| June 1st |
"This is June, the month of grass and leaves. Already the aspens are trembling again and a new summer is offered us. A year is made up of a certain series and number of sensations and thoughts which have their language in nature. . . . . . .now I am ice, now I am sorrel. Each season reduces itself to a mood of the mind." -- Henry David Thoreau, Journal (June, 1857) |
| June 2nd |
As is the case every year, Denny and his group from Illinois are again having a successfull fishing trip. They proved it last night by hosting a delicious fish dinner in cabin # 5. Thanks again you guys. (PS: The trip isn't even half over yet so it may happen again later in the week.) LBL bird number 86: Caspian Tern. And it's a new lifer as well. Click HERE. |
| June 3rd | Here's Clint and his 7 1/2 pound Northern, which did not come from Little Bass. Click HERE. |
| June 4th | Here's Christine and her Pumpkinseed. It's a small fish compared to Clint's Northern from yesterday, but since the Bluegils and Pumpkinseeds tend to be a bit small in Little Bass, it's actually a nice one. Click HERE. |
| June 5th | Nine years ago several Birch trees were planted between my house and the lake so that the house wouldn't be so obvious to boaters and to the neighbors across the lake. These two photos show the results. One of them was taken from the ice in early April before the leaves came out (which is what it used to look like in mid-Summer), and the other was taken a few days ago from a boat. And as the trees grow they'll cover the roof up, so as time goes on it'll get even better. Notice how much more hidden the cabins are as well, which is also due to 1999 and 2000 plantings. Click HERE. |
| June 6th |
Congrats to Cindy and Greg on their Wedding Day!!!!!!! (Yes, this is Cindy, the leader of the LBLR cabin cleaning crew, aka SL.) They were married at 3:00 this afternoon on the shore of Little Bass Lake. This is the best I can do for a picture right now (it was taken from LBLR), but I will include a better one if I get it. Click HERE. Today is the 65th Anniversary of the D-Day invasion. Among other things, this web-site has very interesting videos of veterans telling their own stories of the invasion. Click HERE. |
| June 7th | Welcome back to Teresa D after an absence of nearly 10 years. Teresa vacationed here for several years with her Mom, Dad and brother, and this weekend she brought her own kids to experience LBLR. This type of thing, which has been in the Chronicles occasionally over the last few years, certainly reminds me how old I am and how long I've been here. (Now we have to get her Mom, Dad, and brother to come back again.) |
| June 8th | This evening on the way over to Randy's place I watched a deer trot across the road in front of me, then something followed it. My next thought was "why is a cat following that deer"? But it wasn't a cat. . . . . . .it was the smallest fawn I have ever seen. Geez, was it cute! |
| June 9th | Bob and I fished "for the cycle" today. We only got four keepers; they were a Bass, a Crappie, a Walleye, and a Northern. To see Bob and Jo posing with a stringer containing everything but the Northern, click HERE. That's a nice Walleye, isn't it? |
| June_10th | The three of us went to Florio's tonight (as we may for the next many years) and drank a memorial toast. See this date (June 10th) last year. It's HERE. |
| June 11th | A new story has been added to the Northland Stories, Poems, and Anecdotes page. It's titled "The Lake" and it's by Laurie Gagner. You can get to it from the main page or you can take a short cut by clicking HERE. |
| June 12th |
After 21 years as steady LBLR customers (and friends) Bob and Jo Frey left here this morning for possibly the last time, but they're in the reservation book for this coming September just in case. And remember you guys, if I don't see you here in September, I'll still see you in Iowa sometime during the winter. And as usual, keep in touch. As you know, a pure white Dove showed up here a couple weeks ago. (See bullet number 3 in the May 28th entry, which is HERE.) It hung around LBLR constantly for roughly two weeks and then it apparently left yesterday (or it became a meal for a local raptor, but let's hope not). It arrived when Bob and Jo arrived and it left when Bob and Jo left. Do you suppose there could be a connection? Could it have been a sign from above that they were being "watched over"? |
| June 13th | Five cabins worth of people from Charles City, Iowa just pulled in. The annual Charles City Invasion, as it has been previously referred to, has begun. If things go as they usually do, we are going to have a fish fry in a few days, probably Thursday, and it's gonna be great if previous years are any indication. |
| June 14th | Yet another new story has been added to the Northland Stories, Poems, and Anecdotes page. It's a very short, but true, story titled "The Fire Maker". You can get to it from the main page or you can take a short cut by clicking HERE. |
| June 15th | I know, I know.........you've seen a thousand pictures of turtles laying eggs. But I promise this will be the only one this year; it's one of two that used LBLR property for reproductive purposes today. Click HERE |
| June 16th | If you read Laurie's story (see the entry for June 11th, above), you will have noticed her reference (not once or twice, but three times) to the "freedom" that she used to feel when, as a kid from Chicago, she vacationed at the lake. I spent a good part of this evening sitting outside in the gorgeous June weather, partaking of a glass or two of a rather drinkable claret, and listening to the Charles City kids as they exercised the "freedom" that Laurie was remembering. There are several kids in that group between the ages of about 6 and 14, who have been coming here for about as long as they can remember, and although I can't really explain it, I can actually feel their sense of "freedom". It certainly goes on all day, but it seems to run rampant between the end of supper and bed time. The kids are fishing for awhile, then playing games for awhile, then just running around using up energy for awhile, then maybe paddle-boating, or kayaking, or fishing again, and all that before the campfire is even started. They have all those activities, most of which they don't get to do anywhere else, but it seems like what they're enjoying the most is the freedom that Laurie described. Geez, it's neat just watching and listening. |
| June 17th | More Momma turtles wandered out of the lake to lay their eggs today, but as per the above promise "NO MORE TURTLE PICTURES"! |
| June 18th | Here are some of the hardcore members of the Charles City Invasion. It looks like a small group, but that's because at the time the picture was taken a few of them were still out on the lake fishing, the teenagers were playing volley ball, and the little kids were off doing whatever it was that they wanted to do. Click HERE |
| June 19th | The temps are in the low 80s so we are nearing the time in which whole afternoons will be spent sitting under the pines near the water at the south end of the resort in order to keep cool. Possibly more than a few Chronicles entries will be composed under those pine trees during the upcoming weeks. Click HERE for a picture from a few years ago. |
| June 20th |
This week the resort is teeming with people of Polish ancestry. In honor of that fact, the National Flag of Poland will be flying from the LBLR flagpole for at least part of the week upcoming.
Hmmmmm......... When Brian and Marie came here from England two years ago, the British Union Jack flew over Little Bass Lake for the whole two weeks, but when Bing and her parents and friends from China stayed here I never even thought of flying the Chinese flag in their honor. That will have to be rectified for their next trip. Likewise, when Kiah came here from Tasmania last year I didn't think to fly the Australian flag, but since she showed up rather unexpectedly there was no time to prepare anyway. |
| Summer Solstice | Early this morning, not long after mid-night, the Glorious Lamp of Heaven (as Robert Herrick so aptly put it in 1625) was directly over the Tropic of Cancer and Summer began. Here's to you Summer!!!!! Be well and remain with us as long as you can. |
| June 22nd | This is the first time these three brothers have fished from the same boat in 45 years, and there didn't appear to be any arguments. Click HERE. |
| June 23rd | Click HERE. |
| June 24th | Shawn and Christine are ready for a bike ride. This is great biking territory, ya know. Click HERE. |
| June 25th | Most, if not all, of the female Bluegills have finished spawning by now, but since the eggs have not yet hatched the males are still standing guard over the beds. I've never seen the males dig those holes but I bet it would be interesting. They're very aggressive while they're guarding the nest; they chase fish away and they'll even attack a swimmer if he gets too close (I know from experience). These pictures with my little cheap camera are poor, but you might still get the idea. To see a couple of them, click HERE. |
| June 26th |
The Kielpinski brothers (Brian, David, and Larry) with their families (23 people in all) are spending the week at LBLR. Here is the whole clan moments before they posed for their official vacation portrait. [Aside -- That has to be the most people that have ever been on the front porch at one time. -- End of Aside] Click HERE.
To see Brian, the ring leader of the group, posing with the Polish National Flag, click HERE. |
| June 27th | For years one would see an occasional rabbit around here, but only on rare occasions. Then suddenly in early 2006 there were rabbits all over the place. As posted on July 21, 2007, if there was a rabbit hunter here he could get his limit in no time without ever leaving the back deck. Now, just as suddenly, there are no rabbits around. What's up with that, do you suppose? |
| June 28th | Last night Jim (a son-in-law) took some of the grandkids out on the lake to fish, and Jeff (another son-in-law) took some other of the grandkids out for an evening boat ride. Jeff's boat broke down and blew into some weeds, so he flagged down Jim and asked for help. While he was towing Jeff's boat back to the resort, Jim's boat broke down. Nattie (Jim's daugher), who happened to have her cell phone with her, called her Mom (Tammy). So Tammy and I went out with one of my boats and "rescued" the whole lot of them. But here's the truly amazing part of the story: This morning both sons-in-law got their respective boats running again with a total expenditure of $0.00...........impressive, eh? |
| June 29th | Cold, windy, rainy; no swimming, no fishing. What a difference a day can make. The same tomorrow, only worse. The hight temp is supposed to be 60 to 65. |
| June 30th | So much for the first half of 2009! |
