| February 1st |
February is a suitable month for dying. Everything around is dead, the trees black and frozen so that the appearance of green shoots two months hence seems preposterous, the ground hard and cold, the snow dirty, the winter hateful, hanging on too long. -- Anna Quindlen I don't know when Anna penned those words but she's 62 years old as I type and still writing. Obviously Winter isn't her favorite season. |
| Ground Hog Day |
Away in a meadow all covered with snow The little old groundhog looks for his shadow The clouds in the sky determine our fate If winter will leave us all early or late. -- Don Halley Does anyone know anything about the author of that little poem? A much much older version was in the Country Almanac (whatever that is) in February, 1676. Here are just a few lines: Nay, 'tis an omen bad, The yeomen say, If Phoebus shows his face The second day. |
| February 3rd | Oh sure.......the southern part of the state gets a lovely snowfall and here we sit with nothing. You down-staters get all the good winter weather. |
| February 4th | Beth.......are you out there? |
| February 5th | Both parts of the Duplex are empty and have been for quite some time. Is anyone interested in using one of them for a weekend get-away? If so, send me an e-mail or give me a call. |
| February 6th | It sure is quiet around this place. Click HERE. |
| February 7th | After the dedication ceremony yesterday, Wakota Arena in South St. Paul now has a different name. Click HERE. |
| February 8th | No entry. |
| February 9th | Again no entry. |
| February 10th | Geez, this looks odd, doesn't it? It was supposed to be a picture of the lake, but then it showed up with that light spot. What is that, do you suppose? Click HERE. |
| February 11th | You're right Linda, it was the sun somehow poking through and lighting up that one little hill near the lake. I still don't understand it exactly, and it only lasted a few minutes. And look at the sun on the lake between the two pictures; it certainly moved a little bit further to the west (and south) but not much. It's amazing, but there it is. Click HERE to see the comparison. The second picture was taken just a couple minutes after the first. |
| February 12th | Michigan State University (my Alma Mater) was founded on this day in 1855. Happy 161st Birthday MSU! |
| February 13th | Hey Frosty, are you and your gang of Illinois fisherfolk still thinking about a fishing trip up this way in May? Let me know, would you? I don't have your e-mail address. |
| February 14th | Happy Valentine's Day! |
| February 15th | This Day in 1971 is known as Decimal Day in Britain. It's the day on which the currency changed from the the old Pound-Shilling-Pence system (12 pence to a shilling and 20 shillings to a pound) to the decimal system (100 pence to a pound). For quite some time both before and after Decimal Day, stores displayed prices in both systems. By the time I first visited Britain in 1982 that practice had ceased, but a little grumbling about the change could still be heard. |
| February 16th |
Thanks to a kind gentleman named Casey, I believe that I have fixed all of the "dead links" (due to a phenomenon commonly referred to as "Link Rot") on my web-site. Of course that does not include the ones that are buried in the old LBLR Chonicles entries from years ago, but those are too difficult to find and I can't imagine that anyone will read them anyway. Thanks again Casey, whoever you are.
PS: If anyone else should happen to notice any dead links, please let me know about them.......if you don't mind. |
| February 17th |
There are lots of reasons to visit Grand Rapids in the wintertime besides skiing, snowmobiling, and ice fishing. One that many people don't seem to consider is to use that time to visit places that they normally wouldn't go to in the heart of the summer. Below are a few examples, click on each item to see the details. And while you're here you'll find that there are many places to stay.......but I'd recommend LBLR. |
| February 18th |
The "pull-out" has begun; there are now only two ice fishing houses left on the lake. And speaking of ice fishing, this is what Cindy and Dave have been fishing in. Can that even be called ice fishing? It's way too comfortable! Click HERE. |
| February 19th | Tonight the hockey team from the University of Minnesota at Duluth is playing their arch rival, the North Dakota Fighting Sioux, and look what Deb is doing. What would you call that.......fraternizing with the enemy? Click HERE. |
| February 20th | Finally some skiing. First time in a long time and we went to Ely to do it. Click HERE. |
| February 21st | No comment! |
| February 22nd | Tonight is a full moon (the full Snow Moon, in fact) and this is February. In 1999 February had no full moon and in 2018 February will again be without a full moon. No other month has that problem. Poor February....... |
| February 23rd | As you know, I like snow and I actually enjoy blowing it. But I don't feel good about several inches of slushy, late February snow, which is difficult to blow and serves no recreational purposes whatsoever. I'm referring, of course, to the snow (if you want to call it that) that fell last night and this morning. Sigh....... |
| February 24th | Pretty morning, eh? Though it's a bit cloudy. Click HERE. |
| February 25th | Sigh....... Click HERE. |
| February 26th | Dennis and Shelly arrived yesterday to do a little ice fishing.......but look at their equipment. The inside (ie the hull) is 9' x 5'. It can be raised and lowered by hydraulics. At its highest point it has a clearance of 9 inches, at the lowest point it sits on the ice and there are 4 holes along one side of the floor to fish through. The engine is 25 HP. Click HERE to see it. To see them trying to get to the lake, click HERE. It was a bit of a problem to fight through the snow, but after several times backing up and restarting.......success!!! Click HERE. |
| February 27th | A word of warning: This is the last weekend to fish for Walleyes and Northerns; the season ends tomorrow. So if you're going to do it, do it now or you'll have to wait until May 14th. |
| February 28th | LBLR on a cloudy winter afternoon, you can actually see all the cabins.......click HERE. |
| Leap Year Day |
In the Chinese calendar, this date can an only occur in the years of the Rat, the Dragon, and the Monkey. Since February 8th this has been the year of the Monkey. By the way, today is the last day to use your 2015 fishing license, so if you want to continue to fish for Crappies and Bluegils you better get your 2016 license tomorrow. |
