Indeed the port city of Duluth is experiencing gale force winds, rain and fog, not unlike the weather that sunk the Edmund Fitzgerald in 1975. It was sung about by Gordon Lightfoot who just recently performed in Duluth and will be commemorated at Split Rock Lighthouse in a special two day event November 10 and 11. The lighthouse will be open from noon to 6pm with a dramatic tolling of the bells to remember the crew members who perished and the once a year lighting of the beacon. The Minnesota Historical Society website (www.mnhs.org) has more info.

Surprisingly, fall leaf colors and beautiful roses at the Leif Erickson Park Rose Gardens are still with us as we have not experienced a killing frost yet. One thing we know about the weather in Duluth is that it can change very quickly. We'll have more nice fall days yet!

Indoor activities and events abound and coming up on the music scene is the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra concert featuring soprano Christine Goerke. The date and time is October 27th at 8:00pm. I missed out on playing for Big Bad VooDoo Daddy last weekend as I was out of town taking Jonathan on college visits and helping my parents sort and pack up 50+ years of accumulated stuff in preparation for their upcoming move to Duluth. Oh my! Definitely a lesson to be learned here. Meanwhile, our son had a great time staying on the college campuses, eating the gourmet food and staying up til all hours. Of course, he's been up til all hours since he got home trying to catch up on school work so he can get into those wonderful colleges!

That's all for now from the good life in Duluth.

Joan and Jim

Fall leaves, bird migrations, anniversaries and intermittent beautiful weather continues to attract folks to Duluth and the B&B. We've been busier than ever, but managed a 2-hour hike on the beautiful sand beaches of Park Point yesterday as the temperatures reached 70 degrees. Our golden retrievers, Sven and Ivy, were especially grateful as they exuberantly fetched tennis balls from the lake.

Speaking of the dogs, they enjoyed their trip up to Hawk Ridge last week and befriended some nice hawk watchers from Illinois. We spent a pleasant hour in the warm sunshine keeping an eye for hawks and chatting, mostly about lodging. They apparently weren't terrifically thrilled with their accomodations at a local hotel. So, of course I mentioned that we happened to own a bed and breakfast inn and that they would be so much happier with us! We even cater to bird watchers with special take along breakfasts, birding guides and maps, and binoculars. Maybe we'll see them next year.

Opening night at the Symphony was a great success with a nearly full house of enthusiastic concert goers. Oddly enough it was the first time we on stage actually heard the audience singing the National Anthem, not because of louder singing but because of the improved acoustics. My feeling, along with fellow string players, was that the string sound was somewhat muffled. The professional acoustician claims that further adjustments need to be made and will probably continue throughout the year. Coming up next is a "swinging" pops concert with Big Bad VooDoo Daddy on October 13th. As I will be taking my son on college visits I'll be sitting this one out.

We continue to worry about the future of our high school senior son, Jonathan, as he was featured in his school newspaper this week. The article opened quoting him as saying in AP English class that he needed to get a job so he could raise money to start a squirrel ranch. Stay tuned.

That's all for now from the good life in Duluth.

Joan and Jim