Laboring on Labor Day
As we drove through the woods and approached the cabin we could see piles of rugs, mattresses, and pillows outside the cabin door. Eight cars were pulled up in front of the cabin. The partners were already hard at work on our annual fall cleaning.
Our daughter Catherine and I were soon assigned to wash all the windows inside and out. In deference to my age I worked on the inside and stayed off the ladder. John, Sue’s husband, used the ladder inside to clean the vertical skylight windows which let in so much light and let out, when opened, so much hot air.
Percy worked on the chainsaw gang. There are a lot of dead elms on the property and we need to replenish the winter’s wood supply. Talk about mosquitoes! That crew can all say, ”We gave blood at South Lake Cabin”. One of the chainsaw gang had the temerity to suggest that wood was only $45 a cord and how much actually were they getting an hour doing this hard work? One additional value could be that getting the dead wood out of the forest would cut down the possibility of forest fire spreading. Back inside the cabin, one of the cabin owners had already used a long brush to chase the dust and spiders from the supporting timbers. Allison, the inside crew chief, was down on her hands and knees mopping the floor with a solution of Murphy’s oil soap. Her teenage son Ben was outside beating the rugs and running the vacuum over the cushions and mattresses. The tub and fixtures in the bathroom had already been scrubbed and first aid supplies arranged in orderly fashion in the cupboard.
Sue, John’s wife, continued her battle with the bittersweet vines, which have spread through the woods. This is an introduced European variety, which winds around the tree trunks and eventually kills them. It resists weed killers and it is tough pulling up the roots, but we appear to be making some headway in a part of the woods. Sometimes it seems like a futile task because the birds eat the berries and distribute the seeds.
After about three hours of work we all took a break and went swimming, surely the last swim of the season. There has been much discussion for the past year about fixing the floating raft. It is listing badly to one side. It is supported by six forty-gallon plastic barrels, and one of them was discovered to have a leak in it.
Much discussion followed about how to remove the leaking barrel and replace it. Every one remembered well how much work it was to place those barrels under the raft as it was being constructed to begin with.
Finally we swam out to the raft towing the new barrel and another of the partners named John and Ben treaded water by the old leaking barrel and all of the rest of us stood on the opposite side, trying to jump at the same time. Miraculously they were able to pop the barrel out from under the raft. The new barrel loomed high in the water. After more jumping, John and Ben were able to force the barrel under the raft. Unfortunately it was about an inch too long for the space, and had to be popped back out. The consensus now is that the old barrel will have to be drained and patched. That might wait until spring since swimming season is about over and it might be Memorial Day weekend, 2001, when we have such a crowd to stand and bounce the raft.
We finished up every detail of the inside cleaning, and the chainsaw gang worked some more and decided that they had garnered enough wood for the present although more was needed. Every one chipped in for a potluck with Michael in charge of barbecuing chicken and pork chops. John, who helped with the barrels, had to leave because his wife, Gail, and he have recently adopted two children from Texas and they are ten months old and two years. They feel blessed although Gail feels she needs all the help she can get. “Who said that two children were easier than one? John asks.
Then came the time of mellow discussions, jokes, political remarks, talk about the philosophy of the latest wise man to attract a following in their circle and always talk about how to improve relationships between men and women, parents and children. I expect that the two men and the teenagers Ben and Brennan, were talking about the same things as they roasted marshmallows over the fire and made S’mores. The friends and owners of the cabin are wonderful substitute uncles and aunts for the owners’ children. The extended families of the owners live far away and they only see the children once or twice a year.
Some of the couples decided to return to their homes in Ann Arbor, but three couples, Michael, and the teenage boys slept in the cabin. Catherine’ s husband Ray came out late in the afternoon. He is still recovering from back surgery. Usually he is one of the most active participants. The next morning we had pancakes and coffee. There was more good conversation, and Catherine and Percy played several games of backgammon. A couple of loads of wood were carried up in the car but energy was clearly waning. Brennan, our grandson, had brought his guitar and played several songs. He had also brought a tape of his trio playing at a Jazz festival. It is hard to believe he is a high school senior this year.
The leaves of the walnuts drifted down as we worked and the maples across the lake are beginning to turn. The wistfulness that that accompanies autumn is in the air.
– Mary