July 29, 2012 -- At Leech Lake

If the US Weather Service is to be believed, it's supposed to be between 90 and 95 degrees here at Leech Lake today. At 8:30 a.m., the temperature was 74 degrees, and I don't think it dipped much below 70 degrees during the night, so it might indeed be a "cooker" today.

The wind was out of the WSW at 8-15 mph, the sky was mostly sunny with some high, hazy clouds. A warm and pleasant summer Sunday morning, if not a bit muggy.

After a hearty Sunday breakfast, I went next door to the cabin to open up the garage so Tom and his friend Skip could take one of the ice-fishing houses that are being stored there into Bemidji where it will be auctioned off as part of fundraiser to raise money to help Skip's grandson who is in need of heart surgery. As it turns out, the little boy will be having surgery at the Lucille Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford University in Palo Alto not more than 20 minutes drive from our house in San Jose. Small world.

I helped Skip and his son Caleb load the ice-fishing house into Skip's pickup truck and just that little bit of movement had us all covered in sweat as a result of the 85 degree heat and high humidity. I think that 90 degrees or even higher is a real possibility. The wind did pick up to 15 mph out of the WSW and that helped cool things off a bit; if you were just standing still.

After Tom, Skip and Caleb left I set about some work at the cabin. I applied water sealant to the permanent wood portion of the dock that leads out to the boat lift. Sitting in the hot, baking sun had me sweating in the hour it took to apply the sealant.

I then mended the fish-holding basket that I keep my catch in. Earlier, I had released the jumbo perch I had hooked a couple of days ago deciding to have something grilled for dinner instead. It was during the process of releasing the perch that I noticed that some of the wire meshing had torn and that there was a hole the size of plum in the bottom of the basket. It wasn't big enough for a jumbo perch to squeeze through, and certainly not big enough for a keeper walleye to escape, but I used some wire to repair it just the same.

At this point the temperature had climbed to 89 degrees and the humidity was up over 75% with a dew point in the 70-degree plus range; very muggy. I was so hot that I decided to take a ride on the ATV to cool off. On my way past Malay's on the way back to the house I spotted Tom who was taking a break from mowing his lawn. He too was covered in sweat. We decided the best thing to do was sit still and enjoy a couple of cold, malted beverages. And that's just what we did.

Once home, I sat out on the back deck and read. The wind was blowing hard enough to keep any bugs and flies at bay, and it was much cooler than being in the house. I made it through "The Merchant's Tale" in Geoffery Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. I still have five more "Tales" to complete before I finish this epic work of poetic literature.

Later in the evening, after a beautiful sunset, I grilled a pork steak and had that and a variety of sides for dinner. I then settled in and listened to some music and surfed the web for a while before calling it a night. The wind never let up today keeping me off the water, but maybe tomorrow I can get out for some fishing.

Good night.

July 28, 2012 -- On Leech Lake

Unlike yesterday, this morning was sunny and warm. The temperature at 10:00 a.m. was 73 degrees, the sky was mostly sunny with just a few big, white fluffy clouds and the wind was relatively light at 5-10 mph out of the WSW.

I enjoyed a several cups of coffee while sitting on the back deck. It was just a week ago that Kathleen and I drove from St. Cloud so Kathleen could catch her flight to San Francisco. Although it's only been 7 days, it seems like she's been gone for a long, long time. I sure wish we could figure out a way to live here at Leech Lake year round.

I surfed the web for a while reading about the Olympics and other news before deciding to go fishing. I made a sandwich, gathered some cold drinks and then went next door to the boat lift. With the wind blowing out of the SSW I motored out past Second Duck Point and let the wind push the boat north up Sucker Bay and out from shore toward the middle of the bay.

I fished for about 90 minutes and in that time I caught only one medium sized pike and possibly the smallest fish I've ever caught using a jig; a tiny 2 1/2-inch perch that was no bigger around than my little finger. I'll give the little guy credit, he was willing to hit a bait that was the same size as it was, a 2 1/2-inch pearl white Gulp Alive! minnow.

Once back on shore I finished eating my sandwich then set to work applying Thompson's water seal to the stairs next to the harbor. That took me about an hour, and by the time I was done, I was hot and sweaty from working outside in the hot sun and a temperature of 85 degrees. It was time for a plunge in the lake.

I took a very enjoyable and cooling camp bath that truly did cool me off. After drying off and coming inside it was time for A Prairie Home Companion on MPR. It was a compilation show with bits and pieces I've heard before, but it was still fun to listen to.

With Garrison gone for another week I made dinner and then settled in to do some reading online and listening to music. I sure wish Kathleen was here to play dominoes, cribbage or Scrabble with me. We do have fun playing games in the living room.

An uneventful, but pleasant evening on the shores of Leech Lake.