July 11, 2011 -- In Leech Lake

Last night's storm really cooled things off and greatly reduced the humidity. At 10:00 a.m. this morning the temperature was 69 degrees, the sky was partly cloudy and filled with big, white billowy clouds, and the wind was very strong at 15-20 mph out of the WNW.

Kathleen and I took it pretty slow this morning. We had coffee on the back porch, Kathleen spent quite a bit of time on the phone with AT&T trying to sort out some cell phone troubles, while I took the opportunity to read some of the newspapers Kathleen brought back from St. Cloud, make some work calls and send some emails.

At 2:30 p.m. the temperature was a very pleasant 73 degrees, the wind was still strong at 12-17 mph out of the NNW, and the sky was mostly covered with big white billowy clouds so that the sun cast shadows only occasionally.

Kathleen had finished doing yoga so we thought we'd take advantage of the relatively cooler temperatures and go for a bike ride. So it was off to the cabin to get our bikes out of the garage.

Our plan was to ride down to Duck Point Woods and back, about an 8-mile ride. We almost made it to Duck Point but the black and brown biting flies were so bad, especially around Kathleen, that we had to turn tail and ride home as quickly as possible.

Once home we had a late lunch on the back porch and laid in the hammock for a while. Then Kathleen decided to go running, but a series of calls from her work and sister-in-law delayed that until almost 6:30 p.m.

At that point the temperature had dropped to right around 70 degrees, the wind was still stiff at 10-15 mph out of the NNW with gusts up over 20 mph, and the sky was still filled with big billowy clouds that blocked the sun most of the time.

When Kathleen returned from her 6-mile run, and had completed her lunges and stretching, she and I went for a swim in the lake. Even though the air temperature was cool, the water was warm and felt great.

We had a simple, quiet dinner, played some cribbage and dominoes, then called it a night.

Kathleen has to leave for California tomorrow so we need to be on the road to Bemidji by 11:30 a.m. Tomorrow night, Kathleen will be in our San Jose house with Joe, Melissa and Jayden, and our dogs. I'm sure it'll be quite an adjustment from Leech Lake to a city of more than 1 million people, but being with our family will make for a welcome homecoming for her.

No fishing again today. Maybe tomorrow, depending on the weather and how I feel.

500th Post!

According to Blogger.com's dashboard for my blog -- Fishing Leech Lake -- this is my 500th post. That may not be such a huge milestone for many blogs, especially those that have multiple writers cranking out numerous posts per day, or for the blog maintained by some social media guru who churns out posts in his sleep. But for my humble little blog, 500 posts is a milestone worth noting.

I started Fishing Leech Lake back on February 20, 2005 as a way to capture various information about Leech Lake, such as weather conditions, fishing reports, and general news about the area of Leech Lake where my wife Kathleen and I have some property, i.e., Ottertail Peninsula.

True to the original name of "blog", weblog, my blog was a personal web log of my time at Leech Lake. Over the years I've added other components to my blog, and as the subhead of my blog now reads, "Musings, Observations and Fishing Reports from Minnesota's Leech Lake."

On occasion I will post something that has absolutely nothing to do with Leech Lake, other than it somehow reminds me of the time I've spent in the Northwoods of Minnesota.

So this is it. My 500th post. I look forward to the next 500 because that will mean I'll be spending more time at the place I enjoy the most -- Leech Lake.