Sarah, Turtles and Porcupines

Niece Sarah came to visit for a couple of days while Paula was here. We had lots of fun playing cards, paddling around on the lake, dining out, watching movies, telling stories and laughing. Here is Sarah trying out the kayak we have on loan from another niece.


We went to a favorite local Bavarian-style restaurant for dinner one evening. Naturally, a picture with one of the trolls was required.


We enjoyed dinner along with a terrific view of the lake. Paula and I had sampler plates of authentic German dishes.


Here are Sarah and her dog, Dayton, relaxing on one of the couches.


The next day, Josey appeared at our front door with a treasure she had retrieved from the woods--a painted turtle. She was so proud. During the next few days, we saw quite a few of these guys moving around, including trying to cross the highway into town. Alas, not all of them made it! I know I shouldn't create shadows when I take pictures. I forgot! At least this shot shows a nice sharp image of the creature's colorful underside.


When I picked him up, he would stick his head out and try frantically with his feet to free himself from my grasp.


This is what he did whenever we put him down--try to find a hiding place and get away from us. I thought that Henry, at least, would want to see him in action.



Josey seemed to think she should retrieve him, which we wouldn't let her do, so I carried him down to the lake. The minute I set him down about two feet from the lake, he shot straight for the water and was gone--happier, I think, if not wiser. I think it was the next day that I was doing some work on the boat. I looked down over the bow near the shore and saw an enormous snapping turtle. Its shell must have been at least 18" by 14", and its head was the size of a small cantaloupe. They are very shy and usually try to depart, but I wouldn't have wanted to accidentally corner him and have fingers or toes at stake. I think it must have been turtle week.

Then tonight, there was Josey's chance encounter with a porcupine. She very nearly inspected one a couple years ago up here. This time, she was out of site when Kathie heard her scruffling around in the woods while she was fishing off the dock. The result of this encounter can be seen below. We managed to get them all pulled out--probably two dozen--and not with much cooperation from Josey. She seems a little exhausted now, but we think she is OK.

To A Couple of Great Dads

Kathie and I want to say Happy Fathers Day to a couple of great fathers from "The Greatest Generation":

And for good measure, Paula and I want to remember the man who always loved us dearly:

Fishing Success, Finally

I can catch fish after all. After we took Paula to the airport for her return home (so sorry to see her leave!!), Kathie and I went fishing and caught about seven--all crappie and walleye. One of the crappies was really large, and two of the walleye were good-sized too! So we kept three for tonight's dinner. Here they are:

A New Fishing Obsession

Paula has been staying with us a few extra days following the cousins reunion. I asked her if she would like to go fishing, and she said she had rarely if ever gone fishing. No one had ever taught her, she said. So, I said I'd teach her and off we went. We started out with some simple bobber fishing to see if she could get the hang of casting and other details. It was also a way to be almost sure that she would catch something and sustain an interest, because bluegill have moved into shallow water and are generally eager to go after a worm. Well, let me tell you, Paula was a pro at casting and handling her rod and reel right away.

Here are Kathie and Paula demonstrating how enjoyable fishing can be.

And here is Paula's first fish. A nice, colorful little bluegill. She wasn't too excited about baiting hooks, and she seemed worried that the fish might be hurt. But we let them go with no trouble.

Here she is again with a fish hooked and being retrieved. See that delightful Paula laugh? By this point I know she is having fun.

And another bluegill to add to the tally board. She eventually landed four.

Meanwhile, Kathie hooked a really nice bass.

So, we decided to up the ante a bit. We motored over to a lodge to stock up on additional gasoline for the boat and some fresh minnows.

Then we traveled over to an area where we like to fish for walleye--over sunken bog humps. Of course, Paula had mastered casting by now and so working with a jig and a minnow seemed to be natural. Well, she pulled in a very nice walleye--probably 14" and well worth keeping. We hoped to catch a couple more and have a nice dinner. Paula hooked two others but they both escaped before we could get them into the boat. Meanwhile, Kathie and I are catching nothing, although Kathie had at least hooked that nice bass. (Eventually, Paula asked to release the single walleye she had caught, which was nice and healthy in the boat's livewell.)

That same afternoon, she landed one more fish, a nice crappie. Final score: Paula-6 (plus two near-misses), Kathie-1, and Bill-0. This is getting to be an unhappy pattern with me!! I thought it was beginners luck for Paula--but maybe not.

The next morning, we are sitting around enjoying ourselves, and Paula says, "Maybe we can go fishing again!" Oh-oh. She is "hooked." She now likes fishing--her favorite new hobby. She'll be weaving things out of fish scales and other things in no time. So, on this next outing, she lands another crappie as you can see below. This outing took place under rainy conditions. Even rain didn't stop her. Dad would have grinned and loved it!! Paula was using Dad's old spinning rod--the blue one you see in this picture. That was a very fitting circumstance.

We went to a nice German-style restaurant for dinner last evening, and there were displays of fish hanging on the wall. Paula took the following pictures of muskie and walleye. I guess she now has her sights set on bigger game!!

Maybe I'll start catching fish one of these days again. I must be an OK fishing teacher at least.

Cousins Reunion 2008

This past weekend, we were privileged to host a reunion of all the cousins on my mother's side of the family together with their spouses. The cousins were probably last all together when Kathie and I were married in 1990, but I can't recall a time when all of us plus our spouses were together. In spite of the fact that several had weather-related travel difficulties, either coming or going home, it was a wonderful weekend. Janice and Mike were the first to arrive.

So, we immediately broke in the sky chairs and the bolo wrap game to make sure they would be ready for the weekend.

Patty, Pat, Rex, and Chris arrived next and in time for lunch.

After lunch, we spent some time on the deck and in the sun. We were waiting for Ron and Paula who were experiencing a number of travel delays--they had originally planned to arrive the evening before.

They did arrive at about 4PM in the afternoon. Being all together at last meant that required group photos could begin. Here are the cousins arranged from oldest to youngest. There are many past pictures of us arranged more or less like this. See, for example, the posting I did last February by clicking here.

For some reason, we have gotten into two versions of group shots--the happy or normal version (just above) and the goofy-faced version, which you see below. Who do you think should win the contest for most original goofy expression?

Here are the respective spouses in their "normal" poses and with their goofy faces on. There is no question that Pat wins this contest. Ron gets the bright, shiny watch award.

Before going out for some evening retirement celebration festivities, we took a walk around our property and along our road to view adjacent properties. Here are the weekend hosts along with one of the bears I carved a couple of years ago. Fortunately no one this time suggested that it looked more like Yoda or a jackalope or some other critter.

Here are two of the cousins, siblings Patty and Rex, with the other bear.

Then Rex and his photogenic spouse near our "Gus", who greets guests at the entrance to our property.

Here we all are along the road, the fat guy seems to be acting like a tour guide.

This bear seems to have become a posing spot for pictures of sibling cousins.

We had planned an outing to Famous Dave's to celebrate retirements, past, very recent (Ron and Paula), and future. A kind gentleman agreed to take this group picture for us.

Below are the five couples preparing to chow down on some fine barbecue. Janice and Mike--

Chris and Rex--

Pat and Patty--

Paula and Ron--

And the hosts--

After dining, the female cousins, perhaps all feeling the effects of a little extra celebrating, decided that a carousel ride would be just the thing to top off the evening.



Each couple was in charge of one meal. Chris and Rex prepared a beautiful, colorful bowl of cut fruit that I wish I had captured on film. They had stopped at our local bakery on the way in to our place, and so I at least got this cutting of the pastry.

During the rest of the day, there was lots of playing. Pat and Mike took off with the canoe and disappeared up the river for a couple of hours.

Others took a boat ride and got a glimpse of the lake and other homes in the area.

Patty and Janice seemed to enjoy the boat ride, though it was a little cool.

Kathie provided materials for making laminated commemorative bookmarks from pieces of fallen birch bark. It was like camp, and this was one of the crafts sessions.

Some pinball gaming also took place.

In the late afternoon, we watched the Preakness while sipping sour apple martinis. These drinks have become something of a tradition here at the lake.

I always like this spot for a group picture. It looks like everyone was having a good time.

Naturally, we had to have another lineup of the cousins.

Then, some additional pre-dinner sunning.

Paula and Ron fixed the evening dinner. At two or three of the meals, we passed around a bag of questions. Each person had to pick one and answer it. Most questions were designed to recall memories or funny stories, and the laughter suggests we succeeded with that.

In the evening, Paula led another craft session. Each couple drew the name of another couple and then made a Christmas ornament to commemorate the weekend gathering.

Here are the end products, which were delivered the following morning. Watch for them on a Christmas tree near you this next December.

Sadly, everyone departed after that last event. Mike and Janice were the last to leave, and so before everything was said and done, we got in a little high pressure water gun action. Alas, we did not succeed in convincing the squirrels to stay away from the bird feeders.

I hope we can all gather again sometime. This was fun!!