Mountain Harbor and Julia part 2

As we drove back into Mountain Harbor on Thursday afternoon, our bright blue skies were hazy with smoke.

We were told the government was burning some areas on the other side of the lake and the smoke really cut off the sun. It also dropped the temperatures a bit, and brought the birds out in large numbers.

We had to start our dinner preparations a bit earlier than the day before because beef bourguignon takes 2 1/2 to 3 hours to braise in the oven.

We had a new kitchen in our upgraded cottage on the lake. Since all of us are cooks, we have extremely well-equipped kitchens at home, and I have more gadgets and tools than imaginable. So for us, a well-stocked kitchen means something totally different than it does to someone who is coming to spend some time fishing or skiing at the lake, but we managed.