Here at Leech Lake, the temperature at 10:00 a.m. was 60 degrees, the sky was partly cloudy, and the wind is extremely strong at 30-40 mph out of the SW. In fact, I had to go out to the end of the dock and lower the US and Australian flags because I was afraid the with the high winds the flag pole might actually snap! White caps roll across the lake, and with the water level as high as it is, waves are hitting the dock and coming up onto it.
At about 11:00 a.m. Rick and I drove into Bemidji to run a host of errands. I needed to settle up with Norton's Heating for the new furnace they put in back in February, I needed to pick up a few items (such as a cable jack and some chain saw bar oil) and groceries. We also stopped at Froggy's Sports in Cass Lake for fatheads and leeches, as well as J&L Oil for a new gas filter for the gas tank here on the property.
While in Bemidji I picked up a Purple Prince crabapple tree, pictured below, to replace the "junk" tree that currently grows outside our bedroom window.
A purple prince crabapple tree like the one to be planted outside our bedroom window.
At 6:00 p.m. the wind was still blowing very hard -- 20-30 mph -- out of the SW. I've never been here when the wind has blown as hard as it is today. I'm actually kind of nervous about the docks, boat and lift being able to withstand the rough, pounding waves created by this extremely strong wind. The sky remained grey and overcast, rain fell intermittently and the temperature dropped from 48 to just 40 degrees. The lake was a strange greenish-grey color.
As I get ready to sign off for the night the wind has not let up. In fact, it's increased! According to the www.weather.com web site, we've got 32-35 mph winds right now and they're expected to blow this hard until 4:00 a.m. tomorrow morning.
When I get up tomorrow morning I'll take a tour of the property to assess any damage and to pick up what is likely to be a small forest of fallen tree limbs and branches. Until then...
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