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.