November 16, 2008

The lake-side deck with an inch of fresh snow.

We woke up this morning to about an inch of freshly fallen snow. The sky was partly cloudy and pale blue. The temperature today was 22 degrees with the wind varying from calm to 5-8 mph out of the north. As the day progressed, the wind increased to around 15 mph, making it feel even colder.

Kathleen and I took a walk to the Otter Tail Peninsula Community Center and back today; a round trip walk of about 6 miles. It felt good to walk in the cold, crisp air.

My neighbor Don Poage's step-grandson shot a deer today. Poage's stepson, Marty, stung up the deer in a tree by the road and gutted it. I walked out to watch, but by the time I got out there the guts had been completely removed. There is an art to successfully dressing a deer, and Marty does know what he's doing.

Later this evening, in front of a roaring fire, Kathleen and I enjoyed listening to "Pipedreams" on public radio. We both agree that Minnesota Public Radio is among the best, if not the best, public radio in the country.


The front of the house.


Our truck, and out buildings, with a dusting of November snow.

November 15, 2008

The temperature today hit a high of 22 degrees. The wind was out of the west at 10-12 mph. The sky was overcast and it spit snow throughout the day.

Our neighbor, and newly elected president of the Otter Tail Peninsula Association, Jerry Schiebe stopped by for some pie, coffee and conversation. Jerry's a great guy, and Kathleen and I very much enjoyed our visit with him.

This evening I grilled up a t-bone steak for dinner; probably the last of my grilling for the season. Later, Kathleen and I listened to "A Prairie Home Companion" on the public radio. Garrison Keillor's singing guest tonight was Emmylou Harris. I've enjoyed her music from her earliest days with Gram Parsons.

No fishing on Leech Lake today.

November 14, 2008

Today was one of those fairly typical Fall days in the Northwoods of Minnesota where as the day wore on, the temperature steadily declined. This morning around 10 a.m. the temperature was 35 degrees. By late afternoon the temperature had falled to 25 degrees. With winds out of the WNW at 10-18 mph, the day kept getting colder.

Regardless of the temperature, I spent a good portion of the day outside. I put away the lawn chairs, packed up the folding chairs that we use around the fire pit at the cabin, stored the paint we used to paint the cabin in the crawl space below the house, and brought in a couple of loads of firewood into the garage.

Around 5:30 p.m. it started to snow, and since it was getting too dark to work outside any more, I went into the house. Kathleen and I enjoyed a fire in the fireplace.

No fishing today.

November 13, 2008

Kathleen and I went into Bemidji today for one last day of errands before we leave for California next week. We mailed some boxes of stuff to our house in San Jose -- it's cheaper and more efficient than bringing it with us on the plane -- then we stopped at L&M Fleet to pick up a variety of supplies and finally we stopped at Lueken's Village Foods to get our last batch of groceries.

Before we left for town this afternoon, I started a crock pot of chili. I'm sure I won't be able to eat it all before we leave (it has meat in it so Kathleen won't eat it) so I'll freeze much of it for meals when I visit during my ice fishing trip in February.

When we arrived home, we unloaded the groceries, ate dinner, enjoyed a fire in the fireplace while listening to the Steve Kimock Band on CD.

The temperature today was near 40 degrees, it was rainy and overcast all day long and the wind was 8-12 mph out of the SW.

November 12, 2008

Tom Malay and I put his boat in my garage at the cabin for winter storage today. We both realized that neither of us will be doing any open-water fishing until the Spring of 2009. There was a finality to it that was a bit unsettling. I'd been fishing Leech Lake since May 23. Now here we were 5 1/2 months later and it was over.

Today also marks the final week of our stay in Minnesota. Kathleen and I have been here for the longest stretch of time since we purchased our properties in 2001, and now it's coming to a close. We've had a fantastic run at Leech Lake! We're trying to make every second of every day count, because we know our time here at the lake is limited.

The temperature today was 32 degrees, the sky was grey and overcast with the threat of snow and the wind was out of the south at 8-10 mph.

I made bacon-wrapped venison sirloin for dinner tonight. Until you've tried something so tasty and so decadent as bacon-wrapped venison sirloin, you haven't truly experienced life in the Northwoods of Minnesota.

After dinner I got a fire going in the fireplace, put some Frederic Chopin on the CD player and relaxed with Kathleen in front of the warmth of the fire. Another fantastic night on the shores of the mighty Leech Lake.

November 11, 2008 -- Rib Recipe

Today the temperature was 32 degrees and the wind was calm. Kathleen and I spent the day outside covering the hostas, and other plants, with mulch and leaves. This will keep them somewhat warm during the extremely cold northern Minnesota winter.

I cleaned out the garage at the cabin to create enough empty room so Tom Malay can store his 14-foot aluminum boat in there for the winter.

Earlier in the day I put a rack of baby back pork ribs in the oven so they would be ready for dinner tonight. Kathleen is a vegetarian, so she won't eat any, but the rack will last me a couple of days.

For anyone who's interested, here's my recipe for ribs:

* Start with a package of pork loin back ribs. The ones I buy come pre-wrapped in plastic and vary between 2 1/4 pounds and 3 pounds.

* Rinse the ribs clean in cold water and pat dry. Place ribs bone side up on a cookie sheet and sprinkle with Worcestershire sauce. Rub the sauce so it covers the ribs. Sprinkle 1/4 of the dry rub (ingredients for dry rub below) onto the ribs and push into the ribs with your fingers.

* Flip the rack of ribs over so the meat side is up and do the same -- sprinkle with Worchestershire, and use the remaining 3/4 of the dry rub on the ribs. Be sure to work the dry rub into the meat.

* Place meat-side up in an oven on "bake," temperature of 210 degrees and cook for 6 hours.

* After 6 hours, take 1/4 cup of your favorite store-bought BBQ sauce and brush on the meat-side of the ribs; I do not put sauce on the bone side; at this point it's too hard to flip the rack because it's so tender.

* Place back in the oven, increase temp to 225 and cook for another 2 hours.

* Remove rack of ribs, cut into individual ribs or sections and serve. They are tender, sweet and literally fall off the bone.

* If you put the ribs in the oven by 10 a.m., they are ready to eat at 6 p.m. Serve with you favorite rib side dishes such as corn on the cob, baked beans, garlic bread, salads, or whatever floats your boat.

Dry Rub Recipe

* 1/3 cup brown sugar
* 1/2 tablespoon of dry, yellow musturd
* 1/2 teaspoon of paprika
* 1/2 teaspoon of McCormick's "Grill Mates" Barbecue flavor (in the spice aisle of your grocery store)
* 1/4 teaspoon Lawry's Seasoning Salt
* 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
* a pinch of dry red pepper flakes
* 1 crushed dry Bay leaf

-- Mix all ingredients together thoroughly in a bowl and apply directly to ribs. This makes enough dry rub for one rack of ribs. Double or triple recipe for more racks.

Kathleen, despite the cold weather, did her 6-mile run today. She runs from our house to the Otter Tail Peninsula Community Center, south on the dirt part of Sucker Bay Road, right on Otter Tail Point Road, right on 26th and then left on West Shores Road back to our house. After her run Kathleen does yoga and Pilate's. It's no wonder she is in amazing shape.

After our dinner Kathleen and I had another wonderful fire in the fireplace and enjoyed our evening at Leech Lake.

No fishing today.


Ice forming along the shoreline of the harbor.