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Fun on the Lake

Category: Getting my garden started | Posted: Tue Mar 27, 2007 3:54 pm

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Each year for as long as I can remember, two of our friends here on the lake have a friendly competition. The point is to be the first person, to be in a boat afloat on the lake. The two of them will spend weeks after the fact, debating who actually won. Each year a new "rule" gets added to make it fair for each. Then each new year one of them finds a new way to be first, and the debate begins again.
One year John was out in a small fishing boat with a motor, playing among the melting ice sheets. He looked like a mini ice breaker, as he charged a sheet of ice and smashed through. There was a wind that day, and as I watched, I could see the ice sheets moving about some. John wound up out near the middle of the lake, and some of the ice had closed in behind him. Now our lake is not exceptionally large, just 600 acres or so, but to John at that moment it must have seemed like Lake Michigan. All that ice between him and his shore. We teased him for months after that.
Another year John put a small row boat in when there was a few feet of open water along the shore, and rowed along breaking ice as he went, over to Walt's house where he claimed victory for that year. Walt claimed foul, he said that there needs to be enough open water so that you don't need to break the ice to get through. After a couple weeks of debate, they made a "rule" that to be the winner the boat must not break through any ice.
Another year Walt rowed his small row boat over to John's house, but to keep clear of the ice, he needed to stay very close to shore, and spent more time dislodging the boat from the rocks on the bottom than he spent sitting there rowing. John cried foul, he claimed that the boat has to float, and not come into contact with the bottom. A couple weeks later they agreed on another "rule", the boat must float and not come into contact with the bottom.
Yet another year, John put his kids Kayak into the lake and paddled over to Walt's house, with out hitting the ice, and without contacting the bottom. Walt cried foul, to be fair John needed to use a boat that he would likely use normally during the summer. The Kayak was not fair competition. You guessed it, they "discussed the kayak issue every time they saw each other for the next several weeks. Their wives finally made a "rule", They needed to declare a winner sooner.
So, in the spirit of their competition, this year Mimi and I decided to add to their fun, and made our own entry, and in the process broke as many of their rules as we could. See the picture below. Using a kayak, on the ice, weeks before any open water appeared, and a woman in the boat. I Emailed the picture to both of them, claiming victory, the resulting Emails were both keepers.
Tom (calomaar)




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Away from home for a few days

Category: Getting my garden started | Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2007 8:15 pm

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We have remodeled our former summer home into a year-round home, and now live their fulltime. We still, however, have our home here in the Milwaukee area. We just drove the 5 hours to get here on Sunday. We are trying to get this house ready to sell. Since we made the decision to move to Land O' Lakes, the house here has been somewhat neglected. Now to get it ready to sell, there is an overwhelming amount of work. First of all we need to keep the house operational so we have a place to live while working here. Then everything else gets divided into one of four categories; stuff that the kids get, stuff that goes to Good Will, stuff that gets thrown out, and finally the stuff we will be moving up to the lake. So today I've been going through the bedroom closet, which has become the home for far more than just clothes. The problem comes when I open a box and find old school papers from our 37-year-old, pregnant, daughter, from when she was in 2nd grade. I spend more time looking at the papers than I spend cleaning out the closet. So you say, why are her things here in our house, If you have kids, I'm sure that you know, that even if the kids have there own home, their house is for short term storage and Mom & Dads house is for long term storage. Even if they tell you when they bring it here that it's only temporary. Why not, Mom & Dad are empty nesters and have lots of room. They have a nice little Cape Cod style home with a full basement and a garage, but I bet when they see the pile of things that is earmarked for them they will say "we don't have room". Anyway, my closet cleaning task today has taken most of the day, and progress has been slow. I just found a box of old pictures from just after we were married. There goes a couple more hours. At this rate we will still be getting it ready to sell for a couple more years.
Poor Deputy, our 13 1/2 year old Yellow Lab, is bored stiff here, he doesn't do stairs to well any more, and all our work has been up stairs. He loves car rides, even the 5 hour trips, and goes most every where with us. Every time I go down stairs he thinks he can convince me that we should go for a walk, and when he realizes that I'm going right back up, he gives me that "look". I don't know where he learned the "look" but those big sad brown eyes can break your heart. I think it's time to take a break from looking at old pictures and take the poor guy for a walk. Tom.


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Getting started

Category: Getting my garden started | Posted: Sat Mar 03, 2007 6:55 pm

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Hi
I'm a 66 year old retired man, living in the northwoods of far northern Wisconsin. We recently remodeled our summer home, into a year round home, were we now live fulltime. In the past I have had a vegetable garden and enjoyed both the gardening, and the wonderful fresh vegetables that it produced. Here and know, however I am faced with a couple new challenges. First, I am bothered by arthritis in my knees and other joints, making work on my knees nearly impossible, and secondly, the growing season is much shorter here. It seems to me that I need to learn some new techniques. The use of a green house, above ground garden beds, keeping the deer out, and selecting the best verities to plant. It is in these areas that I am looking for help, advice, and any good hints to make this new adventure fun and productive. About 30 years ago, we cleared a wooded area, about 60 feet wide, by 150 feet long, give or take. We used it for bad mitten, camping, a fire pit, and whatever the kids wanted. I would like to use the north most part of the area, with the longest summer sun exposure, for the garden. I'd like to start modestly, and expand as I gather wisdom and desire. Thanks in advance for your comments and help. Tom Allman "Calomaar"


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