The weekend

Well, were back from the frozen up north cabin. It was great weekend. One of the rare weekends where Denise and I get to spend time together at the cabin. I got to the cabin on Friday night. Denise had fried up some bluegill bites as a snack. They were really good. I had a couple of adult beverages and it was bedtime.

Saturday we got up and it was cold. I got up on the roof to shovel some of the snow off. The ice on the edge of the roof in places was about 10 inches thick. This would explain the leak in the utility room from the ice dam.After shoveling, Denise wanted to go to Tip Up Town up in Houghton Lake. So off we went. Tip up Town is an annual two weekend festival in Houghton Lake. It started years ago as an ice fishing tournament and over the years has grown into a major event with carnival rides, games and helicopter rides. One of the big attractions is the polar bear dip. A bunch of crazy people get into their favorite summer swimwear and dive, belly flop or cannon ball ino the frigid waters of Houghton Lake. There were probably three hundred people in line to take part in this event.

This is a pic of the rescue divers who check out the area for foreign objects or ice shards. There was also a paramedic team standing by.

This is a pic of the first participant getting ready to take the plunge. Her skin was bright red after standing in line in the single digit weather waiting for the event to begin.

Here is pic of me and Denise at Tip Up Town. Notice that we are dressed appropriately for the weather. Denise reminded me of Ralphie's little brother in the movie 'A Christmas Story'. We had a good time. Most of the fishing takes place farther down the lake. We would have taken more pics but the batteries died on the camera.

After leaving TIp Up Town we stopped at the crafts fair that is also part of Tip Up Town. Denise purchased some spices from a Mennonite woman then we headed back to our cabin for dinner and a nap. The events coordinator (Denise) got us tickets to a comedy show. The Irish Comedy Tour. They were three comedians who are Irish Americans and my gosh were they funny. I would tell some of their jokes but we do try to keep this blog family friendly.

Sunday, we slept in a little. It was -3 degrees outside. A good day to stay inside. I took some pics of some of our daily visitors.

A Pine Siskin, one of the 'winter' finches. We had some Common Redpolls, but too far away to get photo's.

One of the many squirrels that love Denise's suet feeders.

A Red-Bellied Woodpecker.

A male Downy Woodpecker on the no-no feeder.

This is a pic of the very rare orange and black chimney bird. OK , its just me cleaning the chimney flue. The chimney is nice and clean now. After this we headed home.

Hope all of you had a great weekend. Take care.

Bill