| New Year's Day |
Drop the last year into the silent limbo of the past. Let it go, for it was imperfect, and thank God that it can go. -- Brooks Atkinson (circa 1943) We don't know exactly which year Mr. Atkinson was referring to, but one could almost think he was referring to the year 2020, couldn't one? It sounds appropriate, but since he died 47 years ago that's probably not it. He was a war correspondent during World War II so he was probably referring to one of the war years, and those years were certainly worse than 2020. But surely many of us share the same feelings about the year just past. |
| January 2nd |
For the 8th consecutive New Year's Eve, Deb and I put together a 3-D puzzle. To see the NYE 2020 version (as well as the other 7), click HERE.
PS: It takes more than one day to complete one of these puzzles. In most years, we started on New Year's Eve and worked on it over the next few days, but in other years (this year for instance), we started a few days early, and finished it up on New Year's Eve. |
| January 3rd |
This is a common sight down here in the MSP suburbs , but Up North it's unusual (click HERE). The first Cardinal that I recorded as seeing Up North was in 2005, and it hung around for part of one summer. This one (click HERE), which hung around for part of the winter of 2007/2008, was one of only 3 or 4 that I saw in all 26 years at LBLR. I think they must have been travelers who got lost and couldn't fine their way back home.
PS: During my 26 years at LBLR I recorded the presence of 96 different species of birds that were on or near Little Bass Lake; the Cardinal is number 67. If your interested, the list is HERE. |
| January 4th | Yesterday was the first cross-country skiing outing of the winter. YAY!!! Hopefully there will be several more before the winter is over. |
| January 5th | If a glass or two of fine wine and a decadent sit-down in a recliner doesn't eliminate your problems, at least it'll reduce their size. |
| January 6th |
THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES!
Chronicles entry for this day in 2008, thirteen years ago: It's very warm tonight (maybe 20 degrees) so I didn't even have to wear gloves. I had my iPod with me so Gordon Lightfoot BOOMED in my ears the whole time. There was no moon to speak of (the new moon is two days from now), but the stars were bright. My old hunting buddy, Orion, was shining brightly in the southwest, and Mars was looking down from halfway above the horizon in the southeast. I've always liked Mars. An Aries should like Mars. A third the way across the lake a fog came up. It blotted out the lights on the far side of the lake, but it was near the ground so it didn't cover the stars. I don't know if it was stationary and I walked into it, or if it was moving south and it came to me, but a bit later it was gone. During that short foggy period I lost my bearings and wandered a tad toward the center of the lake. When I realized what had happened I veered back toward the west and came to the shoreline at the boundry with my southern neighbor. From there I followed the shore for a thousand feet, all the way to the north end of LBLR, crossed the shoreline onto the resort, and followed the snow covered driveway back to the house. The walk from Randy's place lasted 30 minutes, maybe even a bit longer..........and it was delightful. Note added today: Geez, do I ever miss that stuff! Click HERE. |
| January 7th | In spite of what is happening around us at the moment.......life goes on! |
| January 8th | Speaking of stuff I miss about being at LBLR, check this out.......it's the Three Amigos. It's me, Mick (a past owner of Back o' the Moon Resort), and Bob (whose parents sold Back o' the Moon Resort to Mick), both of whom many of you have met. The picture on the right was taken in 2018. Would anyone care to take a guess when the one on left was taken, but be careful! Also, which of us do you think aged the most, and really be careful how you answer that one. Click HERE. |
| January 9th | I have nothing to say today. |
| January 10th | Skiing conditions here are baaa-aaad, but it's not too bad for mukluk-ing. We saw these two nice bucks on a mukluk outing in Inver Grove Heights today. Click HERE. |
| January 11th | Seven to Ten inches of snow in Lampasas, Texas? Hey Sarge, what's up with that? We hope you and Ann are enjoying it as much as we would if it were happening here, but we thought part of the reason you moved to Texas was to get away from that. Do you even have a snow shovel? Click HERE to see their house as it looked yesterday. |
| January 12th | Tomorrow is the Ides of January, so today is the last day to wish someone a Happy New Year. Today is the LAST day!!!! If anyone is caught wishing someone a Happy New Year tomorrow, the penalty ought to be severe. Take heed! |
| The Ides | Have a Happy New Year....... |
| January 14th | During the last 20 or 30 years of the 1900s, man-made changes to the LBLR shoreline were slowing causing it to erode. During the summers of 1999 and 2000 much work was done to fix the problem. A new entry (titled LBLR Shorline Restoration) has been added to the LBLR "Stories, Poems, & Anecdotes From the Northland" page, which describes the problem and its solution. It's a little long, but you might find it interesting. The "Stories, Poems, & Anecdotes From the Northland" page is HERE, but you can go directly to the erosion story by clicking HERE. |
| January 15th |
Number 16 of the "100 reasons why it's nice to be a male": You don't have to lug a bag of useful stuff around everywhere you go. |
| January 16th |
THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES!
Chronicles entries for this time in January 2010, eleven years ago: January 15th -- Jakie and Kaylee (two of my grandkids) are coming up here this weekend to ice fish with their Dad. They should arrive shortly. Are you little guys really going to ice fish???????? Or are you going to sit in my living room and watch movies all weekend? January 16th -- To see Kaylee ice fishing, click HERE. To see Jakie ice fishing, click HERE. They were very lucky that the weather was warm for them! Note added today: In 2010 I referred to them as little guys because their ages were 11 and 8 back then; today they're 22 and 19 respectively. Hey Jake and Kay, do you "little guys" remember those pictures? As I remember it, neither of you guys caught any fish. Is that way you remember it too? |
| January 17th |
Okay all you guys.......I'm asking one more time. The "Stories, Poems, & Anecdotes From the Northland" page has 29 entries on it. Would someone please make it 30 entries by sending me a story. If you think about it, tons and tons of you regular customers must have many things you could write about.......and it's an easy thing to do. [By the way, included in that group of prospective authors are daughters, grandkids, nieces & nephews, brothers & sisters, in-laws, etc. etc. as well as people like Gary in Tennessee (who should have a lot of them) and Sean in Chicago.] If you've already written one, write another one! The stories should be short, one or two pages at most (or even just one paragraph), and they should be connected to the Northland in some manner (hopefully vacation related but not necessarily about LBLR). Small memories written in just a few paragraphs, or even just a few sentences, make great entries. Many of the current stories are only one paragraph long. For some examples of "one-paragraph" stories, read Em's First Snowfall, or Erin's Tumble into the Fire Pit, or The Firemaker, and there are several others. If you're shaky about the writing, get the rudiments down and I'll write the rest of it for you (subject to your approval, of course). Think about it.......contact me and we can talk about it. By the way, click HERE, to see the complete list of stories.
PS: A while back, some of you have said that you would do it, but so far I haven't seen any follow through. |
| January 18th | January is a tough month under the best of conditions, let alone conditions like the present. It's a good month, but a tough one.......hence, I have nothing to say. |
| January 19th | To see a few seconds of some Cities deer, one of them being a nice looking buck, click HERE. |
| January 20th | "Today's picture" first appeared in the Chronicles on January 20, 2007, fourteen years ago today. The very first picture (Ann, Sarge, and Trooper, taken while they were strolling on the lake) is HERE. [Note: Back in 2007, there really was a different picture every day.] |
| January 21st |
Congratulations to our new President, Joe Biden. Regardless of who we voted, for let us "offer our next president our goodwill and an earnest effort to find ways to come together, to find the necessary compromises to bridge our differences and help restore our prosperity, to defend our security in a dangerous world, and to leave our children and grandchildren a stronger, better country than we inherited."
That was part of John McCain's concession speech to then President-elect Barack Obama in November of 2008, but his words are as relevent today as they were back then, and perhaps even more so. |
| January 22nd |
Beware the Pogonip!
PS: It's a shame to use that yearly warning with a low temperature of only 2 degrees last night. Up North I "tried" not to use it until the low temperature was colder than -20, but -30 was even better. |
| January 23rd | On this day in 2005, I took what could have been a great Christmas Card picture, but it was never used as such. Click HERE.......or not. |
| January 24th | As usual, happy birthday to my Baby Sister Beth!!!!! |
| January 25th |
Wee, sleeket, cowran, tim’rous beastie, O, what a panic’s in thy breastie! Thou need na start awa sae hasty, Wi’ bickerin brattle! I wad be laith to rin an’ chase thee Wi’ murd’ring pattle! -- Robert Burns (1785) On a bus tour of the Scottish Highlands a year and a half ago, a light rain started and the bus driver reminded us that "today's rain is tomorrow's whisky" (notice the Scottish spelling, Americans would call it whiskey). And speaking of Scottish Whisky and Scottish Poets, if Robert Burns (one of my favorite poets) were alive today, he'd be 262 years old. HAPPY BIRTHDAY RABBIE!!! |
| January 26th | There is nothing new today......maybe something will happen tomorrow. |
| January 27th | Same again today. |
| January 28th | Statistically speaking, our coldest day of the year was the day before yesterday. But we haven't had any cold weather yet.......or even a decent snowfall. |
| January 29th | Today's moon from Wildwood Resort on Bass Lake, looking along the driveway in the direction of LBLR.......click HERE. |
| January 30th |
On January 1, 2006, a tad over 15 years ago, the Chronicles entry was: January is a new beginning and an up-beat feeling. January is opening the kitchen door and if you aren't quick, letting winter get inside the house. January is sitting comfortably by the kitchen window on a cold morning before the sun comes up, drinking coffee, and watching the computer to see which of your IBM co-workers have gotten to their offices in Rochester yet. January is no more Christmas for nearly a year. January is a slow, quiet, nighttime walk across the lake under a clear sky at 20 below zero with no wind. January is tranquility. January is, without a doubt, my favorite month! The next day my Daughter Tammy contacted me, told me that she read it, and said that she was appalled. [Probably not that exact word, but you get the idea. Tammy doesn't particularly like January.] |
| January 31st | Today is the last day of January, and so far this winter we've had NO below zero weather, which is highly unusual. Up North they've had a few below zero nights, but nothing so far here in the Cities. What is this, Minnesota or Texas? Sigh...... |
