Click here to see the other months in 2005:
| July 1st | Happy "Canada Day" to our friends to the North. Click HERE to see the LBLR flag pole, and click HERE to see the history of the holiday. |
| July 2nd | Lori and I went fishing today. Try as I might, I simply can't get her to stop referring to our minnows as "baby fish". |
| July 3rd | My dear 7 year-old granddaughter, Em, went for a late night ride on a tube behind her Dad's boat this evening. And she's a good little skier too. |
| Independence Day |
Happy 229th Birthday USA!!!!
After all these years you're still looking great. "When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bonds which have connected them with another.........." Click HERE. |
| July 5th | Click HERE. |
| July 6th |
Today Tam, Nattie, Kaylee and I planted
a tree in memory of Debbie, our Aunt, Great-Aunt, and Sister (see the entry for March 10th).
We selected a crab apple tree because of its beautiful blossoms in the Spring.
In deference to Deb, Nattie refers to it as a "kind-apple tree" rather than
a "crab-apple tree". Click HERE to see the girls posing with the tree. (Note - In the background you can see the apple tree that was planted a few years ago in memory of my departed brother, Ron.) |
| July 7th | A few days ago I saw my 68th LBLR bird species......a Northern Cardinal. That's not a rare bird, but it's the first one I've seen up here in this neck of the woods. |
| July 8th | So long Cindy and Mike. It was a fun week. Thanks(!) and keep in touch.......I'll see you on SameTime. PS: Should I lay in some wine for cross-country skiing? |
| July 9th | The Dog Days of summer are definitely upon us.......and if one pays attention to the stars, one would say they have been upon us since July 3rd. The weather has been hot and humid for some time now (as is typical for the Dog Days) and since cooking isn't a pleasant task on days such as these, cooking outside on the grill is often preferred. Perhaps we should call these the Hot Dog Days of summer. |
| July 10th | After gracing LBLR with their presence for over a week, my children and grandchildren have departed. I have never, in the whole of my life, had so many left-overs that I'll never use, left in my refrigerator. A most singular experience indeed! |
| July 11th | Click HERE to see what Rachel caught yesterday! |
| July 12th |
My first exposure to dancing with an actual girl was in the Fall of 1959 when Sister Mary
Therese paired up us 8th graders and taught us to square dance to a song named "Hinky Dinky
Parlez Vous". We had no record player and, of course, no caller, so we sang
the words and the square dance calls as we danced. Us boys (unlike the girls)
were not thrilled about it, but we had no choice in the matter so we
simply sang the song and tried to dance.......with disgusted looks on our faces. This evening I tried to find the words to "Hicky Dinky Parlez Vous" on the internet. I found several versions, each with many verses, and every one of them originated with the British soldiers in the trenches in World War I. As you can imagine, Sister Mary Therese's version was not among them, and she would have been taken aback (to put it mildly) with any of the versions I found. If she is looking down at us, I'm sure she's the one with a disgusted look on her face now. |
| July 13th |
Progress is a good thing......but geez! Does it have to go on forever? Hasn't
there been enough of it already? (If that sounds like it came from a grumpy old man, that's because it did!) |
| July 14th | Two things are celebrated today......neither of which are near or dear to the hearts of many Americans at the present time. One is Bastille Day, the French National holiday commemorating the storming of the Bastille in 1789, a major event in the French Revolution. The other is the celebration, in several Middle East countries, of the Prophet Muhammad's Ascension into Heaven, I assume in the year 632 which is normally listed as the year of his death. |
| July 15th | Click HERE to see what Jeff caught yesterday! |
| July 16th | When Kaylee left here a few days ago, her teddy bear was hiding under the blankets on her bed so he missed his ride home. Teddy was put in the mail very soon after that and he was back in Kaylee’s arms two days later. As her Mom described it: “That was one of the best homecomings I've ever seen!!! Even Josh [Kaylee's older brother] cracked a smile at how perfectly delighted she was - TOTAL enthusiasm with a great big gasp!” Click HERE to see the reunion! |
| July 17th | 13 year-old Taryn and her Mom walked up to my house from their cabin one day. When I answered the door the Mom said to her daughter "Go ahead, ask him." Taryn hesitated a bit, then asked if she could use my phone; of course, I said "sure". Her Mom said "Well.....tell him why." Taryn hesitated longer this time and said nothing. So I said "You don't have to tell me.....I know why. You want to call your boyfriend!" She gave her Mom a startled look and asked: "How did he know?" Some resorters are clairvoyant, but in my case it’s because I raised three daughters. |
| July 18th | Click HERE to see what Andrew (Drew) caught yesterday. It snapped his pole in half, but he still landed it! |
| July 19th | Click HERE to see a group of my Michigan relatives who are here this week. (I think there are two people missing from this picture.) |
| July 20th | 36 years ago today I was glued to the TV for 16 consecutive hours watching Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin land and walk on the moon. |
| July 21st | Click HERE to see Shannon hand-feeding a chipmonk. |
| July 22nd | How do Blue Jays manage to put a sunflower seed between their feet and then peck at it as hard as they do, but never blow it and peck one of their toes off? It's darned good beak control, I'll tell you that. |
| July 23rd | Some weeks this place is just filled with people who have a strong desire to function in an advisory capacity. |
| July 24th | Carrots! Tonight try to dream about carrots; those tasty roots in a dream prophesy an unexpecected legacy or money windfall. By the way, they're especially good if you fry them in butter with garlic and cheese......a la Randy Baxter, and they go well with a Peterson steak in Peterson Bay. Mmmmm-mmmmmmm! |
| July 25th | To my friends Jack and Phylis, who live in the Virgin Islands: happy "Hurricane Supplication Day". It sounds like a nice holiday. Today I'll drink a rum in honor of your holiday, and I pray that you'll remain safe from all hurricanes in the future. |
| July 26th | The emergency room at the Grand Rapids Clinic received its first LBLR resident of the year today, to have a fishhook removed from the back of his hand. In deference to his hurt feelings, his name will not be mentioned on this site......but he's staying in Cabin # 6. |
| July 27th | If a Northern Pike is deboned, cut into bite sized pieces, boiled (as you would shrimp), then dipped in butter (as you would lobster), it is absolutely DELICIOUS! [Thanks Ron P.] |
| July 28th | On two particular weeks every summer there are a lot of kids at LBLR, and during those two weeks we usually play several games which involve both kids and adults. Some of them are considered "intellectual" games; some of them are not. We define an "intellectual" game as "one that is played in-doors and does not involve running or screaming". That's a pretty loose definition of "intellectual", but it's the one we use. |
| July 29th | Hi Singing Bird! (How long has it been since you heard that?) Give me a call or send me an e-mail when you see this, wouldja? |
| July 30th | Click HERE to see a sign that was seen in a computer room at IBM in Rochester, Minnesota in 1976. |
| July 31th | And so the last of Robert Herrick's "Four Sweet Months" is ushered out with a truly magnificent Summer day. But before the upcoming month is ended, some days will feel more like Autumn than Summer, which is NOT a disturbing thought. |
