Saturday, June 21, 2008

No fish were harmed in the writing of this item.

After an hour of clearing away leaves and brush, it was time for a bit of fishing. My first time this season. I received some new lures for Father's Day, gadgets that, according to the packaging, are irresistable to fish. Well, I guess the fish have to be in the neighborhood before they can find that resistance is futile.

Marley was a big help, keening each time I reeled in the lure. I had this image of a dog with fish hooks in his tongue. But, all was and is OK.

We still don't have a good solution for the digital TV switchover. I tried a new indoor antenna. The only improvement is that I could get one UHF/DTV station - channel 27, the Spanish-language station from Worcester.

Next step is to get on a ladder to fix the UHF lead that comes down from the antenna in the oak tree out front. Will someone dial 9 1 and wait for a yell?
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Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Mountain laurel in bloom


Friday, June 13, 2008

What is so rare is a day in June?

A day of sunshine, light and warm breezes, the occasional cackle from our friend, the kingfisher - this is why we come to Queen Lake. Even as we missed the shore trees that the beavers have harvested for their lodge over in the corner of the cove, we can appreciate the new views of the lake.

There's a lot of pollen on the surface of the quiet water, almost a leopard-skin of shadows on the sand below. Our sympathies to those who suffer from allergies.

Mike stopped by on his way home from a job in New Hampshire. He took us out for a ride around the lake, inspecting, among other things, the camp that's for sale just outside of the cove. (It's very rare to see For Sale signs on the lake.) We felt blessed to be out on the lake on such a fine, fine day.
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Monday, June 09, 2008

Picking up after the beavers

With the warm weather, it's time to jump in the water and find out what's happened over the winter. The pollen is thick on top of the water, but, under the surface, the water's clear. We found a couple of small logs that the beavers had cut down, but hadn't been able to drag to their lodge on the neighbor's shore.

We're still a few weeks away from being able to start serious work in the water. The lines that hold our dock steady have broken, the result of the churning of the ice. I have a couple of ideas on how to fix this. One of the challenges, however, is that the kivvers who live under the dock are fairly aggressive and will nip at me while I'm working under there. We'll reach an accommodation before long.

In all, we fared well through the winter with just the typical number of branches down. We have several trees that should come down at some point, but none poses an imminent danger to any of the buildings. Although the beavers like birch trees, these trees are too big, too old, and too far from the water for the beavers to be interested.