| April Fools' Day |
When March goes on forever, And April's twice as long, Who gives a darn if spring has come, As long as winter's gone. -- R. L. Ruzicka I can find no information about R. L. Ruzicka but he or she is correct. Who cares if Spring ever comes; but "will no one rid us of this turbulant winter"? |
| April 2nd | It appears that the female falcon has returned. Click HERE; ours is the Boswell Cam. |
| April 3rd | Lots of waterfowl are beginning to congregate on the river these days; they must think that the lakes will open up soon. |
| April 4th | I understand that David K in Illinios, a life-long Cubs fan, predicts that 2014 will be their big year.......this time for sure (he says)!!!! Hmmmm.......what do you think? They did manage to get a win last night, you know. |
| April 5th | In spite of all the hype about all the snow that was coming, we ended up with a dusting, but at this time of the year that's good. |
| April 6th | My Dear Sister Deb would have been 67 today. See the March 10th through March 15th, and March 24th, 2005 Chronicles entries......they're HERE. |
| April 7th | A lot of you down-staters have no snow on your lawns even as we speak, but that's not the case in this neck of the woods. Click HERE. |
| April 8th | At times the chair in the Northwest corner of Florio's seems like the center of the world. |
| April 9th |
Lots of geese are passing overhead these days, but since there isn't any open water around here to speak of, one has to wonder where they are all going. We had a nice thunderstorm this evening. There's an old saying that the first frost in the fall will occur exactly six months after the first thunderstorm of the year, which will mean frost on October 9th. That's a little late. |
| April 10th |
Do you suppose this might be jumping the gun just a tad? Click HERE. On the other hand, the Nitke road Osprey is back!!!!!! Neato!!!!! |
| The Friday of Sorrows |
Hey Gary G in Tennessee, today is the day that you picked for the ice on LBL to be completely gone, but as you can see from Today's Picture, YOU ARE OUT!!!!! (That's 1 down with 37 still remaining.) However, due to the last few sunny and "relatively" warm days coupled with the recent thunderstorm and the continuous wind that has been blowing, one may see the ice go out sooner than one might have expected just a few short days ago. |
| April 12th | Hey Gary in Tennessee (again): Oops, you're not out yet. The next date guessed isn't until the 17th, so you're in the action until the 14th.......but that still doesn't give you much hope. |
| Palm Sunday | If you've been watching the Falcons you may have noticed a couple of things. Firstly, the female has spent the last couple of nights in the nest, which may indicate that she has laid, or is about to lay, some eggs. And secondly, it also appears that any eggs this year will be laid at the back of the nest which is outside the view of the camera. If that is the case, we wont know how many there are until they have hatched and the chicks start to move around a bit. But we'll see. |
| Nisan 15th |
And thou shalt shew thy son in that day, saying, "This is done because of that which the LORD did unto me when I came forth out of Egypt". And it shall be for a sign unto thee upon thine hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes, that the LORD'S law may be in thy mouth: for with a strong hand hath the LORD brought thee out of Egypt. -- Exodus 13:8,9 Today is 15th day of the month of Nisan so Passover begins at Sundown. This evening is the time to perform the ritual of the Pesach Seder. |
| April 15th | As of yesterday LBL was covered with ice for 141 days this winter (which is its average number of days frozen) so as of today we are past the average. But as you can see from "Today's Picture", it's not anywhere near being liquid yet. Last winter it was frozen for a record 160 days. |
| April 16th | I have nothing to say today other than the fact that more snow is headed this way. Sigh....... |
| Maundy Thursday |
If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. -- John 13:14,15 I'm sorry Molly (in Rochester), but you are OUT. It was a good guess though Mol, and I like the date you picked. |
| Good Friday | We lost a good friend. Pasty Broers who, with her husband Wayne and her sons David and Kevin, occupied Cabin 2 for a couple of weeks every Fall, passed away in Harrison, Arkansas a short time ago. It was really nice to have known you Patsy and you will be sorely missed. Late September at LBLR will never be the same without your smiling face and your friendly manner. To see smiling Patsy with her husband, her son, her grandson, and her eight pound walleye, click HERE. |
| Holy Saturday |
Hummingbirds have been seen in Northern Illinois for a few days now, but none in our fair state yet (click HERE). Last year the first one recorded in Minnesota was on April 21st but none were in our neck of the woods until about two weeks later. By the way Patti (across the lake), you are OUT. |
| Easter Sunday | My old school buddy Charlie Stover is now OUT. |
| April 21st |
Well Erin, today is the average ice-out date and you picked it and it should have been a good guess. As you can see from the picture, the ice is starting to turn gray but it's still plenty thick and plenty solid. So alas, you are OUT. Click HERE. A couple of Hummingbirds have been sighted in southern Minnesota in the last couple of days. |
| April 22nd |
Colleen in Apple Valley (Erin's sister, by the way) is OUT. And here are a couple more things. The docks are finally off the ice (the second latest date next to last year, thanks to Dave and Milo) and Cabin 6 has been spring cleaned. Hey Deb, does that mean that you, Judy, Sue, and Janet will be up here to occupy it this weekend? I hope so!!!!! |
| April 23rd |
The ice is getting gray, or "rotten" as the saying goes, and it's 16 inches thick at the moment. The Falcon-cam has been moved to the other end of the nest (I wonder how they did that) which gives a much better view of the Mother Falcon and her four eggs. Click HERE; ours is the Boswell Cam. |
| April 24th |
To see a comparison of the North end of the resort between last year and this year, click HERE. Dave L in Grand Rapids and my grandson Jake in Sartell are OUT. That's 8 out and 30 still in. |
| April 25th |
As of today two Jim's are OUT: Jim D across the lake and Jim T in Fridley. Better luck next year you guys. After a day and a half of rather unpleasant work and four (count 'em, four) trips to the hardware store, cabin number 4 is up and running. It's now ready for Spring cleaning. Tara.......at your convenience please. Can you believe this? The snow was virtually gone once. Darn(!), but it sure is pretty. Click HERE. |
| April 26th | The fishing season opens two weeks from today!!! Are you prepared??? And speaking of the fishing opener, a new Sporting Goods Store has opened up in Cohasset. Amazing!!!!! I'll go in there within the next few days and then file a report. |
| April 27th | Sarge, yer OUT. By the way, there's some open water at the north end of the lake.......not all that much, but a little. |
| April 28th |
Since there's ice on the lake this morning, four more people are OUT. Namely Dotz in Rochester, Randy in Stewartville, Sue in Lino Lakes, and Alice in Fridley. Randy was last year's winner with May 9th. That's 15 down with 23 still remaining. Note added later: The state of the ice has changed rather suddenly due to the strong easterly wind during the past 24 hours. A big section at the north end has broken off on a line running from the duplex to Jim & Patti's house on the other side of the lake. It's movement has already taken out 3 of the 4 posts from the southern dock and 3 of the 7 posts from the northern two docks. Assuming that the wind keeps up as predicted, I think all of the dock posts will be displaced and the ice will be gone within the next few days. Click HERE. |
| April 29th |
There is still ice on the lake so Dennis W in Edina, Minnesota, is OUT. By the way, there were a male and a female Goldeneye sitting in the few feet of open water in front of cabin 3 last evening, and earlier in the day there was a lonely looking Canada Goose standing on the ice in the middle of the lake. Neato!!!!! Note added at 3:30 PM: There's not very much open water out there, but our Loons are in it. Welcome back you guys(!) and I hope you had a nice winter. |
| April 30th |
It's the end of April and the weather isn't any better now than it was at the beginning of the month. Sigh....... If the ice lasts for the rest of the day (as it probably will) my daughter Tammy in Sartel, my granddaughter Em in Rochester, and Sean in Chicago are OUT. Sorry Tam.......you were so hopeful. That open spot in the ice where the Loons were last night has closed up. I don't know where the Loons are now, but I hope they got out okay. (As you probably know, Loons need a lot of water to get airborne.) They may have left the lake, or there may have been a way for them to swim to somewhere on the east side which just might be open more than I can tell from here. At any rate, I hope they're safe (and they probably are). |
