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43 years ago yesterday I attended an auction on the Gust and Agnes Olson farm located on the north shore of Cedar Lake west of Upsala. I ended up as the high bidder on an old farmstead on the lake. The trick to winning at an auction is to never hesitate. When it is your turn, simply nod your head. I didn’t even have the required $3,000 cashier’s check, but the banker was a good friend of the family and he allowed me to bid with the promise that I would go to town afterward and get the money. My god-father took me on a walk around the property after the auction was over and I remember stopping at one fence line only to find out that there was another 400 feet beyond that fence included in the deal. We had no clue how we were going to pay for it, but it turned out that my brother-in-law was ready to retire and he was willing to move back to Minnesota from California and become a partner in the deal. Needless to say it had a profound effect on our lives. We were able to enjoy “going to the lake” for many years. I still love the sound of a slamming screen door. If you ever get the chance to own a cabin, go for it.

The new owners have torn down the old barn and are putting up a new one. Bill kept hitting his head on the low ceiling just as I had. He rescued some artwork from the barn that he figured was created by one of my children. The one with Charlie Brown and Snoopy was used as a hiding place for a key to the cabin. I was happy to have them back. I have been invited to stop by and see the progress on the new barn and I am looking forward to seeing the old place.

The APHC show this week is a rebroadcast of a show which first aired on October 2, 2004 from The Fitzgerald Theater in downtown St. Paul. This week’s guests include singer, songwriter and guitarist Mark Knopfler. Blues singer Geoff Muldaur performs “The Whale Swallowed Jonah”. Accordionist Dan Newton sits in with the Guy’s All-Star Shoe Band. In Lake Wobegon, the host wades into frigid water to help Uncle Dean and Aunt Evelyn bring the dock in. Enjoy the show.

The Outdoor Report TV show tomorrow is about the elk herd in Minnesota. Enjoy that show also. The show airs on Fox Sports North and Fox Sports Wisconsin at 8:30 am.

“Closing the Cabin” by Thom Tammaro
In the yawn of dusk,
We drift home in Minnesota autumn,
Reciting the litany once more:
Dock in; boathouse latched;
Rugs rolled; plugs pulled;
Windows hinged; floors swept;
Pilots out; pipes drained;
Faucets opened; doors locked;
Hummingbird feeder taken down;
Key hanging in its secret place.

In the flicker of lights near the city’s edge
We talk easily, gather within
All that the summer has given:
A great fish, slender and shiny,
Diving for bottom; loons calling
In the still afternoon;
Stars swirling above the rooftops.
Near home, vees of geese circle,
Circle in the shadows above us.
Later that night, we pause
On the stairs — winterward —
Unlock that other season
Where little puffs of winter dust
Rise when we open the door. “Closing the Cabin” by Thom Tammaro, from Closing the Cabin. © Stellar Press, 1989. Reprinted on Writer’s Almanac with permission