June 9, 2012 -- At Leech Lake

I had a lot of trouble falling asleep last night and didn't doze off until after 1:00 a.m. Then I awoke at 4:00 a.m. and tossed and turned until 6:00 a.m. when I thought about getting up. But then I dozed off again awaking for good at 8:00 a.m. I guess I was excited about Kathleen arriving from California later today and all of the things I need to do to get the house ready.

At 8:00 a.m. the sky was mostly sunny with some high clouds, the wind was out of the SSE at 5-10 mph, but the water along the shoreline was calm. The temperature was nearly 70 degrees, and the forecast is for temps in the low- to mid-90s with a dew point up over 70; a hot and humid day ahead.

I immediately got the linens off the bed and into the laundry. Then I made coffee; must have coffee. As I was waiting for the coffee to brew, I noticed that one of the suet feeders I had put for the birds was missing. It was the same one that came down a few days ago when the branch it was attached to was completely snapped off. I searched the area for the suet feeder, but all I could find of it was a few small pieces of the chain from which it  hanged. The feeder itself was gone. Maybe I'll find it in the woods sometime this Fall when the thick growth of knee-high plants and grasses dies back. For now, it's missing.
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The cleaners came at 9:30 a.m. and immediately got to work. I had already pulled the ladder out of the garage and has started washing the windows. It took me a little over three hours to wash the windows and screens, and then another half hour to wash the back porch. The day had grown to be a hot one. The temperature by 2:00 p.m. was 85 degrees. Although there was some wind, about 10-15 mph out of the SW, it felt a lot hotter under sunny skies. By the time I was done with the porch, the cleaners had completed cleaning the house.

I took care of some other chores, had some lunch, swam in the lake (for the first time this year) cleaned up and then listened to A Prairie Home Companion on MPR. Eventually at 9:00 p.m. I went into Bemidji, had some dinner and then picked up Kathleen at the airport at 10:45 p.m. It's always so exciting to start a vacation here in the northwoods, and Kathleen was excited.

It had been a long hard day of work for me, and travel for Kathleen, so we went to bed soon after her arrival. It's supposed to be another hot one tomorrow. Good night from Leech Lake.