| All Saints' Day |
There are two sounds of November that are unmistakable: the hurrying rustle of crisp leaves blown along the road by a gusty wind, and the gabble of a flock of migrating geese. Both are warnings of chill days ahead -- fireside and topcoat weather. -- Hal Borland (circa 1950) YES!!!! -- Jerry Angst (2014) |
| November 2nd |
Happy "Time Change" Day!!! And by the way, the last paddle boat and the last row boat are finally out of the water, and the last of the toys and lawn furniture have been put away. However, the leaves have not been raked nor is there room in the garage for a car yet, but both will be rectified soon. Of course there are a few minor items to be taken care of as well, but by and large, LBLR is ready for winter.......mostly!!!! |
| November 3rd | This picture (taken by Linda Aaker this past August) shows a lot of the LBLR shoreline. Not that many years ago the resort would have stuck out like a sore thumb.......the garage, the house, cabin 4, the fish cleaning house, and the duplex would have been clearly visible. But now virtually all of those buildings are hidden by vegetation. Click HERE. |
| November 4th | The lake level measuring device has been removed for the winter. We ended the year at 1282.46 feet above sea level, which is 5 3/4 inches lower than it was when the ice went out. The ice went out on May 6th at a level that was about the same as the year before, but by the end of May it had dropped about 4 inches. June was fairly wet so by early July it was back up to its "ice-out" level. After that it fell fairly rapidly and by the end of July it was about where it is now, and it has been like that (plus or minus and inch or so) ever since. |
| November 5th | The raking is done!!!!! |
| November 6th | Click HERE and look at the "disturbance" in the water that's circled in red. The thin line of "disturbance" began much further to the south (to the right) and, over a period of about 5 minutes, moved to where it's shown in the picture. It continued to move in that direction for another few minutes and then slowly dissipated. I've noticed that phenomenon a few times every year and sometimes the movement is much slower. A few years ago several of us watched a similar line that began at the extreme north end of the lake and over a period of about 15 minutes it had slowly moved half the length of the lake. It lasted so long that I eventually got in a boat and went out to it to see if I could find out what was causing it. The line wasn't as obvious from close-up as it was from the shore, but there was absolutely nothing there. Does anyone have any idea what causes that? |
| November 7th | As per my Dear Daughter Tammy, the answer to the question posed in yesterday's entry (see above) "is obvious" (her words, not mine). She's convinced that it's the Loch Ness Monster; he apparently followed her and her two kids home from Scotland a year ago last July. Click HERE. |
| November 8th | Today is the first day of deer hunting and, as usual, Ron E is using LBLR as his deer camp (that makes 23 years in a row), but this year he has his two grandsons with him. Good luck you guys. |
| November 9th | I said this before and I'll say it again, "Getting an inch of snow is like winning ten cents in the lottery", and that's exactly what happened last night. The inch of snow, that is, not winning ten cents in the lottery. |
| November 10th |
Click HERE to see the usual LBLR "first snowfall of the year" picture (from inside the house). It's not much but it's all we have; it fell in the wee hours of the morning yesterday (see above). The guys down-state and out west got (or will get) much more than us. (Sigh.......) And the wimps in St. Cloud (my grandkids) even have a snow day today. PS: Last year's "first snowfall of the year" picture was on November 27th, the day before Thanksgiving. It's HERE. |
| Veterans' Day |
In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below We are the dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved, and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders fields. -- Colonel John McRae (May 3, 1915) |
| November 12th | On average, the lake should be ice covered in a fortnight (the 26th of this month); it froze on the 24th last year. |
| The Ides of November |
I woke up this morning with a strong urge to give someone an apple. |
| November 14th | This could be called ice I suppose, but it's mostly slush. Click HERE. |
| November 15th | As per Sarge, Moonshine was completely frozen yesterday, which is just a tad later than last year. Click HERE for a picture from his yard. |
| November 16th | We've had single digit temps the last couple of nights so apparently winter is coming, but the down-staters have actually been colder than us at times and they have more snow than we do. By the way, the Farmer's Almanac says that the weather was supposed to be sunny and mild these last few days and as usual, it was WRONG!!!! |
| November 17th | It has been unseasonably cold for quite some time now, and there's a lot of ice on the lake, but there's still a lot of open water too. Click HERE. |
| November 18th | This is with a telephoto lens so it isn't very clear, but from it's appearance and the way it kept going in and out of the water, it certainly appears to be an otter. Click HERE. |
| November 19th |
Much to the disgruntlement of us Christmas Curmudgeons, the phenomenon known as "Christmas creep" has caused Thanksgiving to be informally included in the Christmas and Holiday Season. Did you know that it's even worse in Canada and Britain where Halloween is now considered to be part of "The Holidays"? It's like a Black Hole. What's the next holiday to be sucked up by Christmas.......Labor Day maybe? There's still a lot of open water on the lake, but it's supposed to get below zero the next two nights so maybe it'll freeze up soon. If it doesn't freeze by Friday (two days hence) it might take a long time because we'll be back into the 30s this weekend. |
| November 20th | Aha! Today had the first sub-zero temperature of the winter (which wont even start for over a month yet); it was 2 below zero this morning. Shortly before sunrise I checked all the cabins that are still being heated and the water was running in all of them. Whew!!! To see some pictures of the "steaming" lake a few minutes before sunrise, click HERE. |
| November 21st |
Five BELOW zero at bedtime last night, 9 ABOVE zero this morning; a heat wave must be coming in. BUT HEAR THIS!!!!!!! The lake froze over last night. That's three days earlier than last year and 5 days earlier than the average. However, with warmer weather starting tomorrow it's anybody's guess if it'll stay this way. Click HERE to see a picture from the public landing (that's LBLR across the lake), and click HERE to see the Freeze/Thaw history. |
| November 22nd and 23rd |
The weather has been unseasonably warm yesterday and today but I believe that the ice on the lake has hung in there. I'm somewhat surprised. Click HERE. |
| November 24th | The deer hunting season is now over. I don't know of anyone who was able to get a doe permit in this area and likewise, I don't know of anyone who got a deer (except for 3 kids that is). Oh well, maybe that will mean that the size of the herd will be much larger next year and doe hunting will be allowed without a permit. Youngsters were allowed to get a doe this year even without a permit, but 2 of the 3 kids got bucks anyway. To see the kids and their deer, click HERE. |
| November 25th | The date of Thankgiving follows a seven year cycle putting it between November 22nd and November 28th. Last year it was on the latest possible date (November 28th); in the year 2018 it will be on the earliest possible date (November 22nd). |
| November 26th |
Not only is it ice-covered, but much to the chagrin of ice skaters, LBL is now covered with snow as well. Click HERE. There's an ice fishing house on the lake already; Sarge and I both think that's rather gutsy at this point. |
| Thanksgiving Day |
It is easier to observe the Holidays than to observe the Commandments. -- Ben Franklin (But that doesn't sound like Ben, so I wonder if he really said it.) This is, perhaps, the easiest and funnest Holiday to observe. All of the kids (except my San Francisco daugher Teri) and all of the grandkids (including the college kids) showed up today, but due to some late arrivals our traditional turkey dinner will be tomorrow. This evening's supper, as it was a year ago, was "bangers and mash". |
| Black Friday |
For a lot of people, today is the day to put up their Christmas decorations.......and I'm no different. In fact, I dug mine out of storage last night, so sometime today the kids and I will decorate the tree. To see the tree (as yet untrimmed) and the decoration we'll trim it with sometime today, click HERE. By the way, yesterday morning when I got up the temperature was 15 below zero. The Farmer's Almanac said the weather these days would be "mild with snowy periods". The normal low temperature for this time of the year is 12 above zero. Maybe "mild" means 27 degrees below normal.......NOT! |
| November 29th | Yesterday (the day after Thanksgiving) was great.......the turkey dinner was excellent, the stuffing was the best ever, the Lions beat the Bears, the family games were fun, and the Christmas tree has been decorated. To see a picture of Em and Kaylee assisting with the decorating activities, click HERE. To see a picture of the fully decorated tree in all its glory, click HERE. |
| November 30th | The kids are gone and the Thanksgiving weekend is over, so as of right now all the cabins (except for the duplex, of course) have been shut down for the winter. That's nice feeling and a good way to start the month of December! |
