We have driven north of Walker, south of Walker, east of Walker and west of Walker looking for sign of deer. No scrapes, no rubbing of antlers on trees, very few tracks.
In talking to natives living close to Walker, they all say they have deer where they live. (This in on the edge of Walker city limits or around lakes.)
You are not allowed to discharge a firearm within 500 feet of an occupied building, so that becomes most places where deer are.
My theory is the wolves have moved in and the deer have moved into where you are not allowed to discharge a gun. Wolves don’t like humans, so they don’t follow the deer. If you want to look at what has affected deer hunting, “Wolves have chased the deer into places where the wolves won’t follow and deer hunters are not allowed to hunt.”
The only deer we have seen was on the highway coming to Walker in the city limits (a doe).
Based on our decision to make visiting first and deer hunting second, Genie met Sandy Roscoe at Jimmy’s Restaurant in Walker for lunch on Monday, November 6. Sandy and John were members of Central Freeborn Lutheran Church Rural Albert Lea until they moved to Longville, Minnesota. Son Allen lives in Albert Lea.
We drove to Grand Forks, North Dakota on Friday, November 10 to meet Paige Onstad for lunch at Ground Round. Paige is the daughter of Reverend Linda Gunderson former pastor at Central and East Freeborn Lutheran Churches, rural Albert Lea.
We drove to Moorhead, Minnesota on Sunday, November 12 to meet Brenda and Reverend Timothy Bauer. We met Brenda at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Moorhead. (Rev. Timothy was preaching at another Lutheran church.)
The church music was a group of men calling themselves “MooS” (Men Of Our Saviors), playing and singing country gospel music.
The church service was followed by a dinner put on by the youth to help support their youth Mission trips.
Reverend Timothy Bauer is a former pastor at Central and North Freeborn Lutheran Churches. Brenda is a retired registered nurse and also parish nurse. They lived in Clark’s Grove, Minnesota.
As I’m writing this column, sitting in one of the lodges on Leech Lake, Walker, Minnesota, I’m also feeding birds and gray plus black squirrels.
The lodge has a fantastic location on a bay. It has a cathedral ceiling facing a bay with a deck. There is a Dishwasher Plus washer and dryer in the full bathroom off the bedroom facing the lake on the ground level. There is temp controlled heat and air conditioning with a thermostat controlled with a thermostat controlled fireplace, shower and full bath both up and down. (The lodge is on two levels.)
The sky is just great on a clear night. We saw the Big Dipper through the cathedral ceiling with many other stars, plus the moon.
Blue Water Lodge and Chase on the Lake are now under the same umbrella – which means Jen (The Famous Awesome Blossom from Blooming Prairie) is a wheel at two places on Leech Lake. (You could call it a family as business as her family is also involved.)
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Bob is a retired AAL (Aid Association for Lutherans) agent, currently working on his master’s degree in Volunteering. His wife, Genie, is a retired RN, currently working on her doctor’s degree in Volunteering. They have two children, Deb in North Carolina, and Dan in New York. Bob says if you enjoy his column, let him know. If you don’t enjoy it, keep on reading, it can get worse. Words of wisdom: There is always room for God.