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."
That sound that you hear is Huck scratching his head, wondering what his camp has come to.
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
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.
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.
In all, we fared pretty well. There were a few trees and a lot of branches down around the camp, but no damage.
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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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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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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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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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.
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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