Hakkarainen - 3, chain saw - 2

It's axiomatic that an amateur is going to get the chain saw wedged in a tree. It's only a question of when. It took me about an hour. I was cutting down a small birch that was holding up another birch that I'd cut earlier. With Sandra's help, a pinch bar, and a healthy measure of what my father called oatmeal power, we had the saw freed in about 15 minutes. I did have to separate the bar and chain from the saw.
And so, for the second time today, I dissembled the basic parts of the saw and put it back together with no parts left over (Earlier, the chain had slipped off and I had to put it back on, getting it backwards only once.) We have a few more chores, but that was enough excitment for one day.
---
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Weeds, begone

The engineering company that has been given the task of treating the lake for weeds arrived mid-day. Two guys were in a swamp boat driven by a huge fan on the back, allowing it to go into the shallow parts of the lake without getting tangled in the weeds. The boat was the loudest thing I can recall hearing on the lake, with the possible exception of a sea plane that landed here maybe 50 years ago.
The guys dumped their chemicals in the coves, including ours, and then churned the waters a bit before moving on. I don't think that they were here for much more than an hour.
I have some pictures that I'll post when I get back to civlization.
There are some restrictions on what we can do in or with the water for the next few days. (See our web site: http://www.queenlake.org for details for this week.)
---
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Attack of the blueberries

The blueberry bushes near the boat house are drooping because of the weight of the berries. Not only did we pick a couple quarts this morning, but we left plenty of purple and green ones for the days to come. This is the best crop that we can remember.
---
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

The blueberries are in

My grandmother taught me the first rule of successful blueberry picking: don't eat the first blueberry. If you do, you're done for the day. Our crop along the shore by the boat house and along the causeway looks to be one of the better crops in quite a while. We're picking just enough for our breakfast cereal. There are plenty of green berries, extending the harvest for a couple of weeks, at least.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Nothing fills the cove like the sound of a child's laughter

Tess spent the night with us. We swam, canoed, and, of course, laughed.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Gone fishing

Sometimes, fishing is best when it's uninterrupted by fish. We have a strong northwest wind today, bringing in fresh, dry air. Sitting on the dock and casting into the wind, well, who knows where the line will go. The rain last night and today's wind have knocked lots of goodies into the water, so the fish aren't interested in my lures. That's fine. I don't need fish to have a good time.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry