August 26, 2012 -- On Leech Lake

This morning we awoke to a very strong west wind blowing at 15-25 mph which created a series of high waves and white caps that crashed into the shore in front of our house and cabin. It looked unlikely that we'd get out onto the lake to do any fishing.

As for the rest of the weather, it was a beautiful day. The temperature made it up to 78 degrees, the sky was sunny and blue.

After breakfast I went to the ATV-garage to get the blacktop sealer expecting to seal up some cracks in the driveway, but apparently the sealant went bad over the winter. No matter how much I shook the bottle or stirred the contents, it sealant wouldn't mix properly keeping me from completing that chore. I'll have to pick up another bottle of sealant when Joe and I go into town this coming week.

But there's no shortage of things to do here at the lake so I moved onto my next chore. A few weeks ago I had put zinc stripping along the apex of the roof which is supposed to suppress mold and moss from growing on the shingles. The strong winds we've had during the summer pulled the zinc stripping from underneath the shingles, and left the stripping just laying on top of the roof. The stripping needed to be put back in place and then tacked down so it wouldn't be displaced by the wind.

Using little dabs of some of the black roofing tar I had left over from when Rick and I put a new roof on the cabin, I was able to put in place the zinc stripping on the roof of the house. And then just to make sure the stripping didn't get blown out of place at the cabin, I used the tar to tack it down as well.

My next project was to set up a "stairway to heaven" mouse trap in the garages of both the house and cabin. You can click on the link if you're interested to see how such a trap is built. First, I cleaned out nine dead mice from the trap in the house garage before refilling it with fresh antifreeze and rebaiting the can (I prefer to use peanut butter). I set up a similar trap in the garage at the cabin. By nightfall the trap in the house garage had already claimed its first victim.

Joe and I ate a late lunch and then I got out the power washer and did a quick reclean of the roadside deck, which are planning to start staining on Monday. Since I had washed the deck a few weeks ago when I power washed the entire house, it wasn't too dirty and I was able to finish the job in a little more than a half an hour. As I was putting away the hoses and the power washer, I noticed that the wind, which had been blowing hard all day, was at last dying down a bit. That got me thinking about getting out onto the water.

Joe didn't feel like going fishing so he remained on shore, but I took the boat out for some evening fishing. I got on the water at 7:30 p.m. and planned to fish until a little after sunset, so about an hour. Although the wind had calmed a bit, it was still blowing at 10-12 mph out of the west, so once on the lake I used the drift sock to slow my drift.

I set up in front of Newman's house in 13 feet of 74-degree water and let the wind push the boat toward shore and toward the boat lift.

I was using a 1/4-ounce Bass Pro Shops XPS walleye jig tipped with a Northland grub. I caught a couple of small perch, a northern pike and the smallest walleye I've ever brought into the boat; a little eyeball measuring no more than 4-inches. All of the fish were released back into the lake.

We had a simple spaghetti dinner, and then Joe and I watched a movie on DVD to close out the night. A productive day and I was even able to get in a little fishing. Good night from Leech Lake.

August 25, 2012 -- On Leech Leech

Today was another hot and humid day, although neither as hot nor as humid as the past few days. Still, it was  78 degrees by 10:30 a.m. and the humidity was pegged at 82%. The sky was full of clouds in every direction expect directly overhead which created a bright, sunny day despite heavy cloud cover. The wind was out of the south at 8-15 mph, but by early afternoon had shifted to the north and was variably from 5-18 mph.

Joe and I eased into our Saturday with a pot of coffee and a hearty breakfast. Then I went up onto the roof of the house to spray a diluted bleach solution onto the mold and moss growing in certain spots on the shingles. The light mist of chlorine should kill the unwanted invaders.

After cleaning up from the roofing project, Joe and I went muskie fishing. We had heard about a dock hand from Birch Ridge Resort who caught a 48-inch muskie while trolling in spot directly across Sucker Bay from the Resort, so that's where Joe and I began our assault. 

We lowered our lures into the 74 degree water, let out line to get them 50-60 feet behind the boat thus about 12 deep, and then I set the Mercury SmartCraft controls to keep the boat moving at approximately 2.25 mph ground speed. 

We trolled from the north end of Sucker Bay south along the Bay's western shore until just about Big Hardwood Point, but the only thing our lures hooked were many of the weeds floating in the water. So we decided it was time to change locations, if not tactics. 

I kicked the Mercury Verado into gear and motored the boat at 35 mph over to Ottertail Point. Once there Joe and I dropped our lures in the water and trolled all around the point. We made four passes around the point before turning north and trolling up to Duck Point. When we arrived at Duck Point we still hadn't hooked a muskie or even had a follow, so we reeled in our lures and sped north toward home. 

We made it back on shore at 5:45 p.m. and had a "fend-for-yourself" dinner where Joe and I ate whatever leftovers we could find, then it was time to get outside again. Joe went over the cabin and got a fire going while I decided to get out onto the water again.

I lowered the boat into essentially calm water. There was just a hint of a SSW breeze blowing and the temperature was steady at 80 degrees. There was a huge bank of clouds over the peninsula, but virtually none over the lake. I didn't plan on staying out until dark, so I motored to a spot directly in front of the house and cabin and started jigging there in 8-10 feet of water.

Looking back at our shoreline from Sucker Bay as the sun set

The shoreline was alight with the glow of the setting sun as I caught a decent sized northern pike; probably 24 inches long. I played it for a short time to ensure it didn't snap my line and once it was close enough to the boat I reached over, quickly removed the jig and released the fish back into the lake. 

Duck Point in the distance looking south on Sucker Bay, Leech Lake

I fished for about 30 minutes longer during which time I caught another, although smaller, northern. With the sun definitely below the horizon I packed up and moved the boat slowly back toward the lift. As I approached shore I could see Joe had a good fire going. 

Back on shore I played a little ping pong with Joe before we both settled in around the fire. With the sky nearly completely dark I went back to the house followed a little while later by Joe. We watched a movie on DVD and stayed up way too late. But it was a nice Saturday at Leech Lake.

August 23-24, 2012 -- On Leech Lake

August 23:
Today the temperature by 10:00 a.m. was very warm 75 degrees on its way into the mid-80s. The humidity was high making is a hot, sticky day. The sky was hazy with some high clouds and the wind was out of the south at 8-12 mph.

I took care of a variety of work tasks in the morning and then after lunch decided to go fishing. Joe again opted to stay on shore to go walking, do yoga and then go for a swim in the lake; all things he really enjoys doing.

I took the boat out to a spot in front of Newman's cabin in 8 feet of water and let the wind push the boat out into Sucker Bay and slowly north toward Norm's cabin. As I have for most of the past couple of months, I used a jig tipped with a plastic grub.

I made several passes -- moving quickly without the drift sock -- in order to cover as much water as possible. I caught a fair number of small- to medium-sized perch, but none that I considered big enough to keep. For me, 10-inches is the smallest perch I typically keep, although a "plump" 9-inch fish has found its way into my live well.

The shoreline of our house/cabin from Sucker Bay

I came ashore late in the afternoon and began prepping for dinner. I'm trying to replicate the grilled chicken that we had at Newman's the other night. Actually, preparations began yesterday when I started brining the chicken. In addition to brining the chicken in water with salt and sugar, I added a variety of herbs and spices as well. Then the brining pot went into the refrigerator for a full 24 hours. Earlier today I made the North Alabama White BBQ sauce, which consists of mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, sugar, horseradish, salt, ground black pepper and cayenne pepper. The sauce then needs to chill in the refrigerator for several hours.

So my prep this evening was primarily getting the grill ready; the chicken needs to be grilled with indirect heat; not over the coals directly.

The chicken came out perfectly grilled and the brining and white BBQ were also right on target. The chicken was paired with mashed potatoes, biscuits, and a green garden salad. Very delicious.

We then had a quiet evening of reading and listening to classical music before going to bed. A great day at Leech Lake.
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August 24:

This morning at 10:00 a.m. the temperature was 74 degrees, the humidity was at 92%, the sky was again sunny but hazy with a blur of white clouds mixed with mostly blue sky, and the wind was light out of the SSW at 5-10 mph.

It hasn't been this humid since back in July when Kathleen was still here; when we took daily camp baths to cool off from the oppressive heat.

By 1:30 p.m. the temperature had climbed to over 80 degrees and the humidity continued to bear down on us at more than 90%.  Despite the heat, Joe went for a 3-mile walk and I enjoyed a 5-mile bike ride. We need our exercise regardless of the heat.

Once both Joe and I were back home, we had some lunch and then decided to go fishing. Joe isn't much for jigging for perch, preferring instead to troll for walleye and hunt muskies, so he sat in the boat with me while I  fished for perch.

The water temperature had climbed back up to 76 degrees due to the heat, humidity and relatively weak winds. We set up in a spot in front of our house in 8 feet of water and let what little wind there was push us out into the bay and slightly north.

I had a few bites, probably small perch, but only hooked one fish, a 28-inch northern pike. While it is by far not the largest pike I've seen pulled out of Leech Lake, it was still a good sized fish and worthy of close inspection, including measurement on "The Judge" tournament rule. After unhooking the fish and the quick measurement, I released it back into the lake where after only a few seconds it got its bearings and swam out of sight.

At 3:30 p.m. Joe and I went ashore, got cleaned up and then by 4:10 p.m. were on our way out to the Pike Hole Restaurant to meet up with Tom and Lainy Malay and Ron and Sandy Newstrand, neighbors of ours on Ottertail Peninsula. Throughout the summer, Pike Hole features a walleye fish fry every Friday night and if you get there early enough, like we did, you can snag a table on the deck that over looks the channel between Cass Lake and Kitchi Lake, which is in the general area of the small town of Pennington.

Everyone at the table ordered the walleye special and it was definitely worth the drive. Not only did we have good conversation, but the location couldn't have been better and the food was fantastic. Maybe not what discriminating city folk from New York or San Francisco might call gourmet, but as far as I'm concerned, it was still delicious.

Once we were back home, Joe and I watched a movie on DVD and then he went to bed. I stayed up to do some reading, and did one last check on the weather. The wind had picked up to 14-18 mph out of the south, the temperature was still a very warm 74 degrees and the humidity was at 82%, which is why it felt so muggy.

Good night from Leech Lake.

August 22, 2012 -- In Leech Lake

By 10:00 a.m.this morning the temperature was already 75 degrees on its way to the mid-80s by 3:00 p.m. The wind was slight at 5-8 mph out of the WSW and the sky was sunny and blue. A day that reminds us all that we're still in the midst of summer. Although here in the northwoods of Minnesota, on the shores of Leech Lake, the leaves on some of the plants and trees have already started changing color.



The big maple tree on the Leech Lake side of the house showing some early Fall colors

I first noticed the change late last week while driving into Cass Lake to get pizza. A few of the sumac were turning red. A handful of birch trees were starting to sport yellow leaves. And more than a couple of maples had some red, pink, orange, yellow and red leaves on them in addition to the mostly green leaves that still cover them. I heard a report that "peak" foliage color in and around Leech Lake will come earlier this year -- due to the early ice-out and arrival of Spring -- and won't last as long, due to a relatively dry summer. I'm guessing that peak-color will appear in early- to mid-September, and that by October the leaves will be brown, dry and on the ground.

But today, with the heat and glorious sunshine, was a summer day to thoroughly enjoy. After breakfast and some cleaning around the house, I drove into town to mail some packages and pick up a few groceries. I picked up an unbaked pizza from Great River Pizzeria; which Joe and I will enjoy for dinner tonight.

Once back home I ate some lunch, had a work call, then got the boat ready for a late-afternoon fishing trip with Joe. As it turns out, however, Joe walked to go for a walk, exercise and then go for a swim in the lake rather than go fishing. So we ended up staying on shore and enjoying a swim in the lake. It was much cooler than when Kathleen and I would enjoy our "camp baths," but with the air temperature in the mid- to high-80s, it felt great.

As the evening wore on the sky began to cloud over and the forecast called for some light rain sometime after midnight, and the temperature began to cool.

Over the past several days, Joe has been baiting the crayfish trap and each day the trap fills up a little more the crayfish. Tonight, we decided to cook them up and have them as an appetizer before our pizza. There must have been somewhere between 30 and 40 crayfish, but since they're so small they really offer that much meat. Most of the meat comes from the tail; which we snap off from the rest of the body, pull out with either a toothpick or other pointy object, dip them in melted butter and enjoy some simple fare from the lake. Not particularly filling, but tasty nonetheless.

A big bowl of crayfish prior to cooking

We watched a little TV after dinner (actually a DVD) and then headed off for bed. We talked about going swimming again tomorrow since it's supposed to be warm, and maybe get in a little muskie fishing. Stay tuned...

August 21, 2012 -- At Leech Lake

Today was a beautiful day all day at Leech Lake. The temperature ranged from the mid-60s in the morning to nearly 80 in the late afternoon. The sky was mostly sunny and the wind varied from 8-15 mph out of the WSW.

After breakfast I went next door to the cabin to finish power-washing the dock. I had put this project on hold while Joe and I stained the house, but now it was time to wrap it up. It took me close to three hours to wash the final sections of dock, but at about 2:15 p.m. I completed the project and it looked great. I put away the hoses, the power washer and cleaned up myself and then had a quick bite of lunch before heading over to John Newman's cabin.

John had invited me and Joe, along with Tom Malay and Ron Newstrand, over to his place for a grilled chicken dinner. Prior to getting the grill going, however, John, Tom, Ron and I took our ATVs back into the woods to survey the many trees that came down in last month's big storm. There are probably a half a dozen big maple and ash trees that fell across the various trails that crisscross our properties and since Tom and Ron both heat their houses with firewood during the winter, John and I wanted to make available to them the fallen trees.

Once the woods activity was complete, Joe joined us back at John's where we reconvened for some cold, malted beverages, some conversation and eventually a very tasty grilled chicken meal, complete with mashed potatoes, Cole slaw and an apple pie (compliments of Lainy Malay) for dessert. Joe and I finally left Newman's at about 10:00 p.m. and came home for a quiet evening before going to bed just before midnight.

We didn't get any fishing in today, but the power-washing of the dock was completed. I have to run into Cass Lake tomorrow to mail some packages, and later in the afternoon I have a work call, but somewhere during the day tomorrow, Joe and I do plan to spend some time on the water. Until then...

August 20, 2012 -- On Leech Lake

This morning the sun was shining, the sky was mostly blue and bright, the temperature was 65 degrees and there was practically no wind, maybe just a slight breeze from the WSW creating a few ripples on the otherwise flat-calm lake.

The only part left on the house to stain were five different areas. One fairly large section over the garage, another fairly big section over the living room, a couple of small areas over the kitchen and in the back side of the house, and one section over the master bedroom window. I stained the part over the master bedroom since I could reach it with a ladder and extension pole. Joe handled the over parts by climbing up onto the roof and then using a roller attached to an extension pole. Despite the relatively small areas to stain, it took close to three hours since it the areas were hard to reach and required using the extension pole. But by 3:30 p.m. we would complete. The house was stained (not including the decks) and the materials and gear were cleaned up and stowed.

Joe wanted to spend the balance of the afternoon reading, talking a walk and hanging out at the cabin, so while he was busy doing that I went fishing.

The water was 73 degrees, the air temperature at that time was also 73 degrees and the wind had picked up and was coming out of the WSW at 8-12 mph. With the drift sock hanging over the side of the boat, I still was pushed northward on Sucker Bay at a ground speed of roughly .50 mph.

My method of fishing today was a jig and 3" plastic grub bounced just off the bottom of the lake as I drifted along. I caught two medium-sized northern pike, a couple of small perch, and then had my line snapped by something that hit hard and put a lot of weight on my line; most likely a good-sized pike. I tied on a new jig but decided to come ashore.

Joe and I had some dinner and then decided to go trolling with crankbaits; a proven method for catching walleye in the spring, early summer, and autumn. But since it was mid-August, I wasn't too sure we'd hook a walleye, and I was correct. We trolled in 10-12 feet of water from mid-Duck Bay up to the Malay's cabin, but the only fish we hooked was a northern pike that Joe caught.

Still, it was great to be on the water as the sky changed colors and darkened. Good night from Leech Lake.

Leech Lake sunset from the boat on Sucker Bay

August 19, 2012 -- At Leech Lake

I must have been very tired from staining yesterday because I slept in much later than usual; and Joe slept in even later.

The weather this morning was sunny, blue skies with a temperature of 64 degrees. The high today is supposed to be 72 degrees. The wind was out of the north at 8-15 mph, and while there were no white caps, there were some decent-sized rolling waves; typical for Leech Lake.

I started in on staining the house at noon, and Joe joined me about 90 minutes later. We worked straight through until 5:30 p.m. and completed staining the house. Technically there are still some sections we need to stain, but those will require one of us, or both, getting up on the roof in order to reach some of the cedar panels that are tucked up high under certain sections of the roof. We'll get to those tomorrow.

But for the most part, the staining of the house is complete.

Just before 7:00 p.m. John Newman stopped by for dinner and joined us for BBQ pulled-pork sandwiches, Cole slaw, sweet corn and French fries. It was tasty, and fairly typical, summertime meal at the lake. We then hung out for a couple of hours talking, listening to old Steve Martin comedy LPs and enjoying each other's company.

When John went home shortly after 10:00 p.m., Joe and I watched a little TV (actually DVDs) and then called it a night.

Tomorrow I want to finish the staining of the panels on the roof so we can cross that off our list. We'll then be able to spend some time doing a thorough cleaning of the house, and do some fishing, before we start staining the decks.

Good night.

August 18, 2012 -- At Leech Lake

Today the sun was out for most of the day, the temperature hovered between 65 degrees earlier this morning to a high of 72 degrees by 4:00 and then cooled back down to 65 degrees as the evening progressed. The wind was variable throughout the day at 8-15 mph from the north and NNW. By 5:30 p.m. the clouds rolled in, we had some thunder and about 90 minutes later a light sprinkle of rain, but nothing that should negatively affect the stain on the house.

Speaking of the stain on the house, Joe and I spent the better part of the day applying "butternut-colored" stain the house. We focused our attention today on the side of the garage that faces with road and moved around the corner to the south side of the house facing Newman's cabin.

The garage, partially stained.

It is often tedious and hard work and someone needs to scale the ladder while using an extension pole attached to the roller to reach the higher parts of the house. Joe has graciously volunteered to most of the ladder work. Although I too spent a couple of hours using an extension pole to reach some of the paneling up over my head.

The sections that Joe and I completed today -- from a square footage perspective -- make up close to 60 percent of the cedar paneling that requires staining; not including the front or lakeside decks. Thus, we knocked out a significant chunk of the work today. Tomorrow we'll stain around the big windows of the living room, work our way toward the kitchen and then wrap things up around the master bedroom's bathroom. If we do finish up tomorrow, then we'll take a couple of days off before starting on the decks. I want to be able to do some fishing with Joe; particularly some muskie fishing.

John Newman arrived at the lake this afternoon and I invited him to have dinner with us on Sunday evening. I've got a pork shoulder that I'll slow cook in the crock pot and then make BBQ pulled pork sandwiches, with a variety of side dishes. John accepted and will be joining us for food, conversation and fun tomorrow evening. Hopefully by that time Joe and I will have finished staining the house.

We watched another beautiful sunset this evening before settling in for the night. Joe did some reading and played video games, while I did some reading online and listened to some music. Good night from Leech Lake.

Calm waters during a Leech Lake sunset

August 17, 2012 -- At Leech Lake

The temperature this morning at 8:30 a.m. was 56 degrees, the sky was mostly sunny and the wind was blowing out of the WNW at 8-12 mph. Not a strong wind, but enough to send waves rolling into the shoreline directly in front of the house.

Joe and I continued staining the house today and now have completed the road-side of the house, including around the master bedroom and the part around the garage door. At 3:30 p.m. I cleaned up and drove into Cass Lake to get some groceries and to pick up a pizza at Great River Pizzeria so Joe and I could celebrate a "Friday night pizza party" at the lake.

Joe staining the road-side of the house.

The evening the temperature was a perfect 73 degrees, the wind was barely a whisper and the sunset was unspectacular yet beautiful nonetheless.

After the sun had set, Joe and I had our pizza then watched some DVDs. We had a productive and fun night at Leech Lake.
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NOTE: Although I made mention of this in its own post, I would be negligent if I didn't mention that fellow Ottertail Peninsula resident Steve McLean passed away today. He had suffered for the past several years with lung cancer, despite the fact that he was not a smoker. Sometimes things happen for no apparent reason. Peace Steve, I hope you did not suffer.

RIP Steve McLean

I did not know Steve McLean well, but I did know him. We would often talk while he was out walking his dogs and I was either riding my bike, riding the ATV or driving in the truck. Kathleen used to see Steve often while she was out running and he was out walking. Steve liked being outside here on Ottertail Peninsula.

Today, after a long battle with lung cancer, Steve died. He was at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester where he had been receiving the best care that could be offered to anyone in the world. It was not enough.

The first OPA potluck dinner I ever attended, back in October 2001, Steve wore a name tag that read "John Doe." Why, I do not know. But that was Steve.

Steve was a fixture on Ottertail Peninsula and a resident of that group of houses we refer to as "The Harbor." He liked to play hockey and worked as a court reporter at the courthouse in Walker, the county seat for Cass County.

Good bye Steve. Rest in peace.

August 16, 2012 -- At Leech Lake

At 8:30 a.m. this morning the temperature was a cool 56 degrees and because we'd left some windows open last night, the temperature in the house had dropped to 64 degrees. I closed the windows and set the furnace thermostat for 68 degrees to warm up the house.

The sky was grey and overcast and the wind was howling at 15-20 mph out of the WNW. With the cold temperatures and the threat of rain, I'm not sure we'll do any staining of the house today. Plus, with all the rain we had last evening, I'd like to give the house a day to dry out before we do any staining.

Throughout the day the wind continued to howl, and at times was blowing over 25 mph creating big white caps on the lake. The grey skies did eventually give way to sun, but not until 3:30 p.m. too late to start staining for the day.

I did some more power-washing on the dock at the cabin, and I figure with another 3-4 hours of dedicated time I should be able to finish the job.

Joe and I had a rack of tasty pork spare ribs for dinner, and then watched a little TV (actually DVD since we have no TV service) before going to bed early. Tomorrow we're going to try to get several hours of staining in.

August 16 sunset over Sucker Bay, Leech Lake

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NOTE: The stray dog, which I've dubbed "Buck," showed up this evening for the first time in 12 days. He looked skinny and weak so Joe and I gave him a bowl of dog food which he devoured. He then had a second bowl. Then as darkness fell, Buck turned tail and wandered away.

August 15, 2012 -- At Leech Lake

The temperature this morning was a balmy 75 degrees at 10:00 a.m. with overcast skies and a 8-15 mph SSW wind. The temperature would eventually climb to 80 degrees today, but we'd only see brief moments of sunshine in an otherwise very cloudy day.

The forecast for today called for late afternoon thunderstorms, possibly severe, so I made the decision that rather than start staining the house only to have to redo it because of the rain, that we'd wait until better weather to begin in earnest. Joe and I did spend a couple of hours staining the road-side of the house, the part that's underneath the front porch where it wouldn't get wet even in the most heavy rain. I have to say, the stain looks good, and the cedar paneling soaked up the stain suggesting it was definitely time to tackle this project.

I spent several hours power-washing the dock at the cabin. I'm roughly half way done after three days at it. With the staining still ahead of us, I probably won't get back to the dock for a week or more, but we'll see.

Half of the 'cabin dock' washed. Half to go.

As the day went on, the sky grew darker and more green in color. By 5:00 p.m. the temperature started to drop, from a high of 80 degrees to down around 70 degrees. The wind began to pick up and within 45 minutes the skies opened up and it started to rain.

Joe and I scrambled to close up the garages, lower the flag pole, etc. in preparation of a thunderstorm. At 6:00 p.m. NOAA radio warned our area of a severe thunderstorm and recommended seeking shelter. Joe and I went back into my bedroom, which is away from the lake and more protected than any other room in the house. We played chess and waited for the storm to pass.

There was lightning, thunder, rain and heavy wind for roughly 90 minutes. At last, however, the storm passed and the sky began to lighten. We had a wonderful purplish sunset at approximately 8:30 p.m. this evening, after which Joe and I had dinner. We had a quiet night at home and plan to do some more staining of the house tomorrow; weather permitting.

The remaining clouds from the thunderstorm that hit Leech Lake this evening

August 14, 2012 -- On Leech Lake

This morning the sun was trying to force its way through a haze of high clouds and was doing its best to cast shadows although it itself could not been seen. The temperature was 68 degrees and what little breeze there was out of the SSE created no more than ripples on the otherwise flat surface of the lake. The sky, and the lake, were a brilliant, and yet at the same time subdued, color of yellow.

Joe slept in very late this morning, in fact, it was no longer morning when I first saw him. By that time I'd done a few chores around the house, like connecting a new back-up battery to our security system and handling several personal-business issues both online and on the phone.

I started power-washing the dock at the cabin at 1:45 p.m. and kept at it until 4:00 p.m. when the muscles in my arms and back told me it was time for a rest. The process of cleaning the dock is slow and tedious, but necessary. When I was finished for the day I looked at how much I had completed and estimated I had between 4 and 6 more months of power washing ahead of me. Actually, it'll probably take another 4-6 days, but with the house-staining project due to start tomorrow (weather permitting) I won't be able to finish cleaning the dock for another couple of weeks.

I had a quick sandwich to tie me over until dinner and went out fishing around 4:45 p.m. Joe decided to stay onshore so he could go for a walk, do yoga and read. Not a bad choice, but for me, the lake beckoned.

I lowered my Lund into the 77 degree water and made my way out to a spot in front of the house in 10 feet of water. With the light breeze still coming out of the SSE the boat was gently propelled away from shore and slightly north toward the Malay's.

I managed to hook one small hammer handle, but nothing else while jigging with artificial bait. I decided to change tactics dramatically and go bass fishing.

I switched from a spinning rod and reel to a baitcasting set up and tied on a spinnerbait. I added a 3-inch plastic trailer for extra bulk and attraction. I dropped my MinnKota electric trolling motor into the water and slowly made my way north along the reeds that start in front of Norm's house.

In years past, the edge of the reeds that start at Norm's have regularly produced  both good numbers and good-sized largemouth bass, but not this year. In fact, I've not hooked one bass in front of Norm's all year; although to be fair I've not targeted bucketmouths more than a half dozen times since bass season opened.

I finally did hook a smallish bass in front of what I call the "eagle tree," thus named because bald eagles often perch in it while eating fish they've taken from the lake. The bass made one final leap into the air right along side the boat and managed to unhook itself before I could land it cleanly. Not that I cared, since I planned to put it back into the lake anyway.

While I was out on the water, Joe had not only gone for a walk and exercised, but he decided to go for a swim in the lake as well. It's always a good idea to take advantage of the lake when you can, since before you know it it'll be too cold for swimming.

We spent a quiet night at home watching the sunset, having dinner and just hanging out. Tomorrow, we start the house-staining project.

Good night.

Calm waters of Leech Lake at sunset

August 13, 2012 -- At Leech Lake

I'll state right up front that neither Joe nor I did any fishing today, so there will not be a fishing report in today's post.

The weather this morning was breezy with a NNW wind blowing at 12-15 mph creating choppy waters and an occasional white cap. It had obviously rained during the night because there were puddles in the driveway and the ground was wet. The sky was mostly sunny with some big fluffy white clouds and the temperature at 10:00 a.m. (the first time I checked it) was 66 degrees. The high temp today got only to 74 degrees.

After a light breakfast I got everything ready to power-wash the house in preparation for staining it. I got the 8-foot ladder out so I could reach the really high spots on the house, a six-gallon can of gas for the power washer, moved all the lawn furniture off the decks, shut all the windows, etc. Finally it was time to start washing.

I started on the north side of the house, then moved to the roadside of the house, the south side and finally ended up washing the lakeside of the house. As the day went on the wind picked up and was blowing consistently at 15 mph out of the NNW with gusts up near 20 mph. Perfect conditions to dry the house. Just to make sure it is thoroughly dry, we will not start the staining process until Wednesday.

I had a quick bite of lunch and then went right back to work power-washing the dock at the cabin. It hasn't been done since we purchased the cabin 6 or 7 years ago, and I doubt the previous owner ever washed it. It was full of mold and moss and so the cleaning process was a slow tedious one. I only got part of one section done before the washer ran out of gas; which I took as a signal to stop for the day.

At 5:00 p.m. I came inside after pretty much a full day outside working. I relaxed for a bit before getting dinner going. Joe and I were hungry so we made a feast of fried chicken, mashed potatoes and biscuits and a big garden salad. It was very tasty and filling, and we were hungry!

Joe and I finished watching The Godfather, Part II and went to bed soon after. It was a productive day at the lake, even if we didn't get to go fishing.

Oh, and one final note about fishing, early in the day I let the perch go. I had caught it a couple of days earlier and had planned on having it for dinner if we could bag at least one more jumbo, but with no fishing today and the house-staining project coming up, I didn't think we'd have time to catch that second fish. Thus, there's one more jumbo perch roaming the waters of Leech Lake.

August 12, 2012 -- On Leech Lake

This morning was overcast and grey, the temperature was 66 degrees and the wind was very light at 5-8 mph out of the west. The high temperature today hit only 72 degrees.

After a late breakfast and some "hanging around" time at the house, Joe and I eventually made it out onto the water at 1:45 p.m. By this time the wind had shifted a bit and was coming out of the WSW at 8-12 mph which enabled me to position the boat in front of Giza's cabin, deploy the drift sock and have the wind push the boat at a ground speed of .35 to .45 mph all the way to Schiebe's cabin in water depths ranging from 11 feet to eventually 8 feet.

Joe continued to use the Northland Mimic Minnow Spin in a firetiger color while I opted for a Northland Gumball jig tipped with a Lindy Munchie's 4-inch worm. We both caught several small- to medium-sized perch, and I caught a couple of rock bass and northerns, but neither of us could boat that elusive second jumbo perch that we need for a fish fry.

We came back ashore at roughly 4:00 p.m. Once back on land, I got out my Stihl MS 290 chainsaw and finally took down the balsam fir that's along the path between the house and cabin. It had been damaged in the July 2 storm, but was braced upright by a nearby maple. It only took about 30 minutes to drop the tree and cut it into 2-foot lengths which we will later burn in the fire pit at the cabin. Balsam is not really the best wood to burn in the fireplace, so it'll be relegated to outdoor fires.

Joe has baited the crayfish trap with a dead sucker that washed into the harbor and in just a day has probably 15 in the trap. We moved it from the house dock to the dock at the cabin where there appears to be a larger population of crayfish. Once we have 40-50 in the trap, we'll boil them and eat them. The tail meat dipped in butter is very tasty. Maybe crayfish are not Maine lobster good, but they're still a very enjoyable appetizer before a meal.

The clouds dominated the sky at sunset tonight over Leech Lake

Joe and I watched most of The Godfather, Part II this evening, but it's so darn long that we couldn't make it all the way through disc 2 before we had to call it a night. We've got to get up tomorrow morning and start power-washing the house. Until next time...

August 11, 2012 -- On Leech Lake

It was a beautiful morning in the northwoods of Minnesota on the shores of Leech Lake. The temperature was 65 degrees at 8:30 a.m., the sky was sunny and blue with some high, hazy cloud cover and the wind was light at 8-10 mph out of the WSW. The temperature hit a high of 75 degrees, a bit cooler than the rest of the country is experiencing.

Joe is feeling better today, but is still not back to 100%. I spent the morning reading the news online, checking on the perch to make sure it was still in good health (it appears stronger than yesterday after I first caught it) and enjoying a couple of cups of coffee.

Duane Paulson stopped by at about 9:30 a.m. to see if Joe and I had started on our house-staining project; which we have not. I think it's the first time in a couple years Duane has stopped by to see me. Usually I stop and talk to him when I see him outside at his place. And speaking of the staining the house, the plan is to start the power-washing of the house on Monday, and if we're lucky, we'll be able to finish washing the house in one day. Then we'll let the house dry thoroughly all day on Tuesday and then we'll begin the staining process on Wednesday. That's the plan as of Saturday at any rate.

After lunch Joe and I went fishing. I noted that the water temperature had fallen to an even 76 degrees. With the wind blowing out of the south at 8-10 mph I set the boat out in front of Giza's cabin and let the wind push  us north on Sucker Bay. Joe was using a chartreuse green Northland Mimic Minnow Spin and I was using a Northland Gumball jig tipped with a 4-inch plastic worm.

When we were directly in front of our house Joe hooked into a good-sized perch, maybe an 11-inch jumbo. As he was lifting it into the boat it came off the hook and it fell back into the lake, which is too bad because it would have been the good second keeper for our fish-fry dinner.

For the rest of the afternoon we caught several more perch, but none big enough to keep. I also hooked into a small pike and a bigger one which snapped off my jig. We came back ashore about 4:30 p.m. in time for me to listen to A Prairie Home Companion, which was a compilation of all his baseball skits, songs and a 30-minute "News" about Babe Ruth's visit to Lake Wobegon in 1934.

We grilled pork steaks for dinner accompanied with baked potato and broccoli; very tasty. After dinner we cleaned up and the watched The Godfather on DVD. As many times as I've seen it, it's still a great movie. Maybe tomorrow, or later this week, we'll watch part Two.

We'll have to go fishing again tomorrow to see if we could catch that second jumbo perch. Both Joe and I want a fish-fry for dinner.

Good night from Leech Lake.

August 7-10, 2012 -- In Minnesota

Here's a quick recap of the past few days to get caught up on my posts.

August 7
The weather today was warm, with high temperatures up near 80 degrees. The sky was sunny with just some big fluffy clouds, and a wind out of the north at 8-12 mph. It felt muggy as I did some cleaning around the house, took the garbage and recycling down to the community center, locked up the cabin, out-buildings and house, and then started on my drive to St. Cloud. I made a stop in Walker to pick up a case for my Stihl MS 290 chainsaw, but other than that, and a quick stop in Pine River for gas and something to eat, I drove straight through to St. Cloud. I spent the late-afternoon and evening at Kathleen's mom's house before heading down to the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport to pick up Joe. His flight arrived at 11:15 p.m. and we arrived back in St. Cloud around 1:30 a.m., where we spent the night at Marge Coyle's house.

August 8
The weather in St.Cloud was relatively cool at 74 degrees in the morning, and it was overcast and looked like it could rain; although it never did. Joe and I had breakfast at Perkin's near Marge's house and the highlight was just as we were being seated the table next to us was leaving. It was then I noticed that the man at the next table was none other than fishing-legend, Fishing Hall of Fame member, Al Lindner, founder of the In-Fisherman empire and Lindy/Little Joe tackle company. I've been a fan of Al's since the early-1980s when my interest in fishing was renewed with trips to local bass lakes near San Luis Obispo, California. And at last, my path had crossed with the greatest fisherman of our era.

After breakfast Joe and I went to visit Marge at St. Benedict's and took her to see her sister and her husband had recently moved into the nursing home section of St. Ben's. We spent a couple of hours visiting with them before heading back to Marge's house. Later in the evening, Joe and I met Tim, Sandy, their boys, Marge and Tom S. and his daughter for dinner at Bravo Burritos, a favorite dining establishment of ours. We had a nice meal and had plenty of time to talk and catch up before parting ways. Joe and I, along with Tim and his boys continued the evening by taking in the movie, The Dark Knight Rises, the third of the new Batman trilogy.

August 9
The weather was again fairly cool in the morning, but warmed throughout the day. We cleaned up Marge's house, did the laundry and then started on our way north to Leech Lake. We made stops in Baxter and Walker for supplies, but managed to be sitting on the dock looking at the beauty of the lake by 5:30 p.m. We spent a fun evening at home listening to music and just hanging out. It's good to have Joe at the lake. I hope he enjoys his time here.

August 10
The temperature this morning at 8:00 a.m. was a cool 63 degrees. The wind was light at 5-8 mph out of the NNW and the sky was sunny with hardly a cloud visible. Joe wasn't feeling too good today so he spent most of the day resting and taking it easy. Travel has never been easy for him. After spending some time cleaning up around the house and doing some laundry, I decided to fishing.

The water temperature has dropped as a result of the cooler weather and is now 76.7 degrees. There is another algae bloom going on right now, about the fifth or sixth one this summer, which is a sign of a healthy lake and strong ecosystem. I decided to start the day by pulling a spinner rig with a nightcrawler at a ground speed of roughly 1 1/2 mph using the kicker motor. I took the boat south well out into Duck Bay before looping out into the bay and heading north. I got a couple of light taps, but didn't hook a fish. When I had gone as far north as Schiebe's cabin I changed tactics and switched to a jig and plastic grub-like bait. I hooked into something big, most likely a pike, but despite playing the fish carefully (with the drag set properly), the bit through the line and escaped. I quickly tied on another jig and tipped it with another artificial plastic bait and set about fishing. A short time late I boated a nice jumbo perch that measured a full 11-inches. I put that fish in the live well. With one more perch like that, Joe and I will have enough for a fish fry dinner.

The night was spent quietly after dinner with Joe going to bed early and me spending some time online. All in all, a very nice day on Leech Lake.

August 6, 2012 -- On Leech Lake

This morning was warmer than it's been in previous mornings. At 9:00 a.m. the temperature was already 74 degrees on its way to a high of 84 degrees. The wind was variable at 8-15 mph out of the WSW, but was blowing hard enough throughout most of the day as to create some white caps on the lake. The sky was sunny and blue, with hardly a cloud in site.

At 9:30 a.m. this morning Lainy Malay called me and asked if I'd seen a dog wandering around the neighborhood. It appears I'm not the only who's seen "Buck." In fact, it seems that everyone on the peninsula has seen the "German Sheppard-looking" dog. According to Lainy, the consensus from people as far south as Moose Lane off of Ottertail Point Dr. to those of us on West Shores Rd. is that the dog has been abandoned. Many people are keeping an eye out for the dog in hopes of corralling it and either keeping it themselves (as a couple of people have stated) or taking him into Bemidji to the SPCA Rescue Center. Either way, it seems unlikely that "Buck" and I will cross paths again.

After some PR work this morning, I decided to get out on the water for a little fishing even though the wind was still creating rolling waves and the occasional white cap. I managed to get the boat off the lift with no trouble and motored out past Second Duck Point where I put the drift sock in the water to slow the boat's drift northward. The wind was blowing out of the WSW at near 15 mph so even with the drift sock in the water the boat was moving between .83 and .92 mph ground speed. I noted that the water temperature had dropped to 78 degrees.

I used a Bass Pro Shops XPS jig in cherry-red color tipped with Northland grub. I caught a couple of medium-sized perch which I threw back into the lake. As I drifted in front of the cabin, something big grabbed my jig. I could feel the distinct motion of a big fish shaking its head before the line snapped. I quickly retied, using the same type and color of jig, and within a minute or two was fishing again.

No sooner had I lowered my jig into the water when I again hooked into something big. And again, a couple of heads shakes later my line was snapped and my jig and bait gone. It is entirely possible that a northern pike, or maybe a walleye, has two red jigs stuck in its mouth.

I retied a second time, but caught only a couple of small perch the rest of the trip. I made way back to shore around 5:30 p.m. and got dinner started. After eating I enjoyed watching the sunset and then did some cleaning around the house in preparation for Joe's arrival.

The August 6 sunset over Sucker Bay, Leech Lake

Joe gets into the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport late tomorrow evening. Rather than drive all the way up to Leech Lake, we'll spend Tuesday night and all day Wednesday in St. Cloud so Joe can see his grandma, as well as his aunt and uncle and cousins. More than likely we'll head up to the lake on Thursday morning.

It'll be nice to have Joe here, not only to help me stain the house and do other chores around the property, but to hang out with him, listen to music with him, have a fire in the fire pit, go fishing and of course watch The Big Lebowski.

At midnight, the temperature was still 72 degrees, and with a dew point of 65 degrees, the humidity is hovering around 80%. Plus the wind has died down, so it's a still, muggy night. But I can hear the loons calling across the lake. I never get tired of that sound.

Good night from Leech Lake.

August 5, 2012 -- At Leech Lake

Like yesterday, the wind today is the primary feature of the weather. The wind was blowing at 15-20 mph, with gusts up over 25 mph, out of the west creating a series of rolling white caps across the lake. The temperature at 9:00 a.m. was a cool 60 degrees, and by 1:30 p.m. had warmed only to 67 degrees. The skies today were mostly sunny and blue, with some big, fluffy white clouds moving across the sky due to the high wind.

No sign of my lost dog friend "Buck" this morning or afternoon. With the wind blowing as stiff as it was, I stayed off the lake and focused my attention on on-shore activities. I started with a ATV around the peninsula, with a stop at Norm's for a 30-minute chat. I continued down the to the community center then up Sucker Bay Road and down Ottertail Road. During the entire circuit I kept my eyes peeled for Buck, but I didn't see him.

After my return and a brief bite of lunch, I went next door where I spent some considerable time trimming off dead branches from the red pine trees that are next to the cabin. I now have plenty of kindling to start a good fire in the fire pit once Joe's here.

I also transplanted a small sugar maple tree from a spot near the game room -- where there are literally a hundred or more little sugar maple saplings -- to a spot near the harbor over at the house. I gave it a full bucket of lake water afterward and will keep an eye on it to make sure it adjusts to its new location before Autumn and Winter set in.

A sail boat on Sucker Bay,  Leech Lake

I spent a quiet night at home having dinner, listening to music and surfing the web. The wind continued to blow hard as the light faded from the sky and well into the night. I hope tomorrow it's a bit calmer so I can get out on the lake to do some fishing.

Still no sign of Buck. Good night from Leech Lake.

August 4, 2012 -- At Leech Lake

The primary feature of today's weather was the wind. From the early morning hours throughout the day and into the evening and night, the wind was blowing at 15-20 mph with gusts often up over 25 mph. It was not, however, out of the same direction all day long. It started this morning blowing out of the WSW before gliding northward to a west wind, before it settled in as a NNW wind later in the day and into the night.

The temperature this morning was a cool 61 degrees at 9:00 a.m. and climbed to no more than 72 at its warmest. The sky was filled with clouds most of the day, with only brief periods of blue sky and sun. And by 7:00 p.m. it started to rain. A hard rain fell at least three time between 7:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m., but never for more than 15 to 20 minutes at a time.

This afternoon I spent quite a bit of time on the roof of the house putting zinc stripping along the peak of the roof to keep the mold and moss from growing. There is some mold and moss already present, so I may need to spray it with a diluted bleach solution. That should kill what's there and along with the zinc prevent any new mold and moss from growing.

I also took a long ATV ride around the peninsula today; not fast, just a slow, steady pace to enjoy the beauty of the Ottertail Peninsula.

Later in the evening, just after sunset, I spotted a German Sheppard-looking dog wandering on the road and at the end of our driveway. I had seen this dog earlier in the week when I was at the Newman's and their dog Bernard chased it away. I also saw it wandering in the area mid-week. I figured it must be lost. The poor dog was soaking wet from the rain and looked scared. I got some of our old dog food and put some in a bowl. I took it out to the driveway and put the bowl on the pavement. I then called to the dog before retreating to the porch in order to give it some space and not scare it.

The dog, which I've dubbed "Buck" from Jack London's Call of the Wild slowly made its way down the driveway toward the bowl. Cautiously the dog made its way to the bowl and then very quickly devoured the food. I also brought the dog a bowl of water but as I approached, it trotted up the driveway keeping its distance. I left the bowl of water and went to refill the bowl of food.

When I returned with a fresh bowl of food, Buck again moved away, waiting for me to leave the bowl of food. I placed the food on the driveway and again walked up to the porch. Slowly, Buck made his way to the bowl of food and again quickly ate the entire bowl. He was obviously very hungry. I think someone drove him out here and abandoned him. Just to make sure I checked with several neighbors and the resort, and while some people report having seen him, no one knows whose dog it is. It has no collar or tags, and it won't let me get close enough to him to pet him which would enable me to feel for a microchip in his scruff.

I'll keep on feeding Buck as long as he keeps coming back. I hope that over time he'll begin to trust me enough to where I can pet him and try to find out who he is and where he came from. Stay tuned.

"Buck" the abandoned dog I fed tonight.

I didn't get out to do any fishing today because it was too rough for me, but John and Karen Newman were brave enough to make it out and they reported catching a couple of good-sized perch which they kept, and a 22-inch walleye, which they immediately put back into the lake.

A break in the clouds over Sucker Bay, Leech Lake

Leech Lake 2012 -- Flashback

I discovered this photo on my phone of my wife Kathleen which I took on the evening of July 13, 2012. That  was the week we spent together alone at Leech Lake before she had to go back to California. With any luck, she'll be able to return to Leech Lake to celebrate the beautiful colors of Autumn.

My beautiful wife Kathleen on our dock at Leech Lake

August 3, 2012 -- On Leech Lake

As was the case yesterday, at 8:00 a.m. there was low rumbling of thunder, a light rain falling, a cool temperature of only 61 degrees and a light breeze out of the north at 3-5 mph. But unlike yesterday, as the morning progressed the weather didn't clear up.

At 10:30 a.m. the rain finally did cease, but the ground was wet, puddles stood in the driveway and sky remained grey and overcast. The temperature was steady at 61 degrees, and with a dew point of 61 degrees, the humidity was pegged at an even 100%.

Just before noon the clouds began to part and the sun came out. By 12:30 p.m. the clouds were nearly gone from the sky, the temperature had warmed to 82 degrees and a good wind of 10-15 mph was blowing out of the south.

It was right around this time that I gathered my wallet, phone and keys and drove the truck into Cass Lake. I had invited John and Karen Newman over for pizza this evening so I needed to go to the Great River Pizzeria to pick up a couple of unbaked pizzas. I'll bake them fresh and hot for dinner.

Once home from "town," I decided to go fishing for an hour so. With the wind coming out of the south, I positioned the boat so that the wind would push it out into the Bay and north to a spot between the house and cabin in 12 feet of water. I noted that the water temperature had dipped a bit to 79.3 degrees.

I jigged with a Northland grub for a full hour but caught only one medium-sized perch. At 4:30 p.m. I came ashore to prepare for the Newmans arrival.

We enjoyed a beer or two while the oven heated, and then had a wonderful pizza dinner -- a classic combo pizza and one with pepperoni, mushrooms and anchovies. It turns out that all three of like anchovies so that pizza took the biggest dent.

The Newmans left by 8:00 p.m. as the sky darken not only with the sun dropping toward the horizon, but with a severe thunderstorm moving into the area. I checked the Weather.com "maps in motion" and saw a band of very heavy storm activity moving toward Leech Lake and scheduled to hit between 9:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.

Given our experience with the bad storm on July 2, I lowered the flag pole, shut the windows and prepared for the worse. Luckily, it the storm that hit tonight was no where near as bad as the one in early July. Sure, we had lots of lightning and thunder claps directly overhead and tons of rain, but the wind was only 20-30 mph compared to the 80+ mph wind with which last month's storm hit us.

By 11:00 p.m. the storm had passed for the most part, although we did get some rain throughout the night. I kept the stereo unplugged -- due to the close proximity of the lightning -- so I watched a DVD rather than listen to music tonight.

Good night from the shores of Leech Lake.

August 2, 2012 -- On Leech Lake

This morning at 8:00 a.m. there was low rumbling of thunder, some light rain and overcast skies. But by 10:00 a.m., the weather had cleared and it was as nice a day as we've had in a long time. Clear blue skies, a nice breeze blowing out of the NW and a temperature of 74 degrees. It was the perfect day to enjoy a cup of coffee on the back deck. The only downside was that Kathleen wasn't here with me.

After my coffee and some work online and around the house, I took a bike ride down to the Harbor and back. Roughly a 4-mile round trip. It felt good to stretch my legs and move, even if the old bike I was riding -- Kathleen's Dad's old bike -- is much too small for me.

I was just getting ready to go next door to the cabin to cut a roll of zinc tape in half -- in order to retrofit it along the cap of the roof of the garage that is attached to the house -- when I got a call from Lainy. Yep, she had another bat in the house. So I grabbed my net, got on the ATV and drove down to the Malay's cabin.

Unlike the bats that I captured yesterday, this bat was either sick or injured because it had crawled underneath the small refrigerator that the Malay's keep in their back, screened-in porch and wedged itself between a bracket and the cooling coils.

I had to use a yardstick to push the tiny bat out from its hidden spot and then easily scooped it up in the net and deposited it outside. Just as I had rid the Malay's of another bat, Dave Levy, the local carpenter who is does work on everyone's cabin in the area, including ours, stopped by to seal up the chimney grating on the top of the house; a suspected entry point for the bats invading the Malay's house.

Once on top of the house and near the chimney, Dave called out that there were several bats nestled in and around the base of the chimney. I quickly scampered up the ladder and onto the roof to get a look myself. In addition to four or five live bats, there were maybe a dozen more than had died. Using a stick, and later the yardstick, I managed to get all of the living bats to vacate the area so Dave could set about his work.

At that point I left the Malay's and went back to the cabin where I spent an hour or so cutting up strips of zinc which I will later install on the roof of the house-garage.

As the day progressed, the temperature climbed in to the mid-80s and the wind calmed to just a slight breeze from the SSE. With the zinc cut, and with lunch taken care of, I decided to do some later afternoon fishing.

I fished in the "honey hole" between our house and cabin in 10-12 feet of water using a jig and artificial bait, but didn't catch a thing. I did have a nice "slow pull" on my line and when I set the hook I could tell there was a big fish on the line, but as I started to play the fish it gave one strong yank on the end of my line and broke free. I tied on a new jig, tipped it with an Northland artificial grub and set out fishing again, but still could not boat a fish.

By 6:15 p.m. I was back on shore. I spent the evening doing some work online, reading, listening to music and watching yet another glorious sunset over Sucker Bay. Good night from Leech Lake; more tomorrow.

Another beautiful Leech Lake sunset over Sucker Bay

August 1, 2012 -- At Leech Lake

The first day of August arrived hot and humid. The temperature today topped out at 86 degrees, while the humidity was up near 80%. The dew point was over 70 degrees so it was a muggy day to say the least. The wind was variable throughout the day ranging from just a light breeze to 15+ mph out of the NW.

Rather than eat breakfast at home this morning I drove into Bemidji where I ate at Perkin's. I needed to go into town to pick up 20 gallons of outdoor stain which I will apply to the house once Joe arrives in MN to help me.

I also ran some other errands in town, like going to the UPS Store to send some of the things Jayden left at the lake back to him, and get some groceries to hold me over until Joe arrives.

I didn't get home until just before 3:00 p.m., which is the time John Newman had invited me over to have an late-lunch/early-dinner with him and Clarence (the guy from whom we purchased our beautiful Leech Lake house). While I was hurriedly put away the groceries my phone rang and it was Lainy Malay. She sounded upset and I soon learned why -- she had a bat flying around in her house. She asked if I'd come down and capture it for her.

I put the frozen and cold grocery items away and left the others for later. I went next door and retrieved my live-well net which is the perfect size to capture the flying rodents. Armed with my net I took the ATV down to the Malay's and met Lainy on her back porch. She let me in and pointed through the French doors toward the kitchen, telling me that there were actually two bats in there. On closure inspection I spotted three bats in flight.

I opened the door and made my way in. I spotted one of the little mosquito catchers resting on the wall. I effortlessly covered it with my net and took it outside where I released it. I then propped the front door open hoping I could herd the other two out without having to capture them. Wrong.

The two bats continued to fly around the house, but in an amazing display of hand-eye coordination I snagged one out of midair in a single fluid motion. But as I carried it to the door it escaped my net forcing me to swipe at it with the net. I clipped it with the metal frame of the net knocking it to the floor. Unfazed, the rodent began crawling across the floor while screeching at me. I went to scoop it up with the net but in the ensuing struggle the bat was injured. I finally got the wounded animal outside where I let it loose in the wooded area between the Malay's and their neighbor's house.

Now it was time to find the third little night flyer. But despite a thorough search of the living room, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom neither Lainy nor I could locate the third bat. I figured it must have flown out the open door while I was preoccupied with the wounded bat so I declared the premises "bat free."

I then went home, cleaned up and went next door to the Newman's. I spent several hours with John and Clarence conversing, eating grilled chicken sandwiches and enjoying the nice breeze that had picked up; cooling things off somewhat.

While I was at Newman's, in fact just before we were getting ready to sit down for our meal, John got a call from Lainy Malay. The third bat, the mystery bat, had appeared and she had it trapped on the back porch. She wanted to know if I'd come down and get it outside for her. I went home and repeated the process from earlier -- get net, ride ATV to the Malay's and hunt bat.

I spotted it on the window as I entered the back porch. Sensing that I was there to do it no good, the flying rat leaped from its spot on the window and took flight. In a repeat of my earlier feat of bat-catching, I captured the bat with just one well-time swipe of the net through the air. With it entangled in the mesh of the net, I opened the door to the porch and let the bat go safely outside.

With the bat situation again under control, I went back to Newman's to enjoy the tasty grilled chicken sandwiches. I came home around 7:30 p.m. and spent a quiet evening at home.

I did make sure to listen to some Grateful Dead music in honor of what would have been Jerry Garcia's 70th birthday. Smile, smile, smile.

Leech Lake sunset, August 1, 2012

There was a nice sunset, and I wish Kathleen could have been here to enjoy it with me. I know she went running at the ranch tonight after work, but it's just not the same as having her run down W. Shores Rd. followed by a series of lunges down the driveway. Hopefully she'll be able to return to Leech Lake soon.

Good night.

July 31, 2012 -- On Leech Lake

How in the world can this be the last day in July? It seemed like just yesterday it was early June and I was picking up Kathleen at the airport for the start of her wonderful, spectacular visit to Leech Lake. Now it's the end of July. Wow.

Well, the weather certainly felt like a day in late July. The temperature at 8:30 a.m. this morning was already 75 degrees, the wind was light at 8-10 mph out of the WSW and the humidity was on the rise. The sky was mostly sunny with just a few high clouds.

As the day progressed the humidity went up as did the heat. By late afternoon the temperature was in the high 80s and the humidity was at least 75%. The wind remained fairly steady at 8-12 mph out of the SW.

Around 3:30 p.m. John Newman made his way over to my boat lift in preparation for a couple of hours on the water. Our plan was to pull spinner rigs with nightcrawlers for walleye and if that didn't work switch to jigging with leeches, fatheads and artificial bait.

I motored the Lund IFS 1850 Pro south past Second Duck Point, deployed my 8-hp Honda, 4-stroke kicker motor and John and I then started pulling spinners. John was using a bullet weight in front of a spinner of purple beads and blades while I used an in-line keel weight pulling a chartreuse crawler harness/spinner rig. I kept the boat moving  at 1.3 to 1.7 mph which was sufficient to keep the spinners over the weeds. I took us up Sucker Bay to Schiebe's cabin, but other than a few small perch bites neither John nor I caught a walleye or jumbo perch.

As planned, we switched up tactics and to jigging while drifting. Again I motored us past Second Duck Point in 12 feet of water -- which was 80.7 degrees -- where we deployed the drift sock and dropped our jigs in the water. I tipped my jig with a leech while John opted for a fathead. We caught a few small perch but no jumbos or walleyes.

The wind had died down to just a breeze so we pulled in the drift sock to keep the boat moving at .45 mph ground speed. But our attempts to keep moving were to no avail and we caught nothing more than small perch. So at 6:00 p.m. we decided to give up and come ashore.

I spent the rest of the night listening to music, reading, talking to Kathleen and the kids on the phone before heading off to bed. A week from today, August 7, my son Joe arrives in MN. I look forward to seeing him.

Good night from Leech Lake.