June 2007
June 29th, 2007
Bet you all thought that I had forgotten how to write again! Well the truth is I have been kind of busy up here the past couple of weeks. It seems like it was only a couple of days ago that I made the last entry, but I guess it has been 2 weeks.
We have had campers coming and going and folks in the cabins coming and going, just a busy little beaver I have been.
The fishing has been great, folks have been catching fish in the river and here at the pond. (Now if I can just find the time to squeeze in an hour or so for me to get out there and try my luck...) Fishing is a fun thing to do that is for sure. But I have to tell you, back in the old days I had so much fun just planning the trip to go fishing or hunting that I swear that was as much fun as actually doing it. (Probably you have heard this from me before, but hey, I have been poking at these keys for a couple of years and my memory in not what it used to be)
Today while cleaning a cabin with Jed at my side I started to tell him about some of the things that I had done when I was a kid. Boy, he sure perks up whenever I start to tell stories! (Of course he is only, or almost 12, so he still thinks that Dad is a smart guy and knows everything) Some of the things I tell him is so that he will not do them, (Ya Right) and other things I tell him is so that he will want to do them. Who knows, all I can do is try. I know that when ever one of my friends and I get together and get to talking about our days of hunting and fishing he is right there and all ears. You never would even know that he was around, he is being a quiet as snowflake landing on a fleece jacket.
Tonight I prepared our supper and he was dragging his feet about finishing up and I told him to hurry up, finish eating, and clean up. He promptly said, "I know why you are in a hurry, we are going out to the dam fishing!" Now how in the world can this kid read my mind? We did go out and managed to catch a few fish. I am sure that you know by now that he caught the largest, as usual! Good Lord, that kid of mine has to be the luckiest fishermen I have ever seen.
I think back and I remember the days when I was listening to "old folks" tell stories about the hunting and fishing and I thought it must have been great to do all of those things, see all that they had seen and to have had all of those great experiences. I did not figure that I would ever have stories to tell like they did. Well, now it is other folks who are listening to me and wondering if they will ever have such good stories to tell. (And I am just a young, "old guy")
Enough of this type of stuff, just do me a favor and sit down and talk to a kid. It can be your kid, a friends kid, a neighbors kid, any old kid will do. If that kid is like most kids, I know they will appreciate it and even if they do not appear to be paying attention, sooner or later you will find out that they were. Besides, it will be good for both parties and help you appreciate some of the fun things you have done so far in your life!
We have the loons on the pond as most of you folks know by now. There is one egg in the nest and momma loon is dutifully sitting on it waiting for it to hatch. I have not been out to check for almost a week, but last weekend Maureen said that she was still sitting on it. I took a picture of the egg back awhile ago and I will put it on here for you folks to take a look at. It is amazing how well it blends in on the shore of the pond when the female is not sitting on it. Mother Nature tends to do things a bit better than humans for the most part, but then look how long it took her to get there!
Speaking of Mother Nature, a couple of night ago she got her dander up and let us have "what for" for a few hours. I made several trips down to the campsites to check on guests to make sure that they were making out ok with the storm. I should have kept track of how long the storm went on, but it was hours long. I sat on the porch of one of the cabins and snapped over 100 shots to try to get a picture of lightning. I have several that I will put in the journal so you can enjoy them as well. (I am sure that it is much more enjoyable to look at it from the comfort of your house rather than like the folks who were out in tents that night)
I have tried in the past to get pictures but the storms blew past too fast and I was never pushing the button on the camera at the right time. This time I just sat there and pushed it as fast as I could. I figured that the law of averages would kick in and help, low and behold it worked, I did get several pictures. (Jed was looking at all of the black and blank pictures and asked, "Dad, did you take the lens cap off the camera before you tried to take the pictures?" (Wise guy you know) We got a good amount of rain in a very short period of time, but everything worked out ok. We all survived the storm and even the road did not get washed out. We definitely needed some water, but it would have been better if it had taken all night to get it rather than just a couple of downpours!
I have not put out the rain gauge yet, but the wheelbarrow had several inches in it the next day.
I am sitting here tonight waiting for the last guest to arrive and figured that I should try to get caught up on my jabbering. As they have now arrived and checked in, I can go to bed so that I will full of energy tomorrow to do the things that I want to take care of.
You all have a great 4th of July. If you get the chance to thank someone in the armed services for what they do for us, I am sure that they will appreciate it. It took people like this to make our country what it is today, and they definitely deserve our thanks. God Bless all of our troops, in what ever corner of the earth they may be. GT
And here are the pictures I promised!
June 13th, 2007
A full weekend last weekend. We had all of the cabins full of fishermen and fisherwomen! For the most part everyone had some good fishing, even if some days were better than others. Everyone seemed to agree that the fishing is always good, just that some days are better catching days than others!
The weather was pretty cooperative for the most part and although we did get a bit of rain on Saturday, I used the day for starting an inside project. (Now remember, a weekend up here starts on Thursday and runs through Tuesday)
Maureen made a nice discovery on Saturday while on a little hike. She was walking down an old road and came upon a fresh bear track. It was a very good imprint and she took Jed down to look at it when she came back. Jed and I then went down and took pictures of it so that we could share them with all of you folks. It will be at the end of this days entry.
Today was a trip to town for supplies. "Bangor trip" days are long and tiring when you only go out once in awhile. It take me a couple of hours to drive down and I usually end up spending at least a few hours running errands while I am out. My old friends from over to Chesuncook used to always go to town on Tuesdays, and it just seems right to continue the tradition. I find that even if I am not thinking about it, Tuesdays seem to be the day that I usually go to town. Not to say that there are times when I might sneak into town on a different day, just to act a bit like an independent youngster once in awhile!
On my way back in tonight I saw a number of deer, moose, foxes and even a couple of frogs hopping across the road. It is never just a boring drive home in this part of the world! Some of the animals really get one's attentions by crossing the road when you least expect it.
I was telling a friend tonight that my theory is to drive fast and things will work out. Now this advice is not intended for you to try and I must admit it does not always work. (A much better solution is to drive nice and slow so that you can avoid the wildlife that is sure to be standing in the road when you least expect it)
I try to make myself believe that as most of these large beasts are creatures of habit, and a habit that they have is to cross the road when they see a vehicle, by driving fast, that by the time they realize that I am coming and they have to cross the road, (The habit factor) I will be past them and they can cross the road, I will be long gone and they will stand there wondering what they crossed the road for in the first place! (Now how is that for a long, drawn out thought, put down into words!)
I must admit that over the years my vehicles have managed to acquire some newer parts resulting from animals not playing by the rules. Of course it seems to happen when I am going at a speed that is too fast for the animal and not fast enough for me! If I had been going slower or faster we would have not had the pleasure of meeting in the road! (But then again, is that not how most accidents happen? Two objects trying to occupy the same place at the same time! (Never has worked out all that well over time, for anyone)
Enough rambling for tonight, I have more good weather coming in for the rest of the week and it will most likely be a few more days before I get back to the journal. Enjoy the summer season and nice weather while it is here, only 194 more days until Christmas! GT
Bear tracks! Young lady learning to fly cast. Bicycles on
Oh My! (Notice the head nets to protect the Golden Road
everyone from the sharp hooks)
June 6th, 2007
The fish are biting, (not that I have had a chance to find out first hand, but I will!) the leaves are out, baby birds are hatched and summer is here. We have baby moose running around the countryside and yes, we even have a few bugs. (not here at camp, I do not allow them on the premises, or at least I try to enforce that rule)
I went out to check on the geese the other day and it would appear that we have new additions to the pond. The mother goose was sitting on the nest and had hatched 2 little ones. It looked like a total of 5 eggs in the nest. (Now we do not need that many geese on the pond) I managed to get some pictures of the mother and 2 babies. I noticed that the family has increased to 3 little fuzz balls and mom and dad. I went over to the nest and there were 2 eggs that did not hatch. (An important note, do not, I repeat do not, open eggs that have been under a goose for an extended period of time, and have been sitting in the sun for even longer!) It reminded me of the time Maureen told me not to bother with the egg that was stuck in the egg carton, and I did not listen to her. I ended up throwing away clothing and taking a shower. It is not that I am "slow", but there is still a bit of kid in me that wants to know "gee, I wonder what it looks like inside that egg that was under momma goose and did not hatch.
Here are the pictures that I did take of the first two that hatched.
I did not get attacked this year, I guess that they have figured out that I am really pretty harmless! The mother allowed me to get close enough to get some nice photos. I did get a few other pictures which I have included below.
There is still patches of snow on Katahdin, and with the rain that we had here I would not be surprised if we had actually increased the level of snow up there. I have not been out to where I can see if this happened or not, but I will give you an update when I make my next trip to town.
There have been moose and deer tracks all over the road lately, It looks like the animals like to travel the road. They must like the fact that I have smoothed the road as much as possible. (They spend engouh time walking around on rough terrain I reckon)
I anxiously await Jed's arrival at the end of the month. He is growing up fast and he is getting to be a big help. He and Maureen will be up for the weekend, and then it is back to school for him for a couple more weeks. He is going to be 12 years old this year, my, how time flies!
The sun is shining and the wind is blowing today. It sure is pleasant. I have to get the garden in now that the frost is done for the year, at least I hope it is. The lawn needs mowing as the dandelions are a constant battle this time of year. But hey, they grow well and I do not want to use a herbicide here at the pond. Besides, with what little topsoil we have in this area, you have to take what will grow in this region. Once they are done blossoming, they just look green anyway!
Well, it is time for me to get back to work to get ready for arriving guests. Enjoy the nice weather!
GT
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