Click here to see the other months in 2006:
| The Calends of June |
The third of "Four Sweet Months" (as per Robert Herrick, circa 1650): First, April, she with mellow showers Opens the way for early flowers; Then after her comes smiling May, In a more sweet and rich array; Next enters June, and brings us more Gems than those two that went before. Then, lastly July comes, and she More wealth brings in than all those three. |
| June 2nd | The Chronicles for April 21st (it's HERE) contained a short dissertation on a newly hatched turtle making its way down the hill and into the lake. Today, nearly 7 weeks later, the first mother turtle made her way up the hill to dig a hole and lay the eggs for next year's batch of baby turtles. The pen in the picture is the same one that was in the picture of the baby turtle from last April. Click HERE. |
| June 3rd | I don't know how well you'll be able to see this because by the time I got the camera, it was too far away.......but this is, by far, the biggest "V" of geese that I've ever seen. Notice that both ends of it are out of the picture. Click HERE. |
| June 4th | This is the last turtle picture......I promise. This one is a snapper and she came up to lay her eggs early this morning. There is no pen in the picture to show size because I was afraid to get that close, but I assure you that she's much bigger than the painted turtle (and a lot meaner). Click HERE. |
| June 5th | Ronald Reagan died 2 years ago today. |
| June 6th |
I think (I'm pretty sure) that we have two baby loons. If they're there and if
they both survive it'll be the first time in a few years. The secchi disk reading was 10.5 feet this morning. That seems a bit low, but there's still a lot of pollen in the water. |
| June 7th | There are definitely 2 baby loons out there.....I got a good look at them through the binoculars this morning. I tried to get close enough for a picture but when I heard the gentle "I'm getting irritated" call from the Mom, I immediately backed off. The picture will have to wait till the babies are a bit older and the parents a bit less nervous. |
| June 8th | A family of raccoons (a Mom and four kids) has made a home inside the eaves of the duplex, which wouldn't be pleasant for anyone vacationing in cabins 5 and 6. There are two boom boxes up there at the moment blasting rock music at them in an attempt to convince the Mom to take her kids and move to a quieter neighborhood. I can tell that she's not amused by it, but tonight will tell if she's irritated enough to leave. Here's a picture of one of the little ones, but I had to brighten it a lot so it's a tad "washed out". Click HERE. |
| June 9th | 5:00 PM. The raccoon family is still holed up in the duplex and I've been harrassing them all day. I'm trying to keep them from sleeping, in hope that they'll decide that this neighborhood is too "wild" for them.......and leave. |
| June 10th | I think the raccoons have vacated the cabin. The constant music and yesterday's harrassment must have been too much for them. Since there are now guests in that cabin, we'll know for sure by morning. |
| June 11th | The raccons have NOT vacated the cabin. |
| June 12th | Bernard and crew from Wisconsin (and a few other locations) had a fish fry tonight. Geez(!), they're good cooks as well as good fishermen. |
| June 13th | I had one raccoon in the trap this morning but I have no idea how many (if any) are still in there. I haven't seen the Mom since the 9th and I haven't seen more than one little one at a time since the 10th. Maybe they're all gone now......or maybe there are still 4 more in there. We'll have a better idea in the morning. |
| June 14th |
I believe that the continuing soap opera concerning the raccoons has ended.
Nothing went in or out of the holes in the eaves last night so I think they're
GONE, but I'll leave the traps in place for a few more days to be sure. From the diary of William L. Shirer: "Berlin, June 14, 1940. Paris has fallen. The hooked-cross flag of Hitler flutters from the Eiffel Tower there by the Seine.....this morning German troops entered the city." |
| June 15th | We'll have 2 hours and 10 minutes more daylight today (almost 16 hours) than Boca Raton, Florida (where I spent my early IBM years). Of course, next December when we have only 8 1/2 hours of daylight they'll have 10 1/2 hours.....but that's not for 6 months yet. |
| June 16th |
At the moment my Detroit Tigers are 43-24. Three years ago they finished the
season at 43-119. Amazing! (PS to Brian......No, it would NOT be neat if they lost the rest of their games and ended up with a record identical to 2003, you Turkey!!!!!) |
| June 17th |
At 8:00 AM on this day in 1968 (38 years ago) as a recent college graduate, I walked
into the main lobby in building 201 of the IBM plant in Boca Raton Florida
and began my post-university career as a working stiff. At the time I noticed
that my planned retirement date was in 2011, but it's only 2006 and I've
been drawing a pension for 8 years already (with many more to go, hopefully).
To see the cleaning girls in their new, more colorful, uniforms click HERE. |
| Fathers' Day |
The final words in the speech by Winston Churchill in the House of Commons, 66 years ago today: "Hitler knows that he will have to break us in this Island or lose the war. If we can stand up to him, all Europe may be free and the life of the world may move forward into broad, sunlit uplands. But if we fail, then the whole world, including the United States, including all that we have known and cared for, will sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age made more sinister, and perhaps more protracted, by the lights of perverted science. Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, 'This was their finest hour'". Click HERE. |
| June 19th | My San Francisco daughter with yet another new hair-do......click HERE. |
| June 20th | This morning I helped Will Downing install the bar at "Rivers Wine Bar and Bistro". They'll have a full menu and specialize in wine. They'll also have "high end" beer in bottles only, but I forgot to ask about liquor. The decor of the place is definitely European, and Mr. Downing did an excellent job on the bar and the large table for the "private room". They have a lot of work to do yet, but plan to be open two fortnights less two days hence (ie, July 17th). I think it'll be an excellent addition to Grand Rapids and I sure hope it works out. |
| Summer Solstice |
Summertime, And the livin' is easy; Fish are jumpin' And the cotton is high. |
| June 22nd | Hi(!) Frank Major, and thanks for the chat.......it was good talking to you. I still think you had a roommate in room 213 one time who was named Frank. He would occasionally "borrow" money from your middle desk drawer without asking, and one time you left a note in there saying something like "Frank, you big P---, get out of here!" Or maybe he lived in 214 when you lived with Tom K. I bet that was it. Forty years is a long time ago. |
| June 23rd | Happy Anniversary to Tom and Erin Harlan......their 6th. They and their whole clan (four cabins of them this year since Alli has her own because of her new son) wont be here for over a month yet.....but that is, indeed, one of my favorite weeks. |
| June 24th | Tim, Monica, and crew (4 cabins of them) from Charles City, Iowa, just left. The Walleye fishing wasn't as good as last year........but they did all right. |
| June 25th | Two days ago Lori and I went for a 22 mile bike ride........a GENTLE 22 mile bike ride, and we only stopped for a beer once. Ever since then she has been exclaiming about how I rode 22 miles on a bike and suffered no ill effects (except a sore rear, of course). What the heck? Does she think I'm a couch potato when she's not here? |
| June 26th |
"Life is too short to fish with a dead minnow." -- Randy Peterson (circa 1993) |
| June 27th | Rain yesterday and last night, so......boat bailing this morning. Ya know, boat bailing is one thing that I'm fairly good at. If ever the call goes out, that due to an emergency there is a desperate need for someone to bail boats, that will be my finest hour! |
| June 28th |
I used to track status, give work reviews, and attend staff
meetings for a living. Now I trap raccoons, mow lawns, and bail boats.
The secchi disk reading was 13 feet last Sunday morning (25th); two and a half feet better than 3 weeks ago. |
| June 29th | Do you remember Little Eva? She sang "The Locomotion" which hit the top of the charts in 1962. (I remember it well!) She was born 63 years ago today.......unfortunely she only lived to be 60. |
| June 30th |
Welcome: To Lori.....for the second time in a week no less, To my Dear Daughter Twacie, her husband Jeff, and my grandkids Em and Mol, and To my Dear Daughter Tammy, her husband Jim, and my grandkids Josh, Nattie, Jakie, and Kaylee, who will arrive tomorrow. It will be a full house indeed! |
