July 12th, 2007

Another peaceful day here at Frost Pond.  I finally managed to get the tomato plants and cucumber plants in the ground, although I do not expect any of them to produce this year.  I just could not seem to find the time to get them in the ground a month and a half ago!
   I have been down to the dock fishing the past couple of nights.  I probably would not have taken the time, but one of our guests wanted me to come down and fish with him so I did.  I even managed to catch some trout!  At first I just sat and talked with him and then when he quit fishing he told me to go get my fly rod and show him how to catch fish.  As luck would have it I managed to entice a few to take the fly that I was offering them.
    I keep forgetting how much fun it is to stand there and beat the water into a mass of bubbles and froth while trying to present a fly in a manner that the fish will try it for a meal.  I did manage to educate a few of them to the danger of grabbing at one of my flies.  They most certainly were happy to get back in the pond after a brief encounter with open air!
   Last night we had a thunder shower that woke me up at 3:00AM.  I tend to sleep through most of them, but this one got my attention.  Some of the thunder was best described by my guest as "it sounded like a big piece of cloth ripping".  I must agree that is exactly what it sounded like, just a long ripping sound.  I got up and checked the conditions and I figured that for the most part the storm was about a mile from here. (At least that is what I figured by counting between lightning and thunder, but at 3:00 in the morning who knows)  I told everyone that the reason we had the storm was because "God" wanted to remind me that I could have been mowing some more of the lawn rather than fishing earlier in the evening.
   Everyone survived the storm just fine, even though we got a fair amount of rain along with it.  For the most part the storms go around us and do not come right down on top of here.  Just lucky I guess. 
   Jed is enjoying his basketball camp and surfing lessons this week.  Next week it is theater camp.  Busy little guy for sure.  Maureen said that he was pretty tired from all of the activities this week, but tonight he did not have surfing so he was going to go to bed and get rested up.  (Now why can I not get him to work that hard for me?)
   No stars tonight, just soggy clouds.  It would be a nice night to be sleeping out in a tent and listening to the rain falling on the rain fly.  I can hear it on the roof of the office and hopefully I can hear it when I go to bed.  It is one of those things that your learn to enjoy as you get older.  But then I must have been old for a long time, as I can remember doing the same thing as a kid, and enjoying it way back then.  I am sure that someone had to point out how nice it sounded before I could appreciate it.  With all of the fires out west I guess we should not complain if we are getting some rain.  Other parts of the country are getting flooded, so our little showers should just be looked upon as a blessing.
   Well it is after midnight, so I will go and lie down and fall to sleep with the rain drumming on the roof.  Plenty to do tomorrow to keep me occupied!
GT

July 8th, 2007
   The weather has been a bit funny the past few days.  It is sunny and showering at the same time.  The good news is that for the most part there has been more sun than rain.  (Except for after dark when the sun is not out in this part of the world.  It is hard to be sunny after dark!)
   We have had a number folks coming to Maine to enjoy staying in the cabins and camping in the campsites.  For many this is the first time that they have come to Maine to vacation, and they sure have been having a good time.  The moose, loons, ducks and all of the other wildlife have been quite cooperative in appearing for our guests.  One of the guests even managed to catch a glimpse of a bear while they were out riding around on some of the roads!  That is truly a treat as bear do not hang around long when they hear you coming.  Most of the bear that I have seen over the years were just a flash of black and then gone.  I find that if they see or hear you first, there is a good chance that you will not see them!
   I did have one couple who had not seen a moose before they left, but I told them one of the good spots to stop and check for moose on their way home.  The moose hang out there a lot and it is a pretty good bet that if you check there you will see one, or several!
   Jed and I went fishing a couple of nights and managed to catch a nice mess of white perch.  I prepared them for the frying pan when we got home and we had a feed of fresh perch.  I have to tell you that there is absolutely no better eating than fresh white perch. I will take them over any other fresh water fish that we have in Maine!
   Tonight, after I was done using up what daylight that was allotted for today, I built a fire out front and cooked a couple of hotdogs for supper. (It may have been 4 hotdogs, but I am not telling on myself) Along with potato salad and a couple of mosquitoes thrown in for flavor, it sure hit the spot for gastronomical satisfaction and keeping the old taste buds happy!  But then, after a day of going right steady, probably almost anything would have hit the spot!
   The fish were very cooperative this past week.  Just about everyone who tried their luck at the trout here on the pond were not disappointed.  Some of the folks who were out have been coming for a number of years and for others it was the first time they had fished the pond.  Many of the folks were not keeping fish, and others were enjoying them fresh caught and cooked.  There is a 2 fish limit on the pond so it is pretty easy to catch a limit!  I know of a couple of young fellows who caught 15 or 16 inch trout right in front of their campsite.  They were very pleased about that and I must admit that I was pleased as well.
   It is just great that younger people are enjoying fishing while camping with family and friends.  I know that I used to enjoy going out to do that sort of thing when I was a kid.
   The swallows were catching flies while we were sitting around the campfire the past couple of days.  I love to watch them dip, dive, bank and all of the other maneuvers that they do when catching flies.  Once when Maureen and I were sitting there we could hear their wings slapping the air when they did something for a maneuver.  It was hard to believe that such a small bird can make such a loud noise with their tiny wings.
   Jed found a Junco's nest and has been watching that for the past week.  He was very proud of the fact that he found it and determined what type of bird it was.  He is pretty good at spotting things and not much gets past him.  He will be gone for some summer activities for a few weeks, and then back to Frost Pond.  I sure wish that I had that young mans energy!  He has met many new friends in the past couple of weeks.  He has been called the "entertainment committee for kids" up here at the pond for a number of years.  (He entertains the adults as well)
   The stars are filling the sky tonight, and with out any moon they sure are bright.  The Big Dipper is still right where it belongs, so I know that everything is fine and as it should be.  (I tend to get nervous when someone moves it on me and it is stuck in the wrong end of the sky)  I know, it does not move, I just get my internal compass knocked out of whack every once in awhile, usually when I am near a big town or city.  (You know, someplace that has a population of 100 or more people)  Up here we never have all that many people at one time.  The size of the camp yard and the campsites would have 1000's of people on it if it was located in some places.  I like it much better that we just average about 1 person to the acre (or less) up here at camp.  It gives one plenty of room to move about without bumping into someone!
GT