July 1st   |
Blessed be the Lord for the beauty of summer and spring, for the air, the water, the verdure, and the song of the birds. -- Carl von Linnaeus (circa 1750) At the moment the lake level is virtually the same as it was when the ice went out back on May 6th. It normally drops around 6 inches between ice out and the end of June, which it hasn't done this year.......so even though the lake hasn't risen, it's still a fair amount higher than normal for this part of the summer. |
July 2nd   | Click HERE to see the July 4th week LBLR potluck dinner. It's one long table, two views. My nephew Jason is not in the picture because he was the photographer. |
July 3rd   | Click HERE to see the annual July 4th week Rieder breakfast on the front porch, which is a several year tradition. This time it was breakfast burritos cooked at the firepit. |
Independence   Day |
New York, July 11: On Wednesday last, the declaration of independence was read at the head of each brigade of the continental army, posted at and near New York, and every where received with loud huzzas, and the utmost demonstrations of joy. -- London Chronicle, September 26, 1776 Happy Birthday USA.......238 years old and still looking great!!!!!! |
July 5th | Look what Kailey gave me before she left, click HERE. How Sweet! How Sweet! Thanks you guys!!!!!! |
July 6th | Click HERE to see Lilli and Makenna on the evening of July 4th. |
July 7th | I have nothing to say! |
July 8th | Again I have nothing to say, but here's a thought:   Even when I don't own this place anymore, I'd still like it to be called LBLR. It probably wont be LBLR as we know it today, and in fact, it might not even be a resort, but it should always be a "Sanctum" (perhaps even a "Sanctum Sanctorum"). It would be nice if this spot on the earth would always be referred to as LBLR.......even if it's just a private residence with no cabins and a different house. |
July 9th |
Note to North Carolina Laurie: Many many years ago when I was a young college student, a friend of mine who lived in an apartment used to park his bike near some garbage cans, and one fateful evening he actually leaned it up against the garbage cans. The next morning as he stepped out of the shower, he heard some noise outside and looked out the window just in time to see the garbage man throw his bicycle into the garbage truck and drive away with it. He yelled out the window but to no avail, and since he was standing in the bathroom naked he could do no more. As a result, his bike (and his sole means of transportation) was gone forever. (Incidentally, in order to "sort of" explain how the garbage men could make such a mistake he said: "It wasn't a real good bike or anything, but I used it every day".) Now for the purpose of that story:   When I was hauling the garbage bags from outside your cabin to the dumpster last Saturday morning, one of the garbage bags felt a little suspicious, so instead of throwing it into the dumpster I ripped it open. (Click HERE to see what was in it.) Did you really intend to throw that stuff away or did you happen to do what my old college friend did? Assuming that you didn't intend to discard it, if you E-mail your address to me I'll drop it in the mail. |
July 10th |
Who left the Ski Biscuit behind? Click HERE. Note added later:   Oops, never mind.......someone has accounted for it. It was intentionally left as a donation to LBLR in case a future guest would want to use it. Thanks Jim. |
July 11th | This place is just crawling with cute little baby rabbits. They're everywhere!!! |
July 12th and 13th |
Click HERE. |
Pridie Ides | What a cold, dark, dreary, windy, rainy Monday morning.......not good "at the lake" weather at all. It looks like a good day to take in a movie or go bowling. Sigh....... |
The Ides | To see three members of the Salseg family, click HERE. |
July 16th | I have nothing to say, except that the weather is great! |
July 17th | To see Kari and Karl's catch for today (four nice Northerns and they each caught two of them) click HERE. Their daughter Harley was with them too, but even though she's a good fisherperson she didn't catch anything today. |
July 18th | I believe that Thomas Jefferson once said: If it neither breaks my leg nor picks my pocket, what difference is it to me? In most everyday things that makes sense, does it not? |
July 19th |
So long to:   Dotz in cabin 1, Kari & Karl in cabin 2, Karl's parents in cabin 3, and Michelle & Jeff in cabin 4. And of course that includes all the family members along with them. We'll see you guys next year (if not sooner)!!!! Hello to:   Jamie (and family) in cabins 1, 2, and 3, Janet and family in cabin 4, and Sharon, Bob, & Teresa in cabin 5. As usual, Kelly, Sam, and family will remain in cabin 6 for one more week. |
July 20th | This is from last night's catch by Matt and his group. There are none here from this morning because he thought those were all too big to keep. Click HERE. |
July 21st |
It isn't pleasant when you go fishing early in the morning and your motor conks out. Sigh....... Click HERE. By the way, Bob and Teresa caught about 25 Northerns (they kept 4) at McAvity Lake this morning. My thermometer (in the shade) said 99 degrees this afternoon. Most of the people here were either in the water or sitting under the trees. |
July 22nd | To see a sailboat at mooring (which is a rarity on LBL) and a beautiful day in the Northland, click HERE. |
July 23rd | At 1282.56 feet above sea level, the lake is now 4 1/2 inches lower than it was at the first of this month. Since we got 3/4 of an inch of rain the night before last, it was probably a tad over 5 inches lower a few days ago. By the way, that's a few inches higher than it normally is at this time of the year. (Note: I realize that you're not the least bit interested in this information; it's just my way of keeping track of it. Sorry!) |
July 24th | In ancient Rome the "Dog Days" began today and lasted for a month. As per the Farmer's Almanac the "Dog Days" began three weeks ago (July 3rd) and will last until August 11th. Whichever view you take, we are in them! |
July 25th | Another new addition.......a butterfly. How curious!!!! Click HERE. |
July 26th | Six cabins out; six cabins in. I like to see that but it sure makes Saturday a busy day. Arriving will be Chris R and group from near the Cities in cabins 1, 2, and 3, and Denny T and crew from Illinois in cabins 4, 5, and 6. Welcome back you guys!!! |
July 27th |
Here is yet another little known LBLR fact which is not germane to anything (ie, "it's neither here nor there", as the saying goes): One year back in the mid to late '90s, a group of my regular customers who rented a couple of cabins every year, needed a third cabin for a daughter with a large family. As it happened, a third cabin was not available so the daughter and her family stayed here in the house with me. Would you believe that me, 11 kids, and 4 adults (none of whom were my relatives) spent ten consecutive days living in my house? And it worked out so well that we did it again the next year. Ah yes, the good old days! |
July 28th | See the entry for July 25th (above). Erin H has just referred to that spot as "The Grassy Knoll". That sounds good to me; "The Grassy Knoll" it is! Heck, I might even start mowing it now. |
July 29th |
I'm going to bore you again by expanding on yesterday's entry (see above). I heard from Erin again this morning and she referred to The Grassy Knoll as "Tchotchke Hill". Geez, I like that as well. What to do? What to do? NOTE:   In case you are as ignorant as I was until Erin enlightened me this morning, here's how Wikipedia defines tcochotchke:   A small bauble or miscellaneous item. Depending on the context, the term can have a connotation of worthlessness, disposability, or tackiness. Apparently the same word can be used as either singular or plural, but I'm not sure about that. |
July 30th | First click HERE and read the Chronicles entry for December 18th of last year. Jim's family is at LBLR this week as usual; click HERE to see what they brought along to leave as a memorial and where they decided to put it. |
Pridie Calends   |
As usual, July flew by again; it's time to be thinking about the coming of Autumn. By the way, the Cedar Creek Grill (north on highway 38) is "finally" open but their menu consists of just sandwiches and burgers. They're going to expand it eventually but for now, that's it. |