing away).

And one last shot of another regular picnic attendee.

This little fellow (or one of his kin) nests annually in this birdhouse which hangs on the corner of the garage over the deck. We watch every year as the chickadee parents nest, lay their eggs and nurse their offspring to independence. Some years, we've actually seen the little ones get pushed out of the nest on picnic weekend. This year, the chicks took wing just a few days after.

That does it for May. With the picnic over, we were ready to move on to cottage season.

June

In earlier posts, I've talked about the rural joys of leaf burning - crisp, November days at the lake with the new season's crop of leathery oak leaves neatly raked to the driveway and roasted to perfection. Lounging with friends around the flames, enjoying that distinctive aroma of fall, and maybe a cocktail or two. Well, when it rains in November, fall's wispy wonder becomes spring's "one more thing". This is how June started.

Ah, well. Can't fight nature. I'm sure Coco agrees. While I was smoking my wardrobe, she was launching a new season of digging to China - her favorite cottage activity in any season.

Once the yard was reclaimed, I took a short break from the spring clean up chores to renew another fun tradition - Music Night tech day at the lake. Here's a couple of pics of the full team (Quinton and I in the foreground weighing cover art options, Jim and Christy around the futon discussing disk production). The collections in process were our latest at the time For the Birds and the remastered Astronomy from 1994. Note our new Wiser Times tech venue - the newly completed loft in the "barn". 

When the music fun was over, Nancy and I returned to a few other spring fix up projects. The most elaborate was to finish off the new second shower that we had recently installed. Here are a couple of before-pics of the area. Less than inviting.

Here are a some of action shots of the shower redo, first Nancy working away prepping the walls for painting, 

And yours truly cobbling together a fashionable screen to hide the attractive water heater that graces the shower area.

And a couple of shots of the finished product, complete with a new platform made of fancy decking material. 

Unfortunately, this was not quite everything on our fix-it list this year. There was the the old kids bench from Ipperwash that needed refurbishment for use by adults, before -

During surgery - 

And ready for action, including a new heavy-duty middle leg (pre-paint shop).

Then there was the swollen door jamb to the laundry room (read new deluxe shower) that wouldn't close - pre,

In flight, 

And fully restored, including a new sill.

Rounding out the month's chores were some new home made drapes for the loft,

And installation of a new stone walkway from the back door of the cottage to the foot of the loft stairs.

Coco was a great help during our month of toil and tools, by keeping out of the way and secretly hiding out in one of her favorite new perches, keeping on eye on the birds, squirrels, chipmunks and bunnies for us. 

Well, this takes us to the end of June. And time to wrap up this post. Looks like I'll have to move on to the "now we can play" portion of 2015 in a Part 3.

I'm enjoying reviewing last year even more than I thought I would. I hope there was at least one or two things in here that helped you crack a smile.