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

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

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?
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Mountain laurel in bloom

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.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

http://www2.whdh.com/wap/newsarticle.html?aid=BO75886
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

We heard that it was spring

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

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

Photo by Bob Kraemer

One autumn weekend

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

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

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.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Dept. of Knots

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

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