July 15, 2009 -- At Leech Lake

The wooden dock extension before I applied the water sealant.

This morning at 9:00 a.m. the temperature was 54 degrees, the sky was gray, the threat of rain was present in the wind, which was blowing hard at 17-25 mph out of the west. The lake was covered in waves and white caps, and I couldn't see any boats out on Sucker Bay.

As the day progressed, the sky remained gray, although it still hasn't rained, and the wind continued to blow at near 20 mph out of the west, with gusts well over 25 mph. It was actually kind of nice to be outside in the wind. The temperature warmed to 62 degrees, but with the wind blowing so hard it felt much cooler. It reminded me of a gray late-September day.

After lunch I went next door to the cabin and applied a water sealant to the wooden dock extension (photo above). I had enough sealant to cover the top of the dock extension, and some of the sides, but ran out before I could complete the entire project. The next time I go into town I'll have to pick some up at the hardware store.

I got a call from Tom and Lainey Malay this evening about 5:30 p.m. Tom asked me if I wanted to stop by to fill them in on the status of the water level issue on Leech Lake. I got on the ATV and rode down to the Malay's house.

I filled them in on my conversations with the Ottertail Peninsula Township board, the Leech Lake Association and the Army Corps of Engineers. Lainey filled me in on some of her health issues and the fact that she is going to Bemidji Hospital tomorrow to have an electric shock to her heart in an attempt to get its rhythm back to normal.

I hung out at the Malay's for about an hour, and I was leaving Lainey gave me some leftover casserole she had made for dinner last night. I brought it home and ate that for dinner tonight. It was tasty and it was very nice of her to give it to me.

At 9:30 p.m. this evening the wind was still blowing at 15 mph out of the west and while the waves had subsided somewhat, I still decided it was too rough to go out trolling for walleye tonight. So unfortunately, I did not go out fishing today on Leech Lake.