| May Day |
Now is the month of Maying, When merry lads are playing. Each with his bonny lass, Upon the greeny grass. The Spring clad all in gladness, Doth laugh at winter's sadness. -- Thomas Morley (1595) May is here! Four cabins have been spring cleaned, the raking is done, and one dock and one boat are in the water. But the other two cabins have not been cleaned, the other three docks are not in the water, the pontoons are not in the water, the swimming raft is not in the water, some of the lawn furniture, watercraft, picnic tables, etc, have not been put out yet, the game room is still a mess, etc, etc, and etc. As Jerry Reed sang: "We've got a long way to go and a short time to get there". The first customers arrive in less than two weeks. Sigh....... | ||
| May 2nd | Loons wont land on anything but water because they can't take off from anything but water. I've read about Loons, on occasion, mistaking a black top parking lot for a body of water, landing on it, and becoming trapped because they couldn't take off. Do you suppose these geese, far from any body of water and not near any food, mistook the black top road for a riverstream. Click HERE. | ||
| May 3rd |
On this day three years ago the docks were removed from the ice, but it would take another 11 days for the lake to be ice free. This year the docks came off the ice almost 7 weeks ago, and even then there was a scare that the ice was too thin to do it safely. By the way, that was the only time in 25 years that I waited until May to remove the docks.
PS: Oops, I forgot to mention this. As of yesterday I have owned LBLR longer than I worked for IBM.......24 years and 1 day. Now on to summer number 25!!! (Thanks for the reminder Laurie!) | ||
| May 4th |
May the 4th be with you! That statement is in honor of [Intergalactic] Stars Wars Day, which is today. | ||
| Cinco de Mayo |
The front porch isn't in yet, but at least the dock is finally in the water and ready for it. Click HERE.
Feliz Cinco de Mayo, por cierto! | ||
| May 6th | The surface of the lake is 1282.55 feet above sea level at the moment, which is 1 3/4 inches higher than it was at this time last year. | ||
| May 7th | For the first time in nearly two months Deb is here. That's a long time but it's much better than some past winters. | ||
| Mother's Day | Deb and I cleaned the game room today, and if you've ever seen it in the early spring after it was used as a storage room all winter, you know that it wasn't a small job. It's too bad that I don't have a "before" picture, but click HERE to see an "after" one. | ||
| May 9th |
What lovely weather! Last night we took an evening cruise in one of the "little red boats" (as Alaina once referred to it) and watched a beautiful sunset from out on the lake. Click HERE. PS: Can you tell where LBLR is in that picture? | ||
| May 10th | I have nothing to say! | ||
| May 11th | Since the lake level measuring device was calibrated nearly a week ago, we've had a little rain (very little) but the level has dropped almost half an inch. It's amazing how fast it can change. | ||
| May 12th | There! The last of the cabins is up and running and ready to be spring cleaned, but not without a few problems and two trips to the hardware store, which is business as usual some years. | ||
| Friday the 13th |
The last cabin (# 3) is being spring cleaned even as we speak.......and I wish I could say that the last dock was in the water too, but I can't. Oh well, if any of my Sons-in-law are here for Memorial Weekend maybe they will do it for me.
By the way, it's now noon, it's 39 degrees, and it's spitting snow occasionally. This is the first time I've ever mowed a lawn in the snow while wearing a winter hat and gloves. Sheesh! | ||
| Fishing opener | This is typical weather for the opener. It was 29 degrees when I got up this morning with a 10 to 15 MPH wind and gusts up to 25 MPH. There's snow on the deck and ice on the car, but luckily no more rain or snow in the forecast. What a miserable day to be fishing! | ||
| Whitsunday (See tomorrow's entry) |
"Come, Watson, come! The game is afoot." -- Arthur Conan Doyle, from The Adventure of the Abbey Grange (1904) Frosty F and his group of Indiana fishermen are the first customers of my 25th season.......hence, "the game is afoot". They arrived yesterday afternoon. It's good to see you guys again Frosty; it's been quite awhile since you were here last. (By the way, Frosty's group consists of two oldsters and two youngsters, and one of the oldsters is even older than me.) To see the Indiana state flag flying from their cabin, click HERE. | ||
| May 16th |
Hit befell on Whitsontide Early in a May mornyng, The Sonne up faire can shyne, And the briddis mery can syng. -- Anonymous, May in the Green Wode (circa 1450) Yesterday was Whitsunday (Pentecost Sunday, as most of us know it) so this week is known as Whitsuntide. In middle ages Britain (and even into the 1800s) this was a week of vacation for the peasants and the lower classes; it was filled with parades, fairs, games, feasts, music, and dancing. | ||
| May 17th |
You all remember Larry, my former neighbor to the south, right? His "Lady Friend" Joyce is now his Fiancee Joyce! Congratulations you two!!!!!!!
PS: You guys owe a huge amount of thanks to Joyce's sister for recognizing the possibilites and introducing you to each other!!!! | ||
| May 18th | In the April 23rd Chronicles entry is a list of "Area business changes since last summer". The second to the last entry is "There's some remodeling going on in the old Savoy Pizza building (across the bridge from Zorba's) so I suspect a new business is going in there. I can't tell what it is but it's probably going to be another sports bar". Well, I found out what it's really going to be.......a place called the "Pickled Loon Saloon" but I don't know when it'll open. There is currently one on Highway 6 in Outing, 46 miles south of LBLR. To see their website, click HERE. | ||
| May 19th |
Aha! It's about time, right? Click HERE. Thanks Dotz!!!!!
Every year since 2005 when the Chronicles became "almost" daily, the Front Porch was put into the water somewhere between April 17th and May 16th.......until this year, that is. It was put in the water yesterday, along with the two other pontoons, which is a new record for lateness. | ||
| May 20th | Huzzah!!!! The last dock is in. Click HERE. Thanks for this too Dotz. | ||
| May 21st | Good-bye to Frosty, Larry, Doug, and Josh who left this morning about the time the sun came up (if not before). It was a good week, the weather was great, and they caught fish. Next year again, right you guys? | ||
| May 22nd | The summer morning ritual has begun (on nice days like this anyway). Believe it or not, the solstice is less than a month away. Click HERE | ||
| May 23rd | My Dear youngest Daughter has been invited by the British Benevolent Society to "join in celebrating Her Majesty the Queen's 90th Birthday with a Ball in her honor" in San Francisco. Presumably that invitation came as a result of her graduation from the University of Edinburgh. Since the Queen's birthday was on April 21st, I wonder why her S.F. Celebratory Ball wont be held until June 11th. And I wonder what it will be like. Will it be very formal and very British, or will it be like an American birthday party with a lot of drinking and loud music? If Teri chooses to attend, I'll let you know. In either case, Long Live the Queen!!! | ||
| May 24th | Nice evening, eh? Click HERE. | ||
| May 25th |
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| May 26th | This will be a quiet Memorial Weekend compared to most previous ones. Deb arrived today. Tammy and Kaylee will arrive tomorrow. Sandie and Guy will arrive Saturday as will Wayne, David, and Parker from Arkansas. And that's it! But the next weekend the boom times will begin in earnest! | ||
| May 27th | A new flamingo. Hmmmm....... The first new item in over a year. Click HERE. | ||
| May 28th | In general David and Parker are fishing in the same place and by the method as Frosty and his crew did last week, but the Bluegills aren't biting quite as well. However, when they spent some time trolling for Northerns on Big Jay Gould they did much better. Click HERE. | ||
| May 29th | The beavers mess up the lake and Deb cleans up after them. Click HERE. | ||
| May 30th and 31st | This is a sad way to end a great month, but click HERE. PS: The same thing happened last september too. |
