Good morning all:

Weekly Wisdom, from deep in the North Woods:

“Duct tape is like the Force ….Nothing better to pick a leader than to Duct tape the candidate to a tree deep in the North Woods and then watch how he leads himself and others out of the forest” — our local everyman we’ll name Claire is back! Apparently he’s reflecting on a future election.

Yesterday it was overcast all day and it looked like rain any moment. This morning is starting just like it left off last night. However, this week was the first in three where I felt no sudden pangs from the pulled muscle in my back. This, in itself, is cause for celebration as I sip my morning java.

Meals galore – From the city we have arrived into the midst of a food circus.

The tiny community of Wharncliffe held its annual pig roast and silent auction. Cars nearly blocked the highway as the community hall grounds filled with people for the three separate seatings. Even with all the food let it be known that the quantity of beer outpaced the magnitude of the food. Fearing a result similar to what happened in the “new age” steam tent in Arizona a year ago I advised our group to escape the unbearable confines of the hall and use an outside picnic table. We had a good time.

Bob our amazing forester, hunter, fisherman, and lawn manicurist neighbor caught four or five 23” plus Northern Pike. Our other neighbor, Bulent, gave us no chance and immediately volunteered to turn Bob’s catch into a fabulous fish-fry feast. Barb, Bulent’s wife, made a spectacular desert creation consisting of a stove-top cake with a fresh blue berry-chocolate compote topping. Desert and coffee (mixed with a tad of Bourbon) were then consumed on our pontoon as we toured the lake. Doesn’t that sound extraordinary? Well, it was!

Now it was our turn. Sis-in-law Jeanne and hubby David were at the lake so we had all the family over for some well marinated flank steak dinner. To make it all that much more enjoyable I first picked them all up with the pontoon. An after dinner shot of very special Scotch Whiskey (brought to me from a friend who had just returned from Scotland) gave our palates that little extra kick. The fish seemed to be biting, so as Marcia and I set out to build a roaring campfire the others manned their rods and reels. In short order a 3.5 pound Smallmouth Bass and a Northern Pike “keeper” were hauled in. Nearly dusk, the pontoon was fired up for their homebound trip. It was truly a joyous atmosphere and spirits couldn’t have been higher.

Lessons Learned – Always, ALWAYS, check your fuel reserves before setting sail. Something I wished my daddy had taught me waaaay back. Second, always, ALWAYS, bring friends and family along so that, should you forget to check, you will have people to man the paddles. Something I tend to do.

Importance of a Life raft CANNOT be Underestimated!

Unlike the disaster on the Titanic where a looming disaster was seen in the distance ours was instantaneous. From a beautifully purring engine I immediately became the village dolt as with just two sputters the engine stalled. The fact that my second (backup) fuel tank weighed just a few ounces gave realization that, literally, we were “up the creek”. Actually, we were about a mile offshore. David (ex Navy man) hummed a few “dah dah dah dee dee dees” to himself and then bravely used my, at least 1-million lumens, spotlight to signal a SOS. The only fishing boat still out blinked back and headed for shore.

A pontoon’s floating dynamics do not lend themselves to easy paddling. Twenty feet or so is manageable. Doing it for a mile is a royal pain—something my crew reminded me of over and over again. Eventually we were rescued by Bob-the-preacher (another Bob) who ventured into the dark with his 12’ skiff and a very ancient 8 HP Johnson outboard. After beaching the pontoon like a dead whale life became much more bearable. I was volunteered to ride home in the storage portion of Donn’s SUV.

Finally the old Charlie Brown cartoon made sense. Especially the one where all Charlie hears of his teacher’s speechifying was “Wah, wah, wah, wah”. It didn’t take me very long before all I heard around me were a series of “wah, wah, wahs”.

The adventure of the morning return voyage will be next week’s post. Stay tuned.

Animal Planet – It appears that the annual lake-water inversion has taken place. Overnight the surface water became a mix of cold temperatures with a few warm spots mixed in. Overnight there was an abundance of large fish close to the surface.

For the first time this year we’ve seen Cormorants. These large birds are eating machines and will affect the minnow populations necessary for the larger fish and Loons. Not good news.

The Hummingbirds are busier than ever at the feeders. The males are just as aggressive chasing the females away. There is a difference though, now the chase seems to be more of a ritual. We’ll still hear the sound of wings crashing into wings, but much more prevalent is a hovering stand-off. Occasionally the females appear to view the chases as a game and do not try to escape in a panic-struck manner.

Make it a great week everyone.

Cheers,

Dirk