A view from the cove

Slow water

2010-06-07T04:41:00.000-04:00

They'll resume work in the morning, first to recheck the rate of water flow. At day's end on Friday, at a depth of 440 feet, we were getting about 2.5 gallons/minute, half of what's recommended. We might be able to get by, but the pump would have to work harder, shortening its life.
One option is to keep drilling. Our neighbor across the cove reached a good flow at 520 or so. (Another lakeside resident was getting 15 gallons/minute at 150 feet. It's tempting to run a pipe along the lake bottom to his well.)
The other option is hydro-fracture, also known as hydro-frac or fracking. In brief, the crew would pump pressurized water back down the hole. The pressurized water fractures the rock around the veins that are feeding the well, increasing the rate of water flow.
This seems like a lot of work (and money) to get water when we're right beside a lake. The lake water, as good as it is, however, is susceptible to a number of biological processes resulting from human, animal, and plant activities, particularly during the warmer periods of summer. This project is worth it, allowing us to have a reliable supply of good drinking water.
I just hope we don't find oil.

Future of News, Phillipston-style

2010-05-30T02:25:00.000-04:00

While the print and broadcast news media wrestle flail in paroxysms of poverty as Google and Twitter steal their lunch money, the good folk of Phillipston bring the important information directly to the people.

(Editor's note: at this writing, I've not been able to confirm our news source, but I suspect that it's Claire.)

--
Posted By RoasterBoy to Hakkarainen Clipping Service at 5/29/2010 03:45:00 AM

"More than one more thing"

2009-11-24T02:29:00.000-05:00

From the Phillipston OntheCommon.com blog: "More than one more thing"

OntheCommon.com - A place for everything

2009-09-05T01:01:00.000-04:00

I thought that I did pretty well, dropping that dead gray birch about 18" from the boathouse....

Summer morning on the lake

2009-08-18T03:47:00.000-04:00

From OnTheCommon.com

...
The water skiers and other powered folks were out. We had our time. They have theirs. Our parents tried to teach to share. The lesson about sharing is not just giving up part of the whole, but knowing that you'll get your fair portion as well.

OntheCommon.com - not even for ducks

2009-08-03T05:38:00.000-04:00

OntheCommon.com: "Around six in the morning, you can hear the planes as start to follow Route 2 on their approach to Logan Airport. On Sunday morning, we couldn't see them, though. We couldn't even see Queen Lake's other shore, the fog was so thick."

We got a gadget

2009-07-25T06:59:00.000-04:00

That sound that you hear is Huck scratching his head, wondering what his camp has come to.

The gadget is a MiFi™2200 Intelligent Mobile Hotspot, a personal wifi hotspot that connects to VerizonWireless's network, giving you, at best, speeds comparable to DSL.
So, no wires (phone line or cable), and Internet at decent speeds out here at the end of a dirt road, a road deep with puddles from last night's rain and yesterday's rain and rain that we haven't seen since the time of Noah.
But, we got the Intertubes.

The nuts don't fall far from the tree

2009-07-22T06:16:00.000-04:00

You'd think that TV at the camp wasn't that important, that with deep woods behind us and a beautiful lake in front, we wouldn't need or want TV. That's what you think....

From OntheCommon.com - "The nuts don't fall far from the tree":

Queen Lake Association 2009 Annual Meeting

2009-07-15T14:58:00.001-04:00

It's the Saturday after Independence Day and so it's the day for the annual meeting of the Queen Lake Association....

From OnTheCommon.com

Summertime sauna

2009-07-11T05:48:00.000-04:00

So, we're back home after a trip to Finland. (I've been writing about our trip in my other blog. You can find links to the reports here.)
We went to sauna at various hotels and enjoyed the experience. The saunas had electric stoves and you cooled off with showers rather than a jump in the lake. Nevertheless, it was good.
Not as good, however, as being back at Queen Lake with a wood-fired sauna and a fresh lake.
The heavy rains and cool temperatures have kept the lake refreshing.
Here we could wait until sunset before going to sauna. In Finland, particularly in the north, that really isn't an option. During Midsummer in Finland, there isn't darkness.
And, after sauna, we get to sit on bench, watch and listen to the planes on their way back to Boston ("Someone's going home.), watch those cute brown birds swoop across the water, feasting on the plentiful mosquitoes,and be still, sometimes talking, sometimes. not.

Queen Lake Sunset

2009-05-18T04:35:00.001-04:00

EEB sent us this photo:

The noises of coming to life

2009-05-12T07:56:00.000-04:00

Across the lake, you can hear the small chainsaws with dull chains laboring mightily amid the continued cleanup from the ice storm. We've not yet toured the lake, but a neighbor reported that the west side was much harder hit. From another camp comes the sound of a circular saw, cutting lumber as a part of the season's repairs and improvements.
We're making good progress. Last week, Mike and Joe cut up and cleared the fallen trees that were blocking our driveway. We then spent a couple of hours clearing away the brush, leaves, and other winter debris.
This weekend, we turned on the water and cleaned up some more, inside and out. Sandra got a new power blower for Mother's Day, giving us one more tool tool to move stuff from this side of the yard to that.
It usually takes us until Memorial Day weekend to get the place ready, so we're right on schedule.

By the way, I'm writing a more-or-less weekly blog at the Telegram and Gazette's OnTheCommon.com site. The blog entries cover both Holden and Phillipston. My most recent post about Queen Lake is here.

There's work to be done

2009-04-11T19:36:00.000-04:00

The camp survived the ice storm in good shape, but there are quite few trees down and some more that are nearly so. It'll be a busy spring.
Once the road dries out a bit, we'll need to bring in some professionals to do much of the cutting.

From Worcester T&G: Break-ins reported at Queen Lake

2009-04-11T07:31:00.000-04:00

The Worcester Telegram and Gazette reports in their April 11, 2009 edition that police are investigating a series of break-ins at Queen Lake:

Thieves hit camps near Queen Lake
PHILLIPSTON — Police are investigating thefts that occurred last week at seasonal camps near Queen Lake in the area of Scout Rock and Lighthouse roads.

Thieves forced open locks on outbuildings and tried to break into one of the camps. An all-terrain vehicle was recently taken from a camp on the Spa Road end of Burma Road. Meanwhile, police are investigating the theft of two chain saws that occurred sometime in the past two weeks at a Brooks Village house. Thieves got in through a workshop at the back of the house.

Police are asking anyone with information regarding any of the thefts to contact the Phillipston Police Department at (978) 249-3560 or police@Phillipston-ma.gov.

Winter storms

2009-01-03T15:28:00.000-05:00

In all, we fared pretty well. There were a few trees and a lot of branches down around the camp, but no damage.

Through it all, we have to give Verizon a lot of credit. Even though electric service is still out on our side of the lake, the phone still works.

We did see a new Cove Monster fall down and try to rise up from the frozen waters:

Even after some really harsh and cold weather, the ice is only about 3-4" thick and many places are slushy beneath the recent snowfall.
So, the winter of 2008-9 has given us several good kicks. The National Weather Service is suggesting, in their long-range outlook, that we'll be colder than normal with above average precipitation. In a word, yikes.

Dirty hands, clean heart

2008-09-20T10:39:00.001-04:00

So, I finally found the replacement adapter for the sauna stove pipe. It took just a few mnutes to connect the new piece to the old pipe. I lit a small fire to check for leaks and found none.
Any project with stove pipe is dirty work. The rust and soot get on everything. As I was washing up I remembered that I'd not seen an ad for Lava soap in a long time. I guess people dont get their hands dirty like they used to.
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Watching the steam rise from the water

2008-09-20T08:02:00.000-04:00

The temperature is 38. I'm sure that we would have had a frost last night if it wasn't for the relatvely warm lake nearby. Our wood stove, made from an an old barrel, heats the room quickly. The sun will be up over the trees soon, bringing even more warmth. Nevertheless, we're at the end of summer and that means we're getting chilly.
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Justifying another barrel of scraps

2008-08-31T13:19:00.000-04:00

The last couple of times we had sauna, we noticed that we could see the fire through holes in the stove pipe. The metal had rusted away and fell apart to the touch.
I went to a half dozen stores looking for the right replacement sections and couldn't find the one that I needed.
Fortunmately, in the corner of the boathouse there is an old barrel filled with odd pieces of stovepipe I picked some of the oddest and was able to get a working configuration. We'll give a try this evening.
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Red leaves and blue berries

2008-08-31T13:10:00.000-04:00

Even as we take the turn into September, this year's bountiful crop of berries just won't quit. In a quick few minutes, we picked a quart, enough for breakfast, lunch, and snacks. The neighbors report more than 40 quarts for the season, not a record, but a mighty haul all the same.
The wind is strong from the northwest and the angle of the sun has dropped behind the trees in the afternoon. The sunlight is still warm, but the air and light and colors tell us that we're late in the season. It's been a good one, one of the best.
---
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Deer flies pose nuisance to berry- and mushroom pickers

2008-08-21T09:35:00.000-04:00

The Helsingin Sanomat - International Edition reports what New England berry-pickers have also discovered: deer flies are tenacious little critters that bite hard and can make you take the Lord's name in vain.

Nearing the end of the blueberry season

2008-08-17T12:52:00.001-04:00

If we were to get only the blueberries that I picked this morning (a pint in a half hour), in most years, we'd have called it a good crop. As it is, we're nearing the end of a bountiful season. Today, we're picking single blueberries, not the clusters that look like bunches of grapes. Sometimes, you can't even see the berries at first. You have to let your eyes relax, as though you're looking at a Where's Waldo? scene. Then, they appear, sweet and dark and fresh.
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A quiet day amid the thunder

2008-08-16T19:04:00.001-04:00

The thunderstorms went to the north and south of us with only brief bursts of rain. It was just enough to keep us indoors, talking, reading newspapers.
Lily spent a couple of nights with us. On Thursday, we saw a fun show, High School Musical, at the Mount Wachusett theater. Yesterday, we brought carrots to the neighbors' pony and goats, swam with and without Marley, and dined on sweet corn and pie. We brought Lily to Northampton this morning, where we met her mom for breakfast.
There's a lot of bouhaha about this weekend's sales tax holiday. We came home, feeling a bit unpatriotic, having bought just a small can of paint and a couple of odds and ends. It's good to be in a place in our lives where we don't need much more stuff. If anything, we need less. I think that the government should give us a tax refund for the stuff we get rid of.
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Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Huck's hat

2008-08-07T07:01:00.000-04:00

I'd left my baseball cap in the boat house and wanted to wear a hat when I went out to do a bit of fishing. So, I grabbed one of Huck's old white caps.
Sandra saw the hat first as I came around the corner of the camp. At the same time, I saw my reflection in one of the windows. Both of us jumped a bit, startled. We hadn't seen the hat in motion for a long time.
I wore the hat until it was time to come in. (It was a fine afternoon of fishing that was unencumbered by actually catching any fish.) I'm not much of a hat guy and have only worn one since I had a bit of melanoma removed a couple of years ago. I put Huck's hat back where it belongs.

The rains that used to be

2008-08-07T06:44:00.000-04:00

We have a loft over the porch. It's just large enough for a mattress and you can only sit up in the middle. We sleep there now and it's where I slept when I was a kid. Back then, the roof was thinner - shingles atop tar paper and boards. The sound of rain on the roof was as soothing a sound as you can find. Even the hard rain of a thunderstorm, slowed by the leaves and evergreen needles above, was muted and humble. It was great for sleeping, be it late at night or on a lazy Saturday afternoon.
When Huck retired, he redid the interior ceiling, putting up a layer of foam insulation between the rafters and covering it with particle board. The idea was to make it a year-round place. It is much warmer, but also quiet in a way that it never was. We still sleep great at the camp and we aren't about to remove insulation to reclaim a bit of nostalgia. We'll be comfy, even if I'm off listening someplace else in time.

Smoke to the winds and gone

2008-08-07T03:22:00.000-04:00

Usually in early August, a big high pressure system settles over us, giving us warm, humid air - the dog days of summer. During those times, smoke from the sauna stove will float straight up and not dissipate until it's gone beyond the tops of the trees. Occasionally, there'll be a light southerly breeze to push the smoke out toward the lake where it settles like a fog.
Not this year. Instead, a large, cold, upper-level low has parked itself over the Northeast, spinning a series of cold fronts at us. Many days, we get strong northwest winds, churning up whitecaps on the blue-gray water. This past weekend, the sauna smoke was stretched out flat like a streamer on a car's antenna.
And then, a couple of days later, the wind backed around to the east-northeast, a cool, raw fetch from the Maritimes. We needed a fire in the stove in the camp. That smoke tumbled down the hill and was gone before it reached the bottom of the steps.
The smoke is visible only as the fires are getting started. The wood doesn't burn completely and a lot of particulate matter heads out the stack. We run the sauna full-tilt, so, within minutes, the fire is very hot and the exhaust becomes clear. Even in the camp's stove, where we're apt to light just a small smudge in the morning, the fire is soon hot enough to clean itself.

Another walk in the woods

2008-08-05T16:58:00.001-04:00

The Elliott Laurel reservation (http://www.thetrustees.org/pages/302_elliott_laurel.cfm) is about a half mile south of the public beach on Route 101. It's described as having been pasture land, but only in New England would such a hilly outcropping be described as pasture. The trail through what is now forest is well-marked and, for the most part, easy hiking. If you're an old dog, you might find yourself panting on part of the hill. A second wind, however, will find you. The path requires watching, so you may find that you miss what's around you as you watch what's underfoot. Then again, by looking closely at the ground, you can spot the bright orange salamanders scurrying along the rocks.
We walked to and from the reservation, stopping to visit with the neighbors. All told, we were gone for a couple of hours, a fine walk on a summer's morning, and earning ourselves lunch at Johnson Farm (http://www.northquabbinwoods.org/entries/35) and a visit to Red Apple Farm (http://www.redapplefarm.com).
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New air

2008-08-01T08:21:00.000-04:00

The storms pretty much missed us last night, but we got a change of air all the same. It's almost a September breeze coming from the northwest across the lake. We started a little fire in the stove, even though we couldn't bring ourselves to close the windows.
We finished the last of Tuesday's blueberries and, so, it's time to pick some more. The sun is bright and warm where the berries grow.
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Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Hakkarainen - 3, chain saw - 2

2008-07-29T15:31:00.000-04:00

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.
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Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Weeds, begone

2008-07-29T15:20:00.001-04:00

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.)
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Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Attack of the blueberries

2008-07-29T15:09:00.001-04:00

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.
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The blueberries are in

2008-07-19T09:05:00.000-04:00

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

2008-07-11T17:12:00.001-04:00

Tess spent the night with us. We swam, canoed, and, of course, laughed.
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Gone fishing

2008-07-10T16:01:00.001-04:00

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

A traveler from the world of work: Travelers in the world of whatever

2008-06-25T18:16:00.000-04:00

A traveler from the world of work: Travelers in the world of whatever

No fish were harmed in the writing of this item.

2008-06-21T14:28:00.000-04:00

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?
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Mountain laurel in bloom

2008-06-18T16:08:00.001-04:00

What is so rare is a day in June?

2008-06-13T19:26:00.000-04:00

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.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Picking up after the beavers

2008-06-09T09:30:00.002-04:00

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.

Huck's kids - 2, Huck's window lever gadget thing - 1

2008-05-25T11:47:00.000-04:00

So the mechanism that opens and closes the loft window kept on coming undone, such that we either had to close the window from the outside or take off the screen and pull the window shut. With a bit of good fortune, we were able to tighten up the guide that kept the lever in place. We had no parts left over.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Slowly, as a matter of principle

2008-05-18T17:52:00.004-04:00

You can't hurry a sauna. Well, of course, you can, but it isn't a very good sauna. Sitting quietly, feeling the warmth penetrate that which aches, that which is tired, and then blasting it all with a couple of shots of steam, that's how it's done. The cold water of the spring is much more shocking than the same temperature in the fall. In the fall, we've grown used to the increasing chill. In the spring, we're starting all over again.

While we sat on the deck and cooled off, we were gratified to see a couple of bats swoop low over the water. We'd heard so much of the troubles that the bats have been having in the past year. These little brown birds are our friends, particularly on a still night when the black flies and mosquitoes are flexing their muscles.

The camp is full of details that can be considered as best practices, but can also be lived as a ritual, a way of living as well as a way of doing. Turning on the water, raking the yard, setting up the chairs so that we're ready for company - all have a touch of solemnity.

Each spring when I turn the water on, I'm bemused and befuddled by Huck's cleverness. Every nut and bolt has at least one washer. Every joint that connects water pipes has Teflon tape. He was, as we all know, not a man whom you could hurry. These extra touches of the washers and tapes were external representation of an inward pace that was all his own.

But, it isn't all seriousness. Since we cleared away some trees during the past few years, we're getting a lot more sunlight in and around the camp. We notice it in ourselves and we notice it in others. This morning, the sun was strong. Marley'd found himself a warm place to rest and was wagging his tail so eagerly that he dug a small hole in the dirt. Such are the pleasures that come to an old dog.

The critters of spring

2008-05-13T15:41:00.002-04:00

We turned on the water at the camp this past weekend, confident that we'll have no more freezing temperatures close to the lake. (The temperature might try to dip below freezing, but the lake is nearing 50° now.)

From our neighbor, we learned that a cow moose and a calf had been walking through the woods, to go along with the young male sighted last week. Osprey, heron, and eagles have checked out our waters. On Sunday morning, Sandra and I toured the lake by canoe and were followed by our friend, the kingfisher. We haven't seen any turtles yet. Some years, the turtles will lay their eggs on the small, sandy point near our boathouse. The water this year is too high, I suspect. Our neighbor reported that, in years past, turtles would come up from the big swamp, cross Barre Road, and lay their eggs in the bark mulch near his house.

But, the big news remains the beavers. They've built quite a hut in the corner of the cove, taking some pretty good-sized trees from various places around the lake. We may look into hiring a trapper. In years past, however, we haven't been completely successful. We only catch the dumb ones.

Moose gotta swim, squirrels gotta fly.

2008-05-01T15:25:00.002-04:00

Folks across the lake recently sent us a note, reporting that they'd seen a moose swimming in the lake and exiting onto our shore. The moose was a young male, about two years old.

'Tis spring, for sure

2008-04-19T15:51:00.004-04:00

There are still a half dozen clumps of snow along the road, but the road itself is clear and dry. We saw more beaver cuttings, this time some blueberry stalks along the shore by the sauna. They've worked hard this year.

The water is high, although not unreasonably so for this time of the year. We're getting to the point where we could use a bit of rain. Nothing much in the forecast until next weekend.

So, it's a quiet time as people start to open up their camps. There was one fishing boat on the far side of the lake and two kayakers gliding through the cove. No leaf-blowers. No chain saws. Just birds and peepers. A little bit of sound carries a long way when there are no leaves on the trees or bushes. We appreciated the quiet all the more.

Blueberry buds ready for spring

2008-04-12T18:47:00.005-04:00

As best as we could tell from the cove, the ice is out of the lake. They're tough to see, the buds on the blueberry bushes, because of the noseeums that come up like a thick fog in the sunshine.

There are patches of snow and ice,

but the sunshine is strong.

Churches vandalized in Gardner and Phillipston

2008-03-21T15:22:00.001-04:00

http://www2.whdh.com/wap/newsarticle.html?aid=BO75886
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We heard that it was spring

2008-03-16T20:43:00.006-04:00

We're two weeks into meteorological spring and a week from astronomical spring. On the back roads through Hubbardston, Templeton, and Phillipston, the sap buckets are out, collecting their sweet treat that flows as the temperature gets above freezing. The lake and surrounding woods, though, are still locked hard in snow and ice. In some places, the snow is knee-deep. You can still hear the booming of the ice.

There are signs of life, with tracks from rabbits and wild turkey on the road, and some small, unidentifiable footprints leading to the bit of open water near the causeway. In various places, we can see where the beavers have been munching, but we've still not found out where they've taken their cuttings.

Oh, by the way, when the guy says, "This may get a bit tricky, but don't worry," what is the probability that he'll get the car stuck in the snow and ice?

Yep, the answer is 1.

It took about 45 seconds to get stuck and 45 minutes of shoveling to free the car. The humility that comes from overconfidence gone wrong will, we hope, last a lot longer.

Digital TV and the oak tree

2008-02-18T19:04:00.000-05:00

Next year at this time, analog-only television sets will no longer be able to receive over-the-air signals as the country switches to all=digital broadcasts.

This article raises an interesting problem for us at the camp. Our TV antenna, thanks to Huck's ingenuity and agility, is nestled high in the branches of an oak tree. You would know that the antenna is there unless you first notice the wire going up the side of the tree; even then, you can barely see it. We'll find out in the spring of 2009, when the leaves return, whether we'll be able to pick up the digital signal through the foliage. Whether we get a new TV or just add the converter to our existing, ancient set, the digital signal is on or off, not snowy like a weakened analog signal.

A step forward, eh?

Rainbow over EEB's

2007-12-15T09:25:00.000-05:00

Photo by Bob Kraemer

One autumn weekend

2007-10-22T07:17:00.000-04:00

On Saturday, we went for a ride around the lake with Elden. The dark, imposing clouds were set against the deep blue sky of the late afternoon. A strong breeze came from the southwest. We talked about the weather, our lake neighbors, and what a wise guy Huck was. Elden said that we should be sure to see the west side of the lake around eight in the morning when all of the colors are alive like fire.

And, so we did.

After our breakfast, Sandra and I toured the lake by canoe. The lake was pretty much quiet - just a few people fishing and one guy taking advantage of the low water to work on the stone wall on his shore. Some of the camps are closed up for the season, but lots of folks still have their boats in the water. The dogs at one camp let us know that they'd didn't like it that we were so close to their property. We heeded their warning and made our way back to the camp for mid-morning coffee.

Some headlines are too good to pass up

2007-10-01T08:48:00.000-04:00

Brain-sucking parasitic killer menaces warming lake waters | The Register

The CDC reports that the offending amoeba lives in warm to hot waters, so there's little worry here.

Dry colors

2007-09-22T13:43:00.001-04:00

You wouldn't think that our dry spell would have much of an effect near the lake, but we are seeing everywhere fall colors, even in the swamp. Many maples are a bright orange. Birches show.a yellowish orange. And the weather is so warm, more of a late August weekend.

The kids report that the water is cold. We'll find out with our sauna this evening. We need to remove a ladder from our float so that the ice won't eat it this winter.

Mike took the boat to the marina this afternoon. The propellor had a bad season, so we'll need a new one for the spring. We've learned that, as much as it seems like a good idea, putting the boat into the water at the boathouse isn't good. There are too many rocks to have us move safely out of the little cove under power. Next year, we'll launch it from the beach.

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Dept. of Knots

2007-09-14T08:54:00.000-04:00

Knots are important, whether you're tying up a boat, making a swing, or splicing some rope. And, like me, you probably weren't paying attention when someone tried to teach you how to tie good knots. This site -
Animated Knots by Grog - is a helpful resource. It may not be quite so helpful if you're trying to secure your boat on a windy day, but you can see the site with your cell phone's browser.

BetaNews | DirecTV to Offer Internet Over Power Lines

2007-08-15T15:59:00.000-04:00

It will be several years before a service such as this is available everywhere, but it is, in my opinion, the best way to bring broadband to rural areas.

BetaNews | DirecTV to Offer Internet Over Power Lines

New residents on the lake

2007-08-14T05:06:00.000-04:00

Rec'd this in the overnight email:

Karl,

I thought you might be interested in this, and perhaps want to include it on your website.

This past Friday, August 10, 2007, was a quiet rainy day at the lake. That changed in dramatic fashion at about 2:00 p.m. when we heard the unmistakable cry of the loon from the middle of the lake. We ran down to the dock to see the loon swimming just north of Lamb's Cove. Our neighbor, Fred Swedberg, also came to watch, and he commented that never in his 59 years had he heard such a racket on the water.

The loon seemed to be enjoying hearing his echo bouncing off the western side of the lake, and kept calling for several minutes. We thought we heard a second loon calling in response from the south end of the lake.

We watched for about half and hour. During that time the loon made several dives and resurfaced at various places in the southern part of the lake. The longest dive started near the island and after about two minutes the loon popped up north of Lamb's Cove again, and then slowly swam north toward the swamp at the northwest end of the lake.

Don Wilson commented the next day that he thinks a pair of loons may be nesting in the swamp, and he also noted that loons like to be in a quiet spot away from people, so it is best not to try to get close to them if we want to encourage them to live on the lake.

It was almost exactly a year ago that I saw a loon very close to our dock. This year I was more prepared with binoculars and a camera, and I was able to get two pictures, although the images are not very distinct.

The loon was calling loudly again during the night, and woke the Lafortune family at about 4:00 a.m. when he was in Lamb's Cove. We also heard more distant calls after sunrise on Sunday.

We will be watchful when we are at the lake, and we hope to enjoy more loon activity during the remainder of the summer!

Paul and Nordie Sundberg

Lighthouse Rd.

The lake is under water

2007-08-03T20:16:00.001-04:00

That was some storm, wasn't it? The winds that churned the water into a white froth, the walls of rain so thick that we couldn't see across the lake, the hail.

And, not to be forgottrn, the mighty lightning and thunder. One spot, a few miles away, just to the south of west, took a half dozen hits. We listened to the different cadences of the thunder - booming, rolling, sharp,machine gun.

The main cell passed over us from the northwest in fiften minutes, but other cells drifted slowly north and south, for close to an hour. Marley huddled under the table on the porch while we had our supper, shaking.

About Huck

2007-07-23T14:57:00.000-04:00

Huck

Liked his small cup of coffee with milk and two spoonfuls of sugar.

Liked well-done, dark brown Finn bread with his coffee; this was his last meal.

Had a quick wit and a measured pace.

Sang old sweet songs like “Moonlight Bay” to me when he took me sailing.

Played a Swedish polka tape loudly on his car radio.

Gave us great stories well-told.

Drove miles to find the right board at the right price.

Got along well with his neighbors.

Kept a neat yard and tidy house.

Liked to sleep with the window open at his head.

Believed that many problems were best solved by pondering.

Was a key character at Queen Lake, according to author Carole Gariepy.

Grieved when he had to sell his last sailboat, but he wouldn’t sell it to us.

Had sauna with Ted Fornas, his childhood friend, every other Sunday, or so.

Missed his friends who’d died like Arne Riutta and Ben Stuckey.

Counted on his remaining friends including Elden, Willy, Jimmy, and Bobby.

Elden Bjurling, half Finn, lives at Queen Lake, has a plumbing supply store, and funeral parlor (the body shop)
Willy Virta, a Finn, helped with Huck’s projects, was the son of a preacher.
Jimmy Flanagan with the big family was a fellow welder.
Bobby Nadeau with the good wife, was also a welder.

Was a high-bar gymnast.

Rode the rails across the country for adventure and work.

Was a Merchant Marine in WWII who sailed to Santos, Brazil, for coffee.

Built the camp at Queen Lake and the house at 218 Ellis Road.

Ran a welding school and business for awhile in the garage.

Liked pretty women.

Divorced Thelmama after 20 years.

Was a responsible oldest son, who cared for his parents next door ‘til their deaths.

Gave a sentimental birthday card to Karl each year, with money matching his age.

Played semi-pro football with the Gardner Merchants.

Was born in Milford NH where his father worked in the quarries.

Could sail, as his friend, Don Wilson said, with no wind.

Died quietly, in his sleep, at home in front of a low fire in the wood stove.

Put his chewing gum on top of his hat when he was eating.

Believed that admiring your work was the finishing step of any project.

Was frugal with money and emotion, and left us with lots of both.

Loved us, his family.

2007

We made a board.

2007-07-16T06:10:00.000-04:00

For the last 30 years, the rain has been flowing off the roof and hitting this particular board on the front deck. (Before that, the deck was much smaller, so there was no board to be hit by falling water.) The board was about to let go. So, with great resolve and greater trepidation, we set about to fix the deck.

You have to understand that, when carpentry genes were being handed out, I was at the other end of the store, reading comic books. I took shop in junior high school because I had to. All that's left from those two years of learning is a small, pitiable book stand that sits on a shelf at the camp.

In the boathouse, we found enough to get us started. There was a length of 2x6 pressure-treated wood on the rack. We didn't have a Skil^® saw, so we had to choose between a Sawzalls^® and my grandfather's table saw. The table saw won because we believed we had a better chance to cut a straight line with it. Even though the blade wasn't quite right, so we couldn't cut through the 2" on one pass, Sandra got us to a board that was the proper length, width, and depth.

Removing an old, rotten board ought to be easy, eh? It probably would be if we had the right tools. We had a crow bar that was too big and a hammer that was too small. The hammer broke on the third nail. The crow bar was unwieldy, particularly on the nails that had rusted and snapped off at the head. With persistence and a pair of locking pliers, we removed the board and nails.

We thought that screws would be better than nails. Sandra pre-drilled the holes and we used the screwdriver attachment on the drill to drive in the screws. Two stripped screw heads later, we agreed that nails were just fine. I used the butt end of a hatchet to drive the nails flush with the surface.

It took just about an hour and now we have a new board, along with a continuing happy marriage and all of our fingers and toes,
___
With apologies to Dave Barry's classic, "How to make a board."

By canoe

2007-07-14T09:18:00.001-04:00

While Sandra and I were having breakfast this morning, we watched a woman gracefully paddle her wooden canoe along the shoreline of the cove. She was accompanied by a black Lab who sat quietly in the front.

The last time we took Marley, our Lab, in the canoe was in the fall several years ago. We were just getting out of the cove when he noticed something of great interest in the woods. He lurched to the starboard side and tipped the canoe, tossing us into the chilly water. The canoe righted itself with Marley aboard. Fortunately, we were just a short distance from shore.

If you're ever diving along the north tip of the cove and find a pair of glasses, they're probably mine.

Marley stays in the camp now when we go out in the canoe.

The berries are in

2007-07-14T09:05:00.001-04:00

Roadside farm stands began offering blueberries and raspberries this week. The blueberries are good, but are tart from their fast growth; the skins are tough. Our wild berries near the boathouse and along the road are still a week or two away.

Raspberries, when fresh, are always good. They' at their best at room temperature.
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Sometimes, the light of the lake comes to us.

2007-07-12T17:45:00.001-04:00

This time of year, the afternoon and evening sun is reflected off of the water and onto the ceiling in the camp. First, the shimmering brightens the porch and, later, the main room of the camp, as though the Northern Lights had settled inside. We have a light breeze. The air is dry and fresh. We can see forever.
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Oh, say can you see...

2007-07-06T07:46:00.000-04:00

Let's raise a cheer for the folks who set off a four-minute fireworks display 20 minutes before sunset.

Over the horizon (G'bye, Huck)

2007-01-21T09:23:00.000-05:00

On Monday, 15 January, my father passed away in his sleep, by the fire in the wood stove in his living room. Huck was 93. An ice storm had come through on Monday, leaving us without power for 12 hours. What work we had to do, we did by the light of flashlights, candles, and kerosene lamp.

He left as he lived. His last meal was a half cup of coffee and bit of Finnish coffee bread, kahvi leipa, that grandson Adam had made. His family and friends came to visit and to share stories of a remarkable life.

Huck loved sailing and sailed until he was 90. If you're clever, and he was, you can use the strength of the wind to go where you want to go. Many times, when we were sure that there was no wind at all, he kept the boat moving and made it safely to shore.

And so it was, when it was dark and quiet, he sailed on home.

9/11 and the cove

2006-09-11T17:18:00.000-04:00

Planes from the west parallel Route 2 on their approach to Boston's Logan Airport. After sauna we sit on the bench by the shore and watch the planes as they travel diagonally over the lake.

On September 15^th 2001 we sat on the bench underneath a quiet and dark sky. Boston's Logan Airport was closed to commercial traffice. We saw just one plane on the far northern horizon, heading toward Manchester, New Hampshire.

An acorn in the room

2006-09-04T12:04:00.000-04:00

Fall is coming. The swamp maples and some of the blueberry bushes are already bright red There are yellows and oranges on other maples, oaks, and birches around the woods. The acorn that I found on the floor in the porch room shows that the little critters making ready for the coming cold. They're clever and persistent, making us don our Elmer Fudd hats as we look for the places where they've set up their stores.

We have had a summer of cool and rainy. The lake is quiet this holiday weekend. The cool air is producing fog as it drifts across the relatively warmer waters. No one would accused the water of being warm, however. On Saturday night's sauna, it took an extra jump of courage to dive into the water.

I slept in the loft when I was a kid, as we do now. Back then, you could hear the rain on the roof, a fine sound. About 30 years ago, my father insulated the ceiling to make the camp more comfortable in the cooler weather. The insulation works which well, but at the expense of the sound of the rain.

A rainy day is a good time to catch up on reading. In addition to the stack of magazines, we bought the two local papers -- the Gardner News and the Athol Daily News. Both do a pretty good job of providing news. Overall, I give the edge to the Athol paper. It provides more in-depth coverage of local news, diminished only by running five-year-old Dear Abby columns on the editorial page.

What's on the lake

2006-08-05T14:07:00.000-04:00

We went for a canoe ride this morning, hoping to visit with someone the other side. We saw her drive away as we neared her camp.

We didn't take it personally, contining with our ride, talking with folks along the shore as we went. One of the people, on the main part of the lake, said that he's seen a loon on his dock a short while before. None of us had seen a loon on this lake before.

The wind at your back is never as strong as the wind you paddle into.

We found that the dam was pluggeg up by a tarp that had floated in. We weren't able to get it into the canoe, so we dragged it to the shore of one of the dam inspectors.

The lilypads cover wide swaths of our boathouse area, but the milfoil is the most invasive. We'll get into the water soon and pull the evil stuff.

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Sauna night

2006-07-31T05:09:00.000-04:00

On Saturday night I started the fire in the sauna stove right after we finished our supper. The kindling that I picked up in the woods on my way to the sauna was still wet, so the fire started slowly and was very smoky. The wind had calmed. The smoke rose straight up for 20 feet and then bent toward the lake, finally settling low over the water in the cover.

The kingfisher continues makes its rounds, even as darkness settles, mingling with the brown birds grazing among the mosquitoes. The kingfisher is a noisy fellow. In years past, he would follow us as we paddled our canoe around the lake.

We waited until the sun was down before having our sauna. The lake, however, was unexpectedly active. As we slipped quietly into the water, we were surprised by a kayaker gliding along, not four feet from our float. Further out in the lake, there were boats filled with people of good cheer. Across the lake, some campers set off fireworks, belatedly acknowledging independence day.

The water was cool for this time of year, but when you've some from a room that is between 180 and 220F, it felt right. The hottest sauna that I've had topped out at 230. It was, um, hot. At the other end of the dial, we've also been swimming through the ice after sauna. On New Year's Eve, 1999, I cut a hole in the ice, then about 6-8" thick, and we had ourselves a bracing dip. The lake was quiet. There were just a couple lights visible.

When I was growing up, Saturday night was sauna night. Company would arrive in the late afternoon. We'd have food, including the beet and herring salad that my mother called Silli Salad, silli being the Finnish word for herring. The sauna would be ready by seven or so. People would go off to sauna in twos (married couples) or more (all men, all women, or kids). The last sauna would be finished by 11:00.

Blueberries are in

2006-07-29T12:16:00.000-04:00

Although the berries were starting to ripen several weeks ago, this is the first time the blue berries outnumbered the green ones.

We have a cluster of blueberry bushes near the boat house and more along the road. Áll are high bushes that didn't fare well in the deep cold of previous winters. This past winter was mild and the crop is good.

We have more bushes along the water's edge, accessible only by boat or by swimming. The rocks underwater are old friends - the one at the end of the dock, the even-bigger one where the old dock used to be. Lots of smaller ones that could scrape a boat or stub a toes if you don't know to expext them.

But, even the experienced can be surprised. When we for a moring swim today, I tripped over a log that had some during the off-season and settled below the surface in the corner of the cove.

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Welcome

2006-07-18T05:12:00.000-04:00

This is the first in a series of occasional notes about life at Queen Lake.