It is good to be back home and taking a break from the heat that I was broiling in while at the cabin. I actually cannot remember a week at the cabin that was that hot. It was like when I was a kid when there was no air conditioning. I did have two fans at the cabin, which was one more than we had at our house as a kid. The upside was that the mosquitoes were not as bad as earlier. Never fear, there was an abundance of deer flies to take their place.
On the last day there, as I was closing up the shed, a large deer fly decided to go under the brim of my bucket hat and bite me on the ear. After jumping around and swatting at my ear, I finally got rid of it. I expected nothing less than a huge welt on the side of my head, but, to my surprise, the hurt eventually went away, and everything was good. It was a good time despite the heat as I actually got quite a lot accomplished.
I put my fishing on the back burner until I had finished what I wanted to accomplish. So that meant fishing on the last day. I drove around to a few smaller lakes where I had planned on doing some shore fishing. The shore was lined with lily pads and/or weeds, so there was little room for casting without catching a weed. I enjoyed visiting these little area lakes and next time I will be sure to bring my boat.
I filled my bird feeders on the first day and the only birds that showed up were the hummingbirds. I can always depend on them for entertainment. On my last full day, the other birds started to appear. This is not unusual when I have not been at the cabin for a while.
I read in the paper where the final leg of the dredging of Fountain Lake has hit a snag. The DNR will not okay the permit because they do not feel that dredging Bancroft Bay is a necessary thing. If you do not finish a project completely, then it seems to me that the eventual outcome will end up going backwards. A good amount of the water that flows into Fountain Lake originates from there. The bonding for the final leg has already been approved, so all they need is for the permit to be okayed. It would be a shame not to finish this project when it is so close to completion. Fountain Lake is a beautiful body of water, and it is there for all to enjoy. I am an old guy and have enjoyed this lake since I was a kid. Fishing on Fountain Lake as a kid gave me great joy growing up. Roaming the slough on both sides of Bridge Street was my domain. I could go east to Goose Lake and stop at “skunk hill” along the way. If you ventured west, you would end up at Bancroft Bay.
My mother told me that, when she was a kid, she and her cousins would go there to swim and play. She said that they always referred to it as Coney Island. As a kid, I myself spent my fair share of time at Bancroft Bay. I would go there to fish and explore. When I look back at those days, I remember all of the good times that us kids had there. We would ride our bikes down that gravel road to the Mink Farm and then fish along the shores of the bay. Those were good, carefree times when kids entertained themselves with the simplest of things without a worry in the world.
I sometimes wish that we could go back to the days when things seemed so much simpler. I know that is but a pipe dream, but sometimes it is good for you to dream.
Until next time: Summer is nearly over, if not by the calendar, but the end of the fair always signaled the end of summer to me as a kid. Get out and enjoy the rest of the good weather and, with any luck at all, it will be cooling down soon.
Please show your support for our troops who are now deployed. These service men and women are making that sacrifice, so that we may have the many freedoms that we enjoy today.