June 27, 2011 -- At Leech Lake

At 8:00 a.m. this morning it was still raining and there was thunder rumbling off in the distance. The temperature was 55 degrees and the wind was strong at 12-17 mph out of the NW. The sky was mostly cloudy, with little patches of blue here and there.

For most of the morning and into the early afternoon rain continued to fall. Finally, around 1:00 p.m. the rain let up so Kathleen and I immediately took advantage of the break and went for a long walk. We walked to the "beaver pond" or as Kathleen calls it, "swamp 1," and back. About a 3 mile walk.

On our way back we saw Tom Malay driving his truck toward the community center. He stopped and informed us that a tree had fallen across West Shores Road between Harbor Dr. and the community center. He told us that he had his chain saw with him and that he planned to clear the road; and get a little firewood in the process.

Once home, I quickly got on the ATV and rode out to the site of the fallen maple to help Tom clear the road. It's always a good idea to have someone with you when you're using a chain saw.

The tree hadn't snapped off in the wind, rather it had simply fell over as a result of the three inches of rain we've had in the past 36 hours. We have standing ponds all over our properties, so it's not hard to imagine a large maple tree toppling over from its own weight in the super-saturated ground.

Ron Newstrand joined Tom and me for the tree-cutting operation. During our efforts a large diesel pickup truck hauling a big back hoe came down the road, but had to stop until we were able to clear the road. A UPS truck came from the other direction on its way to making a delivery, but was able to turn around in the road and go a different route.

After an hour of chain sawing and hauling, the three of us loaded a cut maple into the back of Tom's and Ron's trucks, since both use wood to heat with during the winter. No sooner had we opened up the road than it started to rain.

Since I was on the ATV I took off first for home. I managed to get the ATV stored in the garage and myself into the house before the rain got worse. We did get more rain between 3:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m., but by 6:00 p.m., the rain had stopped, the clouds parted somewhat and we actually saw some sunlight. The temperature, however, never got past 60 degrees. The had shifted and was coming out of the west at 12-15 mph.

After dinner it was nice enough to go out onto the dock and watch the sunset; although it was still quite windy. Tomorrow it's supposed to be sunny and warm, which will be a welcome relief from the cool temperatures and the rain. I'm hoping to be able to get out onto the water to do some fishing tomorrow.