May 21, 2011 -- On Leech Lake

We all went to bed late last night since Rick and I didn't get back from the airport until after midnight, so we slept in late this morning. I got up around 9:30 a.m. to a steady rain, grey skies, a temperature of 50 degrees and light winds out of the east at 5-8 mph.

The rain, and the previous days of sun, have made the tiny buds on the trees explode into bright green leaves and the grass too has turned a brilliant shade of emerald. It's as if we're in the middle of some fairy tale land where everything is shining green.

After coffee and breakfast, Kathleen and I spent some time going through a pile of old photos, some more than 20 years old, putting them into various categories (by person) in hopes of getting them into photo albums at some point. Rick spent some time trying to figure out why our brand new HP printer -- which we just bought last summer -- refuses to print. I've found that over the years the quality and reliability of HP's printers has gone downhill significantly. A once proud brand is now just middle of the road.

One of the big projects that I have to address during my stay is the repair of the wall around the harbor at the house. Over the years, water has drained down behind the wall, and then during periods of thawing and freezing, the ice has pushed the wall inward toward the harbor, and has heaved up the cement walkway that encircles the harbor. I've contacted an outfit out of Federal Dam -- WC Excavating -- about doing a complete repair job. They'll have to remove all the cement walkway, put in a tile drain, sewer rock, gravel, rewire some of the electrical work, and of course realign the harbor walls using cable jacks and chain. I'm expecting an estimate for that work some time next week.

At 1:30 p.m. the rain was coming down even harder. It's been a steady or hard rain now for at least 5 or 6 hours straight. I bet we've had more than an inch of rain, maybe even two. The temperature hasn't budged from 50 degrees, and the wind has pretty much died down to an occasional breeze out of the east.

As I watched two fishermen in a Ranger boat through the binoculars something in the foreground caught my eye. I quickly adjusted the focus of the binos and saw three beavers swimming from in front of out house toward the cabin. They better stay away from our birch trees!

Rick and I just got back from Birch Ridge Resort where Rick bought a Minnesota fishing license and we picked up two dozen shiners. It is still raining steadily, and the temperature hasn't moved from 50 degrees. A cool, wet day.

I listened to a Prairie Home Companion on the radio as I made potato salad to go along with the BBQ ribs for dinner. After dinner Rick and I went fishing.

The rain had finally stopped and from about 5:30 p.m. to sunset the sun was actually out. A welcome sight after a full day of rain. The temperature also reached its highest of the day at right around 60 degrees. The wind was light at 5-8 mph out of the east.

As is our typical pattern for evening fishing, both Rick and I pulled crankbaits in 10 feet of water from Malay's to the north, and south past Second Duck Point. I caught a northern, and Rick caught two walleyes, one 18 inches which went back into the lake, and another one that measured 17 1/2 inches which we kept. We may have walleye for lunch tomorrow before Kathleen leaves to go back to St. Cloud.

It was nice to finally get some good sized walleye in the boat. I'm sure Rick and I will do more fishing tomorrow. Until then, good night from Leech Lake.