At Leech Lake -- October 29, 2010

This morning at 8:30 a.m. the temperature was 26 degrees, the sky was gray and the wind was about 8-10 mph out of the west.

I heard from Tom Malay yesterday that Shore Brothers, the outfit that removes docks and boat lifts for nearly all of the residents on W. Shores Rd., won't be out to our area until Monday; the day I leave for California.

The weather the past few days -- with the high winds -- has Shore Bros. running several days behind schedule. I had hoped to see Mark from Shore Bros. in person because I have a question for him about some repair options on my harbor. Ice in the Spring time has done some damage to the harbor wall and I want to know how best to have it fixed. I guess we'll have to discuss it over the phone when I'm back on the West Coast.

It's just before 2:00 p.m. and I just wrapped up a couple of work calls, so now it's time to go outside. The wind has died down to near calm, with a slight breeze of 5 mph out of the south. The sky is still gray, but the temperature has warmed to 36 degrees.

I'll start with putting the lawn furniture away for the season. I kept thinking I'd sit on the porch and enjoy a cold beer while watching the sun set, but the high winds and rain this week have kept me inside. Now it's time to put the furniture away. After that, I think I'll go for a walk down the dirt road, and then maybe take an ATV ride, either around the peninsula one last time or just through the woods.

The sun is dropping quickly into the West as we approach 5:45 p.m. I've been outside for the past couple of hours enjoying the nonexistent wind and temperatures near 40. It's amazing how warm 38, 36 or even 34 degrees can seem when you're outside working.

After my walk I took the ATV for a ride in the woods. There were no major trees down blocking the main trail, but I didn't check any of the side trails. After storing the ATV for the winter, I got the electric blower out and started clearing leaves over at the cabin. Due to rain and winds for the past 5 or 6 days, this chore was not possible.

I got about 1/5 of the yard done before the light started to fade, so I came home. I'm going to clean out the fireplace so I can have a fire tonight. I can smell the ribs I've got cooking in the oven as I write this. They smell great and I know will taste incredible as well. I'll round out the dinner with a baked potato and some type of veggie and/or fruit.

I'm going to focus on having as much fun here at the lake as possible the next couple of days, even while I'm cleaning the house and closing things up for the winter. Come Monday, I might not be back to Leech Lake for six months or more. I sure wish I could figure out a way to be here full time. Oh well...