The storytelling season is here, this winter we combine The Manitous by Basil Johnston, Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut, and Helplessness Blues by Fleet Foxes, as we measure snow and appreciate the quiet darkness.
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Episode Transcript
[0:00:00 – 0:00:15] AdamSnowLog: western europeans took it for granted that aboriginal people being of simple heart and mind believed in the presence of little spirits in rocks trees groves and waterfalls much as the primitive peoples of europe believed in goblins trolls and leprechauns
[0:00:16 – 0:00:21] AdamSnowLog: Men and women who addressed the Manitous were believed to worship spirits, idols.
[0:00:22 – 0:00:32] AdamSnowLog: But most Aboriginal people understood their respective languages well enough to know from the context the precise sense and meaning intended by the word Manitou or any of its other derivatives.
[0:00:33 – 0:00:44] AdamSnowLog: Depending on the context, they knew that in addition to spirit, the term also meant property, essence, transcendental, mystical, muse, patron, and divine.
[0:00:46 – 0:00:53] AdamSnowLog: Therefore, when the Anishinaabe people predicated the term Manitou of God, they added the prefix K’ichi, meaning great.
[0:00:54 – 0:01:03] AdamSnowLog: By this term they meant the great mystery of the supernatural order, one beyond human grasp, beyond words, neither male nor female, not of the flesh.
[0:01:05 – 0:01:12] AdamSnowLog: As a being of the supernatural, transcendental order, K’ichi Manitou cannot be known or described in human, corporeal terms.
[0:01:13 – 0:01:18] AdamSnowLog: What little is known of K’ichi Manitou is known through the universe, the cosmos, and the world.
[0:01:20 – 0:01:25] AdamSnowLog: K’ichi Manitou is the creator of all things, all beings, including Manitous.
[0:01:28 – 0:01:31] AdamSnowLog: When the Western Europeans arrived on this continent and met the natives,
[0:01:32 – 0:01:39] AdamSnowLog: They at once believed them to be heathens who, without a true religion, were in need of Christianity and civilized knowledge and technology.
[0:01:40 – 0:01:56] AdamSnowLog: In refusing a missionary’s invitation to renounce their beliefs and to espouse the beliefs contained in the Bible, Red Jacket, the celebrated Seneca orator, replied on behalf of his people, Kitchy Manitou has given us a different understanding.
[0:02:05 – 0:02:09] SPEAKER_02: Why in the night sky are the lights hung?
[0:02:11 – 0:02:14] SPEAKER_02: Why is the earth moving round the sun?
[0:02:16 – 0:02:21] SPEAKER_02: Floating in the vacuum with no purpose, not a one.
[0:02:22 – 0:02:25] SPEAKER_02: Why in the night sky are the lights hung?
[0:02:30 – 0:02:32] AdamSnowLog: Bonjour, heaver nuts.
[0:02:33 – 0:02:42] AdamSnowLog: My name is Francois Le Castor, coming to you live from the snow globe here on the beautiful North Shore of Lake Superior.
[0:02:44 – 0:02:50] AdamSnowLog: This is your first snow log entry for the year of 2026.
[0:02:51 – 0:02:56] AdamSnowLog: First snow log entry without dear Eric, who has departed.
[0:02:57 – 0:03:04] AdamSnowLog: and left us in his hot air balloon, and he sent me a message yesterday saying he saw a cow.
[0:03:09 – 0:03:16] AdamSnowLog: We open the show with a passage from The Manitous by Basil Johnson.
[0:03:17 – 0:03:20] AdamSnowLog: Shout out to Comrade James for the book.
[0:03:21 – 0:03:31] AdamSnowLog: I’ve started to dig into this one and I think it’s going to be a major feature of this winter’s snow logs and I’m really enjoying it so far.
[0:03:32 – 0:03:46] AdamSnowLog: I would like to say right up front that I was listening to the album of the year episode and I said when we pulled these books out of the bag of maple leaves that they were included with
[0:03:47 – 0:03:51] AdamSnowLog: the art supplies, I pulled them out of there and I said, oh, I don’t think I’ve ever seen this.
[0:03:54 – 0:03:56] AdamSnowLog: I’ve been thinking about that some more and I’m pretty sure it was wrong.
[0:03:56 – 0:03:58] AdamSnowLog: So fact checked on the fly immediately.
[0:03:59 – 0:04:03] AdamSnowLog: Natalie definitely had this book back in the day.
[0:04:03 – 0:04:09] AdamSnowLog: And furthermore, it’s definitely the first place I ever heard of the May Maguese.
[0:04:10 – 0:04:10] AdamSnowLog: The Little People.
[0:04:12 – 0:04:17] AdamSnowLog: And apparently she lent the book out to somebody years ago and never got it back.
[0:04:17 – 0:04:19] AdamSnowLog: You know, tale as old as time.
[0:04:20 – 0:04:31] AdamSnowLog: And I was looking for it, I guess I was looking for it a couple years ago even, trying to find that book, quote, that book with the May-Megueses in it, which turns out it was this one.
[0:04:33 – 0:04:36] AdamSnowLog: So yeah, Comrade James hooked us up with two copies.
[0:04:36 – 0:04:45] AdamSnowLog: I assume Eric’s got his up in the hot air balloon, so I’ll make sure to alert him via text message that I’m starting to read it.
[0:04:45 – 0:04:52] AdamSnowLog: Maybe I can get him to read it at the same time as me and give me some of his favorite stories and passages.
[0:04:52 – 0:04:56] AdamSnowLog: But yeah, we are definitely moving towards the storytelling season.
[0:04:57 – 0:05:00] AdamSnowLog: It’s January 11th, 2026.
[0:05:03 – 0:05:05] AdamSnowLog: And, you know, it’s kind of late.
[0:05:05 – 0:05:06] AdamSnowLog: The kids are in bed already.
[0:05:07 – 0:05:09] AdamSnowLog: It is currently snowing, I should say.
[0:05:10 – 0:05:11] AdamSnowLog: We got another half inch.
[0:05:11 – 0:05:15] AdamSnowLog: I just let Arrow out, and we got another half inch out on the steps.
[0:05:16 – 0:05:19] AdamSnowLog: So that must have come down while we were putting the kids to bed.
[0:05:19 – 0:05:19] AdamSnowLog: I don’t even know.
[0:05:20 – 0:05:22] AdamSnowLog: But it’s definitely still snowing just a little bit.
[0:05:24 – 0:05:31] AdamSnowLog: But, I don’t know, you know, it’s January now, so it’s not like the dark, dark, but it’s still getting dark at 5.
[0:05:32 – 0:05:33] AdamSnowLog: It’s dark by 5.
[0:05:34 – 0:05:38] AdamSnowLog: So, you know, you’re like getting done with dinner, you’re like, man, why am I so tired?
[0:05:39 – 0:05:40] AdamSnowLog: I slept in a little today.
[0:05:40 – 0:05:40] AdamSnowLog: Meh.
[0:05:42 – 0:05:44] AdamSnowLog: You know, it gets dark at 5.
[0:05:45 – 0:05:45] AdamSnowLog: It’s winter.
[0:05:45 – 0:05:46] AdamSnowLog: You’re not supposed to stay up late.
[0:05:48 – 0:05:49] AdamSnowLog: Not every night, at least.
[0:05:51 – 0:06:20] AdamSnowLog: um anyways we’re gonna keep uh i’m gonna try and do these snow logs every week because i got a lot of reading to do and i don’t know it’s the dark months and uh it’s fun to talk at the laptop here in the living room after everybody’s gone to bed and uh you know have a little uh storytelling with the tomo on me so um feel free to shoot me a message on the discord or on the subreddit um i don’t have access to the email
[0:06:21 – 0:06:24] AdamSnowLog: So try and stick to those two channels if you want to get a hold of me.
[0:06:26 – 0:06:28] AdamSnowLog: But if there’s anything you want to hear,
[0:06:28 – 0:06:39] AdamSnowLog: during these snog episodes that I’m not doing or any ideas you have for what I maybe should be tracking beyond the current spreadsheet I am holding in my hand right now.
[0:06:40 – 0:06:41] AdamSnowLog: Yeah, let me know.
[0:06:41 – 0:06:42] AdamSnowLog: I’m open to it.
[0:06:42 – 0:06:44] AdamSnowLog: I am not Coco Rise affiliated.
[0:06:44 – 0:06:45] AdamSnowLog: Everybody knows that.
[0:06:46 – 0:06:47] AdamSnowLog: Measuring snow is very difficult.
[0:06:48 – 0:06:52] AdamSnowLog: Measuring the darkness of winter is very difficult.
[0:06:54 – 0:06:57] AdamSnowLog: Tracking what is important is not easy.
[0:06:59 – 0:07:09] AdamSnowLog: That said, it’s been a while since the last snow log update that me and Eric gave you way back, I don’t know, before Christmas.
[0:07:10 – 0:07:18] AdamSnowLog: Since then, I think we left it with 11 inches of snow on the ground was the last update it looks like.
[0:07:19 – 0:07:28] AdamSnowLog: But, yeah, since the middle of December and now we’re into the 11th here of January, we’ve racked her up.
[0:07:29 – 0:07:32] AdamSnowLog: Hell, we got over a foot of snow in the last week here.
[0:07:32 – 0:07:34] AdamSnowLog: And now, like I said, it’s snowing again.
[0:07:34 – 0:07:37] AdamSnowLog: So we’re in a good pattern right now.
[0:07:38 – 0:07:42] AdamSnowLog: And the models both show that we’re going to continue to rack up snow over the next week here.
[0:07:42 – 0:07:45] AdamSnowLog: It’s supposed to get cold again, keep snowing.
[0:07:46 – 0:07:46] AdamSnowLog: Love it.
[0:07:48 – 0:07:58] AdamSnowLog: We are currently, like I said, we had, oh, 12, 30 inches.
[0:07:58 – 0:07:59] AdamSnowLog: Yeah, well, I left it at 11.
[0:08:00 – 0:08:01] AdamSnowLog: We’re over 30 now.
[0:08:01 – 0:08:05] AdamSnowLog: So we had 20 inches of snow since the last snow log update.
[0:08:06 – 0:08:07] AdamSnowLog: Yeah, 12 this week.
[0:08:07 – 0:08:10] AdamSnowLog: We’re up to 30 inches on the ground here.
[0:08:12 – 0:08:16] AdamSnowLog: At the tumble shed here at the house, which is pretty good.
[0:08:16 – 0:08:23] AdamSnowLog: So I stomped down the snowshoe trail out to the Cadence River this afternoon.
[0:08:23 – 0:08:30] AdamSnowLog: And yeah, roughly when you get to 30 inches, you know, over two feet of snow, then you can start thinking about going out there in the lumpy.
[0:08:31 – 0:08:34] AdamSnowLog: beaver pond grasslands that is the Cadence River out back.
[0:08:35 – 0:08:40] AdamSnowLog: That was some real high knees, even with the snowshoes on there trying to get through.
[0:08:40 – 0:08:44] AdamSnowLog: So, you know, it’s that time of winter.
[0:08:44 – 0:08:48] AdamSnowLog: You can start to really put in your, you know, your really good trails.
[0:08:49 – 0:08:52] AdamSnowLog: But I’m tracking two other things this year.
[0:08:52 – 0:08:54] AdamSnowLog: I want to be clear.
[0:08:54 – 0:09:00] AdamSnowLog: The snow, ski shore miles, which we’ll get to later in the show, and then
[0:09:01 – 0:09:05] AdamSnowLog: Last year I was too soft on the bird feeder with the squirrels.
[0:09:06 – 0:09:10] AdamSnowLog: These red squirrels, I mean, they’ll take advantage of you.
[0:09:10 – 0:09:22] AdamSnowLog: And I was too kind last winter, and the red squirrels just make a mess of everything, and they scare the birds off, and I don’t know, they’re just nasty little goblins.
[0:09:24 – 0:09:25] AdamSnowLog: So we got a new metric.
[0:09:25 – 0:09:28] AdamSnowLog: It’s called red squirrels deterred, and…
[0:09:30 – 0:09:31] AdamSnowLog: And cousin, we’re cooking.
[0:09:32 – 0:09:34] AdamSnowLog: We got five red squirrels deterred.
[0:09:35 – 0:09:36] AdamSnowLog: That was all before the New Year’s.
[0:09:37 – 0:09:43] AdamSnowLog: I’ve seen a couple of them out there, but I’ll tell you what, I think the program’s working because they’re out there, but they’re shy now.
[0:09:43 – 0:09:44] AdamSnowLog: They’re a little shy.
[0:09:45 – 0:09:50] AdamSnowLog: They might come in and grab some seeds off the ground, but I haven’t seen one up on the actual porch by the feeder.
[0:09:52 – 0:09:53] AdamSnowLog: Um…
[0:09:55 – 0:09:58] AdamSnowLog: I do have a couple bird updates.
[0:09:58 – 0:10:09] AdamSnowLog: For one, I was reading Betsy Bowen’s Antler Bear Canoe, which is, I mean, most of the kids’ books out there are like ABC counting books, you know, same crap.
[0:10:10 – 0:10:33] AdamSnowLog: betsy bones antler bear canoe is amongst the better of the alphabet books out there um and of course a is antler and she’s got a lovely wood cut showing an upturned moose antler that’s sitting out on the porch with a bunch of chickadees on it and i’m reading it and i’m like that’s a good idea because i got a little it’s a pretty good size feeder out there with like
[0:10:34 – 0:10:41] AdamSnowLog: double barreled suet feeder, um, with a big, you know, a big feeding arena.
[0:10:41 – 0:10:45] AdamSnowLog: It’s a cafeteria out there of black sunflower seed.
[0:10:49 – 0:10:51] AdamSnowLog: Anyways, and I just, um,
[0:10:52 – 0:11:05] AdamSnowLog: I just thought, you know, I got a couple moose antlers laying up in the tumble shed that are just, you know, it’s good decor up there, but I mean, let’s be honest, I’m not really enjoying the tumble shed all that much in the winter.
[0:11:05 – 0:11:10] AdamSnowLog: It kind of gets shut down, and it’s like these antlers are just sitting up there in the cold, dark shed.
[0:11:10 – 0:11:10] AdamSnowLog: It makes me sad, so…
[0:11:11 – 0:11:20] AdamSnowLog: I went and grabbed one of them and I took a big wood screw, a two and a half inch wood screw, and there’s a crack in the main part of the antler.
[0:11:20 – 0:11:25] AdamSnowLog: I just went out there and just screwed it straight into the railing on the porch next to the bird feeder.
[0:11:26 – 0:11:33] AdamSnowLog: So now I got the big bird feeder cafeteria, the double suit, and the big moose antler, which can hold a pretty good scoop of seed.
[0:11:35 – 0:11:37] AdamSnowLog: Um, yeah, it’s delightful.
[0:11:37 – 0:11:45] AdamSnowLog: Um, immediately, uh, improve the ambiance of the bird feeding station and it’s right in front of the big main window here by the wood stove.
[0:11:45 – 0:11:53] AdamSnowLog: So, I mean, you get up in the morning on a day off and you start the wood stove up and you watch the sunrise and you kind of start watching the birds coming in.
[0:11:54 – 0:11:55] AdamSnowLog: Incredible.
[0:11:55 – 0:12:04] AdamSnowLog: Um, it’s been a lot of fun and we’ve had a lot of Grosbeak, a lot of beautiful red Grosbeak, uh, this year.
[0:12:05 – 0:12:08] AdamSnowLog: And we had some last year, but it’s just been a really good year for Grosbeak.
[0:12:08 – 0:12:18] AdamSnowLog: But I was noting that, you know, plenty of chickadee, obviously, and you get blue jays and downy and hairy woodpeckers like crazy.
[0:12:19 – 0:12:22] AdamSnowLog: But I don’t know, I was thinking about it.
[0:12:22 – 0:12:23] AdamSnowLog: I was like, where the hell are them nuthatches?
[0:12:24 – 0:12:24] AdamSnowLog: Anybody know?
[0:12:25 – 0:12:26] AdamSnowLog: Where are these nuthatches at?
[0:12:27 – 0:12:29] AdamSnowLog: I hadn’t seen one all winter.
[0:12:30 – 0:12:37] AdamSnowLog: I did see finally like right on New Year’s Day, I think I saw the first red pole of the year.
[0:12:37 – 0:12:40] AdamSnowLog: So I don’t know, unusual, I’d say.
[0:12:40 – 0:12:45] AdamSnowLog: I don’t know if anybody knows who Shelly Anderson is.
[0:12:48 – 0:12:49] AdamSnowLog: She’s like a local bird guru.
[0:12:51 – 0:12:53] AdamSnowLog: And saw her in the co-op this week.
[0:12:53 – 0:12:55] AdamSnowLog: He was like, Shell, what the hell’s going on?
[0:12:55 – 0:12:56] AdamSnowLog: Where’s these nuthatches at?
[0:12:58 – 0:13:00] AdamSnowLog: And are boreal chickadees even a real thing?
[0:13:00 – 0:13:06] AdamSnowLog: You know, I’m just peppering her with bird questions every time I see her, which I’m told is great customer service.
[0:13:07 – 0:13:08] AdamSnowLog: I’m sure she loves it.
[0:13:09 – 0:13:10] AdamSnowLog: I don’t know, she does.
[0:13:10 – 0:13:11] AdamSnowLog: She always loves talking bird, you know.
[0:13:12 – 0:13:13] AdamSnowLog: And she’s like, yeah, I don’t know.
[0:13:14 – 0:13:15] AdamSnowLog: It’s been a while.
[0:13:15 – 0:13:17] AdamSnowLog: Like, there’s not been that many nuthatches.
[0:13:18 – 0:13:22] AdamSnowLog: But and as far as the boreal chickadee, you know, you just got to stick with it.
[0:13:22 – 0:13:25] AdamSnowLog: You know, it’s a it’s a hard bird to get on your life list.
[0:13:26 – 0:13:27] AdamSnowLog: Just keep your eyes peeled.
[0:13:27 – 0:13:28] AdamSnowLog: I was like, all right.
[0:13:29 – 0:13:31] AdamSnowLog: I went over to Bucks and immediately bought.
[0:13:32 – 0:13:35] AdamSnowLog: They got like cheap suet for like a buck ninety nine.
[0:13:36 – 0:13:37] AdamSnowLog: And so I went deluxe.
[0:13:37 – 0:13:39] AdamSnowLog: I went up to like the three dollar suet.
[0:13:39 – 0:13:40] AdamSnowLog: Holy moly, hot dog.
[0:13:40 – 0:13:42] AdamSnowLog: I got one called Lake.
[0:13:43 – 0:13:49] AdamSnowLog: One’s just called Berry Treat, which has a picture of a nuthatch on the cover.
[0:13:50 – 0:13:54] AdamSnowLog: And then I got another one called, like, Woodpecker Delight or something.
[0:13:55 – 0:13:56] AdamSnowLog: Woodpecker Surprise.
[0:13:57 – 0:14:00] AdamSnowLog: And that one had, like, nuts and berries in it, I think.
[0:14:00 – 0:14:03] AdamSnowLog: So I went real nice.
[0:14:03 – 0:14:04] AdamSnowLog: I got the $3 suet.
[0:14:04 – 0:14:05] AdamSnowLog: I put that out there.
[0:14:06 – 0:14:11] AdamSnowLog: So, yeah, sure enough, this morning I come out here and it’s like, I don’t know, I’m sorry, this is two mornings ago now.
[0:14:12 – 0:14:17] AdamSnowLog: I walk out here, and it’s like barely light outside, and I’m like, that’s a nuthatch.
[0:14:18 – 0:14:23] AdamSnowLog: I’m kind of like peering out the window, and I mean, I was unsure, but I was pretty sure that was a nuthatch.
[0:14:24 – 0:14:27] AdamSnowLog: And then as the day went on, like sure enough, that was a nuthatch.
[0:14:27 – 0:14:32] AdamSnowLog: He kept coming back, and he was definitely hitting up that berry treat and the woodpecker surprise.
[0:14:32 – 0:14:37] AdamSnowLog: So, I mean, good job on getting that suet going, I guess.
[0:14:40 – 0:14:42] AdamSnowLog: So that’s the bird feeder update.
[0:14:42 – 0:14:43] AdamSnowLog: I’ll keep giving you guys bird feeder updates.
[0:14:43 – 0:14:49] AdamSnowLog: I know everybody out there is thrilled with my life list and wanting to know what kind of birds we’re seeing out there.
[0:14:49 – 0:14:56] AdamSnowLog: But that’s not even the most exciting bird story of the week.
[0:14:56 – 0:15:00] AdamSnowLog: I played a little round of disc golf at the house here at the home course.
[0:15:00 – 0:15:01] AdamSnowLog: Not on New Year’s Day.
[0:15:02 – 0:15:04] AdamSnowLog: It was very cold and awful on New Year’s Day.
[0:15:05 – 0:15:07] AdamSnowLog: And it was so bad, I skipped, like, Lake Trout opener.
[0:15:08 – 0:15:09] AdamSnowLog: I’m not even messing around.
[0:15:09 – 0:15:11] AdamSnowLog: It was, like, 40 mile an hour winds and just, like, ass cold.
[0:15:12 – 0:15:14] AdamSnowLog: Like, no thanks.
[0:15:15 – 0:15:18] AdamSnowLog: But I did manage to play a little round of disc golf before.
[0:15:18 – 0:15:21] AdamSnowLog: We got the big snowfall.
[0:15:21 – 0:15:23] AdamSnowLog: We had, like, eight inches here on the fourth.
[0:15:23 – 0:15:24] AdamSnowLog: And so it was, like, the…
[0:15:25 – 0:15:28] AdamSnowLog: The day before that, I was like, knew that that snow was coming in overnight.
[0:15:29 – 0:15:32] AdamSnowLog: I’m like, I’m going to get out there and play around here before we get like real deep snow.
[0:15:33 – 0:15:36] AdamSnowLog: So I did play a little around here by myself and I shot pretty well.
[0:15:37 – 0:15:40] AdamSnowLog: All things considered, um, made all my putts at least.
[0:15:42 – 0:15:48] AdamSnowLog: Anyhow, on Wednesday, a friend of the show, Adrian, was like, we should get around in after work.
[0:15:49 – 0:15:55] AdamSnowLog: Because down on the shore, they’d also got snow, but it was still, he’s got a course over at his uncle’s place set up.
[0:15:55 – 0:16:00] AdamSnowLog: And it’s like, there’s still a lot of snow, but we could totally make it happen with the glow discs.
[0:16:01 – 0:16:08] AdamSnowLog: So we played a glow round, got out the laser box and all the LED lights and set everything up after work and then played around.
[0:16:09 – 0:16:13] AdamSnowLog: I played 18 holes over there, and I don’t know.
[0:16:15 – 0:16:20] AdamSnowLog: I think Beavers won, but Adrian and Beavers went to, like, a playoff.
[0:16:22 – 0:16:24] AdamSnowLog: Anyways, that’s not really important, is it?
[0:16:25 – 0:16:25] AdamSnowLog: It’s important.
[0:16:25 – 0:16:26] AdamSnowLog: We just had fun, you know.
[0:16:27 – 0:16:28] AdamSnowLog: I finished at even par.
[0:16:28 – 0:16:30] AdamSnowLog: I was just off the pace, but…
[0:16:32 – 0:16:33] AdamSnowLog: Pretty fun night out there.
[0:16:33 – 0:16:34] AdamSnowLog: It was like zero wind.
[0:16:34 – 0:16:37] AdamSnowLog: It was like 29 degrees after dark even.
[0:16:37 – 0:16:42] AdamSnowLog: I mean, perfect conditions for a night round of golf on the North Shore.
[0:16:42 – 0:16:45] AdamSnowLog: And first hole at Mink.
[0:16:46 – 0:16:49] AdamSnowLog: And I threw my hex.
[0:16:50 – 0:16:53] AdamSnowLog: I got a new glow hex when we went to the Preserve Tournament.
[0:16:54 – 0:16:58] AdamSnowLog: It’s like a blue particle glow hex.
[0:16:59 – 0:17:02] AdamSnowLog: It was the first round ever where I actually threw it at night.
[0:17:02 – 0:17:15] AdamSnowLog: threw it up the tee on one and you’re heading up the hill towards a big spruce tree i mean like big big and landed up there and i’m on the approach i get out the envy i got a
[0:17:17 – 0:17:24] AdamSnowLog: I don’t even know, I think Adrian gave me that envy, and it also is like a blue glow envy that I like to use.
[0:17:24 – 0:17:25] AdamSnowLog: Good approach disc.
[0:17:26 – 0:17:35] AdamSnowLog: And I throw it up there, and we’re all sitting there watching it, and there’s still enough light, it was almost dark, but like enough light where you could still see a little.
[0:17:36 – 0:17:40] AdamSnowLog: And this blue glowing frisbee is like flying up towards the basket.
[0:17:41 – 0:17:45] AdamSnowLog: And we all saw this huge owl come swooping down out of the spruce tree.
[0:17:46 – 0:18:03] AdamSnowLog: and takes a swipe at the disc and like it didn’t hit it but it got real close and the uh the disc lands and it’s like the the owl lands on the snow right next to the disc we’re all like holy shit did you guys see that
[0:18:05 – 0:18:07] AdamSnowLog: And so we’re, like, sort of walking up to it, like, I don’t know.
[0:18:08 – 0:18:09] AdamSnowLog: It was huge.
[0:18:09 – 0:18:13] AdamSnowLog: Like, we couldn’t, we could tell it was a big owl, but we couldn’t tell what kind of owl it was.
[0:18:14 – 0:18:19] AdamSnowLog: And it definitely took a swipe at this glowing frisbee, like, flying towards its territory or whatever.
[0:18:19 – 0:18:22] AdamSnowLog: And I was like, what the hell?
[0:18:22 – 0:18:23] AdamSnowLog: Honestly.
[0:18:25 – 0:18:31] AdamSnowLog: And we’re walking up to it, and it flies back up into the spruce tree, which is, like, right above where the basket is.
[0:18:31 – 0:18:34] AdamSnowLog: We’re like, great, now one of us is going to get, like, a talon to the neck
[0:18:37 – 0:18:50] AdamSnowLog: and we got there and i make the putt i got my par and i pick up the frisbee and no owl attacked us but like as uh as like adrian was hitting his putt in they like flew out the owl flew out of the spruce tree and was like
[0:18:54 – 0:18:57] AdamSnowLog: I’ve never heard a bird make a noise like this.
[0:18:58 – 0:18:59] AdamSnowLog: So we’re like, I don’t know.
[0:18:59 – 0:19:02] AdamSnowLog: We never saw the owl again the whole rest of the night.
[0:19:02 – 0:19:04] AdamSnowLog: We just had like nine holes set up.
[0:19:05 – 0:19:09] AdamSnowLog: So we played it through twice and owl was never seen nor heard from again.
[0:19:09 – 0:19:11] AdamSnowLog: I’m like, well, I don’t know.
[0:19:11 – 0:19:12] AdamSnowLog: That was crazy.
[0:19:12 – 0:19:14] AdamSnowLog: What kind of owl do you think it was?
[0:19:15 – 0:19:16] AdamSnowLog: None of us know.
[0:19:17 – 0:19:21] AdamSnowLog: But, yeah, when I was talking to Chelle in the co-op, then I told her what I just explained to you.
[0:19:21 – 0:19:22] AdamSnowLog: I gave her the whole story.
[0:19:22 – 0:19:26] AdamSnowLog: I held up the line at the checkout again, you know.
[0:19:27 – 0:19:28] AdamSnowLog: Remember what’s important here.
[0:19:29 – 0:19:34] AdamSnowLog: And she just goes, well, I mean, it was probably a bar double.
[0:19:35 – 0:19:38] AdamSnowLog: Most likely it’s a bar double based on the call.
[0:19:38 – 0:19:39] AdamSnowLog: Like, they have crazy calls.
[0:19:40 – 0:19:41] AdamSnowLog: They are territorial.
[0:19:42 – 0:19:47] AdamSnowLog: And it could be a great horned, but it’s far less likely.
[0:19:47 – 0:19:50] AdamSnowLog: And she’s like, one time a barred owl took my hat off.
[0:19:51 – 0:19:52] AdamSnowLog: I’m like, okay.
[0:19:52 – 0:19:57] AdamSnowLog: So our fears of getting the talons was not actually all that crazy.
[0:19:57 – 0:20:02] AdamSnowLog: We were kind of laughing about it like it was a joke, but apparently they’ll do that.
[0:20:03 – 0:20:10] AdamSnowLog: So anyways, yeah, we’re not 100% on that one, but we did get swooped by a barred owl this week as well, which was pretty cool.
[0:20:14 – 0:20:20] AdamSnowLog: Programming note, I think I put something about this on the Discord this week, homies.
[0:20:20 – 0:20:29] AdamSnowLog: But after the music episode ended, which was epic, which is where we got the book, The Manitou’s,
[0:20:33 – 0:20:43] AdamSnowLog: I went and double-checked, because I moved all the art supplies that are still left into the little heated room in the garage that we got up there, so they don’t freeze, obviously.
[0:20:43 – 0:20:45] AdamSnowLog: And I went and looked.
[0:20:45 – 0:20:51] AdamSnowLog: I was grabbing something else out of there, and there are three remaining art supply parcels still on hand.
[0:20:52 – 0:20:54] AdamSnowLog: And even though I’m going to be recording all winter,
[0:20:56 – 0:20:57] AdamSnowLog: I’m going to save them until Eric gets back.
[0:20:58 – 0:21:03] AdamSnowLog: So if anybody out there has donated art supplies and is wondering, when is mine getting on?
[0:21:04 – 0:21:08] AdamSnowLog: Well, we have them all accounted for on the whiteboard, and we have a pretty good system now.
[0:21:08 – 0:21:14] AdamSnowLog: So if you’re one of the three people wondering out there, when is mine going to be on?
[0:21:14 – 0:21:16] AdamSnowLog: It’ll be on soon.
[0:21:16 – 0:21:18] AdamSnowLog: Your three will be the first up in the spring.
[0:21:19 – 0:21:21] AdamSnowLog: I just didn’t want anybody out there wondering what happened.
[0:21:22 – 0:21:34] AdamSnowLog: And also, just wanted to say, you know, we’ve adjusted our systems and we will not be forgetting any art supplies or losing them or, God forbid, leaving them out in their shed and letting them get frozen solid.
[0:21:34 – 0:21:35] AdamSnowLog: That would be horrible.
[0:21:36 – 0:21:37] AdamSnowLog: So, no worries.
[0:21:38 – 0:21:39] AdamSnowLog: Ocean waves, homies.
[0:21:39 – 0:21:39] AdamSnowLog: Ocean waves.
[0:21:40 – 0:21:41] AdamSnowLog: Ocean waves.
[0:21:43 – 0:21:48] AdamSnowLog: Uh, Skijoripor, brought to you by Arrow, the Bork Ranger.
[0:21:48 – 0:21:49] AdamSnowLog: Bork, bork.
[0:21:51 – 0:21:58] AdamSnowLog: We did get out and actually ski jour today for the first official ski jour of the season.
[0:21:59 – 0:22:05] AdamSnowLog: Like I said, we got eight inches on the fourth and then another four inches yesterday or, you know, two nights ago now.
[0:22:06 – 0:22:13] AdamSnowLog: So like we had real good base down and then we got that like perfect three to four inches of fresh powder on top.
[0:22:14 – 0:22:19] AdamSnowLog: And I mean, that’s just perfect for the home trails because they are a little narrow and there’s trees right there.
[0:22:21 – 0:22:28] AdamSnowLog: It’s appreciated because even at eight years old, aero, rhubarb is still very fast.
[0:22:28 – 0:22:32] AdamSnowLog: And especially pulling it downhill if you’re on an icy track, it can get dangerous.
[0:22:32 – 0:22:35] AdamSnowLog: So it’s really nice to be able to go out after some fresh snow.
[0:22:36 – 0:22:44] AdamSnowLog: It just gives you a little bit extra to help with your cornering and speed check if you need any.
[0:22:45 – 0:22:49] AdamSnowLog: Stick the ski out a little sideways and it’s really easy to control your speed.
[0:22:50 – 0:22:53] AdamSnowLog: Especially going downhill so excellent excellent conditions out there.
[0:22:53 – 0:22:56] SPEAKER_02: I mean the trails are mint and
[0:22:57 – 0:23:03] AdamSnowLog: So we took it out past the beaver pond and a little bit farther up to the north and west.
[0:23:03 – 0:23:06] AdamSnowLog: And there’s kind of a hill out there you get to the top of.
[0:23:07 – 0:23:10] AdamSnowLog: That’s a good spot just for what we’re looking for today.
[0:23:10 – 0:23:15] AdamSnowLog: Like get out there, take a little break at the top of the hill, turn it around and then like glide it back home.
[0:23:15 – 0:23:19] AdamSnowLog: So I put a couple of pictures up on the Discord and like a video of just…
[0:23:20 – 0:23:26] AdamSnowLog: The pure joy that is breaking trail through like the maple and ash and poplar forest just north of here.
[0:23:27 – 0:23:28] AdamSnowLog: It’s a beautiful area.
[0:23:29 – 0:23:31] AdamSnowLog: And just anytime you’re out there, like first one’s out.
[0:23:31 – 0:23:38] AdamSnowLog: I thought for sure somebody else was going to have gobbled up that fresh powder, but nobody beat us to it.
[0:23:39 – 0:23:43] AdamSnowLog: The trail had been not touched, and it was just perfect.
[0:23:44 – 0:23:45] AdamSnowLog: Very little wind out there.
[0:23:45 – 0:23:52] AdamSnowLog: It was just a gorgeous afternoon to be out on the home trails with my best pup, Arrow.
[0:23:53 – 0:23:54] AdamSnowLog: We’ll track that, too.
[0:23:55 – 0:24:00] AdamSnowLog: Put three miles on the board today, three miles total on the logbook for this winter, so…
[0:24:02 – 0:24:03] AdamSnowLog: Yeah, she did great.
[0:24:03 – 0:24:10] AdamSnowLog: I mean, her middle name is Rebar, but her middle name might as well be 5 miles an hour because it doesn’t matter if we’re breaking trail or on fresh trail or whatever.
[0:24:12 – 0:24:15] AdamSnowLog: She’s just steady, 5 miles an hour, no problem, dragging my butt up the hills.
[0:24:17 – 0:24:18] AdamSnowLog: I felt pretty good on the skis.
[0:24:19 – 0:24:25] AdamSnowLog: We did do like a pretty long like snowshoe in which I was like dragging Pike in the sled up big hills.
[0:24:26 – 0:24:28] AdamSnowLog: Also breaking trail yesterday.
[0:24:28 – 0:24:33] AdamSnowLog: So like my, I didn’t know what I was going to have on the legs, but it actually felt pretty good actually.
[0:24:33 – 0:24:40] AdamSnowLog: And I’m sitting here now having a cold one, talking with y’all, telling stories.
[0:24:40 – 0:24:42] AdamSnowLog: You know, it’s been a pretty good weekend.
[0:24:43 – 0:24:45] AdamSnowLog: Winter wonderland up here for real.
[0:24:47 – 0:24:53] AdamSnowLog: I got one more item on the agenda for tonight and then a final passage I want to get to on the books.
[0:24:55 – 0:24:59] AdamSnowLog: I was out, like I said, yesterday in the field with the derelict attorney.
[0:24:59 – 0:25:01] AdamSnowLog: He had his dogs out on their sled.
[0:25:02 – 0:25:07] AdamSnowLog: And we managed to find our way out to a nice little walleye lake and we did catch a walleye.
[0:25:08 – 0:25:12] AdamSnowLog: It was like 12 inches ice, plenty of snow.
[0:25:12 – 0:25:13] AdamSnowLog: Good trail in there.
[0:25:15 – 0:25:17] AdamSnowLog: And anyways, I think this is clear.
[0:25:20 – 0:25:26] AdamSnowLog: But if not, the derelict attorney of Tomahome is also the checkpoint coordinator for Sawbill.
[0:25:28 – 0:25:36] AdamSnowLog: During the bear grease and so we were definitely talking bear grease a little bit and only like three weeks out And three weeks from today, they’ll be on the trail, which is nuts.
[0:25:37 – 0:25:56] AdamSnowLog: It’s coming up on us fast and we’re talking about saw bill and I might be helping out down at Skyport this year with my other buddy and You know pronto and Tuesday and it sounds like there might be some Tomahomies looking to camp up there for the weekend which would be killer and
[0:25:57 – 0:25:58] AdamSnowLog: it sounds like it’s going to happen.
[0:25:59 – 0:26:01] AdamSnowLog: Um, so yeah, I took some time off of work.
[0:26:01 – 0:26:03] AdamSnowLog: I’m like ready for the race.
[0:26:04 – 0:26:11] AdamSnowLog: Um, but yeah, he was telling me that they are still, I think they’re still looking for volunteers for sure.
[0:26:12 – 0:26:13] AdamSnowLog: Um, they need road crossing help.
[0:26:14 – 0:26:18] AdamSnowLog: Um, so I can get you in touch with him if anybody’s interested.
[0:26:19 – 0:26:25] AdamSnowLog: Um, anybody’s going to be up here that isn’t like already like have kind of plans for where they’re going to be watching the race.
[0:26:30 – 0:26:36] AdamSnowLog: I’m always in communication with Buddy, especially these weeks leading up to the big race up here.
[0:26:37 – 0:26:38] AdamSnowLog: The conditions are great.
[0:26:38 – 0:26:41] AdamSnowLog: There’s zero worry about this race being postponed at this point.
[0:26:41 – 0:26:42] AdamSnowLog: Should be the full route.
[0:26:42 – 0:26:45] AdamSnowLog: There’s good snow from the Twin Ports all the way up to Grand Portage.
[0:26:46 – 0:26:49] AdamSnowLog: Inland, right on the lake, it’s all good right now.
[0:26:49 – 0:26:50] AdamSnowLog: So this race is going to happen.
[0:26:51 – 0:26:52] AdamSnowLog: We’ve got a good field.
[0:26:53 – 0:26:59] AdamSnowLog: I’m kind of limited in what I can do with helping out with the other checkpoints and then making sure I get to Pronto by Tuesday morning.
[0:26:59 – 0:27:13] AdamSnowLog: But if anybody else is up here and looking for some way to get involved in the race and you get to see the athletes real close, work in any of those posts, you don’t necessarily got to be handling dogs.
[0:27:13 – 0:27:14] AdamSnowLog: Road crossing duty is easy.
[0:27:15 – 0:27:21] AdamSnowLog: hang out by a bonfire and watch the teams go by and, you know, it’s a real fun time.
[0:27:22 – 0:27:34] AdamSnowLog: Anyways, I can put you in touch with the derelict attorney or you can go on their website, I think, and just fill out a volunteer form and they’ll probably be in touch real quick because it sounds like they do need a lot of help.
[0:27:35 – 0:27:40] AdamSnowLog: And thankfully, they kicked those mining scumbags off the sponsorship roster, so…
[0:27:41 – 0:27:43] AdamSnowLog: We’re back to having somewhat of a pure race, hopefully.
[0:27:45 – 0:27:47] AdamSnowLog: So yeah, it’s coming up.
[0:27:47 – 0:27:51] AdamSnowLog: And also, if anybody’s going to be in the neighborhood on Tuesday, come on out to Pronto.
[0:27:52 – 0:27:58] AdamSnowLog: It sounds like we’re going to have a pretty good crew out there and be cooking up a lot of corn dogs.
[0:27:58 – 0:28:01] AdamSnowLog: But we’ve got some weeks to worry about that.
[0:28:01 – 0:28:03] AdamSnowLog: But just planting the seed out there.
[0:28:04 – 0:28:09] AdamSnowLog: If anybody is thinking about coming up for the race, this should be a good one.
[0:28:11 – 0:28:18] AdamSnowLog: I think that’s a good spot to leave it for this week’s agenda for this snow log.
[0:28:19 – 0:28:22] AdamSnowLog: Again, we do have the featured books this winter.
[0:28:22 – 0:28:24] AdamSnowLog: We’re going to have two of them, it turns out.
[0:28:24 – 0:28:26] AdamSnowLog: We got Manitou’s by Basil Johnston.
[0:28:28 – 0:28:31] AdamSnowLog: Thank you to Comrade James for the copies.
[0:28:32 – 0:28:37] AdamSnowLog: And I’m looking forward to reading through the supernatural world of the Ojibwe this winter.
[0:28:38 – 0:28:44] AdamSnowLog: And like I said, we used to have a copy, and I’ve only read snippets, so I’m excited to read through the book from start to finish.
[0:28:44 – 0:28:52] AdamSnowLog: And we’ll likely be opening all these snow hogs with passages from the Manitou’s.
[0:28:54 – 0:28:54] AdamSnowLog: And…
[0:28:56 – 0:29:05] AdamSnowLog: I also was given a copy of Cat’s Cradle by Vonnegut, and it seems like a pretty good blend to couple with the Manitou’s.
[0:29:06 – 0:29:08] AdamSnowLog: I had started it and then sort of set it down.
[0:29:08 – 0:29:17] AdamSnowLog: I mean, I’ve obviously read Cat’s Cradle before, but it’s been a while.
[0:29:17 – 0:29:18] AdamSnowLog: I don’t know.
[0:29:18 – 0:29:22] AdamSnowLog: I decided I’m going to just start this one over from the beginning, too.
[0:29:22 – 0:29:25] AdamSnowLog: I’m going to read these books in tandem this winter.
[0:29:27 – 0:29:33] AdamSnowLog: So I just wanted to read a little passage out of there, and then I think that’ll be a good place to leave it for the evening.
[0:29:36 – 0:29:45] AdamSnowLog: If you find your life tangled up with somebody else’s life for no very logical reasons, writes Bokunan, that person may be a member of your carass.
[0:29:47 – 0:29:54] AdamSnowLog: At another point in the books of Bokunan, he tells us, man created the checkerboard, God created the carass.
[0:29:55 – 0:30:01] AdamSnowLog: By that, he means a crass ignores national, institutional, occupational, familial, and class boundaries.
[0:30:03 – 0:30:04] AdamSnowLog: It is as freeform as an amoeba.
[0:30:05 – 0:30:10] AdamSnowLog: In his 53rd Calypso, Boakonon invites us to sing along with him.
[0:30:12 – 0:30:24] AdamSnowLog: Oh, a sleeping drunkard up in Central Park and a lion hunter in the jungle dark and a Chinese dentist and a British queen all fit together in the same machine.
[0:30:25 – 0:30:41] AdamSnowLog: Nice, nice, very nice Nice, nice, very nice Nice, nice, very nice So many different people in the same device
[0:30:47 – 0:30:49] AdamSnowLog: Thanks for being here tonight evening.
[0:30:50 – 0:30:57] AdamSnowLog: Thanks for being here tonight evening, sharing this beautiful snowy evening with me, Tumble Homies.
[0:30:59 – 0:31:00] AdamSnowLog: Looking forward to another great winter.
[0:31:01 – 0:31:06] AdamSnowLog: As we always say on Snow Log, snow takes many forms.
