Seasons Greetings

'tis the Holiday Season here on Oak Point at Leech Lake. Our neighborhood comes alive between Christmas and New Years. Many families, relatives and friends will spend a few days up at the cabin to enjoy Christmas Vacation time. Cross country skiing, snow shoeing, ice fishing and an assortment of other winter outdoor activities will be popular. Fires in the fireplace and good hearty meals, games and reading will be a part of indoor family activities. So far it appears that the winter weather is going to cooperate.

I am attaching a picture of an enormous living Red Oak Tree that is located on Oak Point Estates. I measured the circumference at 10 ft. 8 in. about three feet up from the base. I estimate the height of this tree in the 80 to 90 ft. range. It was difficult to get a clear picture of this tree because of it's size. I had a fairly clear view from quite a few feet back. On my August 30th Blog I wrote about a dead red Oak Tree that we estimated at 135 to 140 years old that was smaller then this tree. Based on that I would estimate this tree in the 200 year old age range. Wow.

I am also including a picture of a Bald Eagle's nest on a branch of a large White Pine tree, also located on Oak Point Estates. Two young eagles were hatched in this nest this past year. I have heard that some of these nests can weigh up to a ton or greater in size. There was another active Eagle nest about a quarter nile down the road towards the "Narrows". That nest had two young eagles as well this last summer.

Tomorrow , Monday December 21, 2009 will be the shortest day of the year called the winter solstice. The winter solstice is an astronomical event which happens each year when the tilt of the Earth's axis is the farthest away from the Sun in the northern hemisphere. The North Pole points directly away from the Sun. Our Sunrise tomorrow will be at 8:05 am with Sunset at 4:29 pm.

The "Outdoor News" dated December 18, 2009 had an interesting article entitled, "State Officials Mull Next Five Years for Leech Lake". The article talked about the last five years with the problems with the lake's fisheries and the dramatic turnaround after three major actions were undertaken. They were first, the protective slots and new limits on Walleyes, second, the eliminaqtion of 12,000 Cormorants and third, the intense stocking of Walleyes. The Minnesota DNR estimates the 2009 harvest was 87,000 pounds of Walleyes.

January Weather

It seems like we just skipped December and went straight to January. This whole week has been very cold, below normal cold. We have had several mornings with below zero temperatures, in fact today started out about 7 or 8 below and I don't think it ever got above zero. We were lucky though, with the big snow storm that hit the Midwest hard we only got about 2 inches of snow. We have stayed nice and warm in our house using our wood fireplace. Oak wood is the greatest.

Plenty of ice being made on Leech Lake these days. Some of the guys have their fish houses out already. Our neighborhood resort, Oak Point Resort, has their spearing houses out. They are available for rent at $45.00 per day which I think is real reasonable. You can get a hold of them via their website, www.oakpointresort.com


I did walk every day this past week with a neighbor, sometimes we waited until noon or later to stretch our legs, but we made it. We usually go about 3.5 to 4 miles which keeps the body warm.

Lake Ice

Winter weather came with December. On Thursday the 3rd it was real cold in the afternoon and I watched ice forming along the edge of the "Big Lake", by sundown we had ice as far as I could see. By Friday morning we were iced over past Goose Island.
November temperates were the third warmest on record. December is the 3rd snowiest month of the year with an average snow fall of 8.6 inches. The average temps start on December 1st at 29 degrees and by the 31st its 19 degrees.

The following is a story by CJ Fairbanks, daughter of Frieda Fairbanks who grew up out on Oak Point. The story is entitled: My Encounter with the Caretaker?

On a balmy Saturday evening, as I sat chatting with my favorite Auntie, a notion hit us, "Let's go set Net!" Setting net is a Northern Minnesota Native American Tradition. We have been doing this for centuries to supplement our food supply. We set our nets in the early dusk to avoid the boaters running around the lake. We leave the nets out all night and pick them up in the morning. But this encounter happens after we are done setting our nets.

We were forced to row out to where we drop net where we fish in the Narrows because the boat with the motor refused to be involved in our plans. As we were rowing back through the ever-darkening night we noticed a round light shining brightly over Goose Island. I pointed this out to my paddling Auntie and she said it was Venus, the first star that shines at night. I thought how smart she is to know that. "Well," I said "Auntie, the light is getting bigger and brighter." She said to "keep rowing." I told her I think it was an airplane. We kept rowing and the light kept coming closer and closer. Pretty soon it was right over us. We didn't hear a sound, just a bright light illuminating us like we were on Broadway. We quit rowing and sat in stunned silence.

From out of nowhere a huge launch came flying toward us. We were dead center in the middle of the channel. The launch was sure to hit us if we weren't under the glare of the light. Apparently, the launch saw us from afar and was able to go around us. We were alive. The caretakers light just disappeared. We don't know where it went and we didn't notice it when it disappeared. All we knew was that it saved our lives! We paddled as fast as we could to get back to shore and to this day I think about my encounter with my caretaker.

The old ones used to say that dead members of the tribe were put in the trees on Goose Island instead of being put in the ground. That is why I say caretaker, or should I say caretakers?

I enjoyed this story because it links the past to the present and it's about my local environs of the Narrows, Goose Island and Oak Point.

We went Christmas tree shopping out in the Chippewa National Forrest. For $5.00 you get a permit to cut your own tree.

No Lake Ice Yet

No ice on Leech Lake yet. With December 1st showing up in one more day we will not have ice by the 1st. I don't think that we are that far away from having ice. Most nights now are below freezing and with the shorter days ice over is not far away. When it does freeze I hope it freezes fast and we establish some good ice before we get some serious snow. We have had a dusting of snow on the ground this morning and on Friday morning but it melts fast.

On the wildlife scene this past week we had a couple of unusual sightings. The first was a black squirrel that showed up in our neighborhood twice this week. The black squirrel is a melanistic subgroup of the grey squirrel and shows up in 1 of 10,000 births. With the leaves down it's easier to see squirrels and other small animals. The second sighting was of a couple of flocks of what appear to be Trumpeter Swans. Trumpeter Swans are the largest waterfowl in North America ranging up to 30 lbs. with a wing span of 6 to 8 ft. They are one of the last groups that leave the far north on their migration south.

The firearms deer season is finished for 2009 except for muzzle loaders. The DNR estimate that 151,000 deer were harvested compared with 171,000 during 2008 season.

Oak Point

This map shows the whole area we call Oak Point. (Click on picture to enlarge). The majority of Oak Point is in two townships, they are Leech Lake and Unorganized #4. The Oak Point Road travel through Wilkinson and a small part of Otter Tail Peninsula Township to our area. In total the road is about 16 miles long from Hwy 371, including the loop at the end by the Narrows. Leech Lake is on three sides of Oak Point, Steamboat Bay to the left and the "Big Lake" to the right and the Narrows at the end. The darker green areas on the map are either private or tribal properties, The light green area are all owned by the federal government and are part of the Chippewa National Forest.

We had a rare treat with a couple of Pileated Woodpeckers in our yard this week. They are very large (crow sized) black and white Woodpeckers with a prominent red crest at the real of their head. They can reach 15 inches or longer in size.

We spent about a half a day this week doing our leaves once again. Hopefully that will be it for this fall. I could not help to wonder what the explorers two hundred years ago, like Pike and Schoolcraft and others would think of us with the green grass on our lawns and the need to rake the leaves off our lawns. After all the rick soil we now have came from decaying leaves and other vegetation.

We continue this November with above normal temps this week. I understand the temps are running about ten degrees warmer then normal. I had a conversation with a neighbor who told me that the ice spearing season for Northern Pike starts Dec. 1st. That date is now only nine days away with no ice in sight. Our weather has been upside down this fall. Above average temps in September, cooler then average with snow in October and now above average temps in November. The last two days we have had temps above 50 degrees.

This is the last weekend of the firearms deer hunting season and I saw lots of blaze orange hunters in the woods. Of course the great weather brought the hunters out for one last chance for mister buck.

This coming week will bring us Thanksgiving. We are planning on traveling to our son and daughter in laws home to have the Holiday with them and our grand kids. I have so much to be thankful fore, great wife, family, grand kids and I get to live in the north woods on Leech Lake in a great neighborhood.

Lt. Zebulon Pike

Oak Point has many areas of historic significance. One is the location of the Northwest Company Trading Post which stood on 15 acres of Lot 1, Section 19 of T143N-R30W. The Northwest Company was the oldest and largest trading post and fortress on Leech Lake. In 1805 Lt. Zebulon Pike was commissioned to travel up the Mississippi to discover the source of this river which was believed to be Leech Lake. He was also ordered to take possession of this country for the United States of America. Pike was to advise the local traders that they must pay duty on goods brought into this country and to stop flying the British Flag. In February of 1806 Pike found the fort and ordered the British Flag to be shot down. For many years it was believed that this fort was located on Ottertail Point but was later corrected to Squaw Point, (now Oak Point) by historians. The area is called Star Point by the locals after the Star family that owns land nearby . Of personal interest, our residence is located on Lot 4, of the same Section 19. (see map attached) Oak Point Estates is located approximately 1 mile from this site.

It wasn't until 1832 when Henry Schoolcraft with an Indian guide identified Lake Itasca as the true source of the Mississippi. Schoolcraft visited the Northwest Company on Oak Point which was still operating under the US Flag before he went on to Lake Itasca. The explorer Zebulon Pike, went on to other expeditions was promoted to Brigadier General and was killed in the War of 1812 at the age of 36.

Our nice weather continued on from last weekend. Daytime temperatures were above normal. We even had a few nights that it didn't freeze. The forecast for the coming week continues with the warmer weather.

The MN DNR reported that the opening weekend deer harvest was down about 5% from last season. This was calculated from the number of deer registered at the registration stations. In my conversation with neighbors they reported slower action on Oak Point. One party said they only shot one deer, another reported two for two and another unofficial report from a party on my road had four deer taken. The hunters in this zone still have one more weekend to go this season.

Deer Opener

The 2009 Firearms Deer Hunting Season began yesterday, November 7th here on Oak Point. Lots of hunters in blaze orange were out. I counted 4 separate parties along the first mile of the Oak Point Road by mid morning. Roughly Minnesota sells close to 500,000 Deer Hunting Licenses per year with an estimated 200,000 deer harvested annually. Not a great success ratio here. However I think it is more about getting together with family and friends then the actual harvest. The family tradition all begins here in the north woods. Special meals, cribbage and stories are a part of the hunting traditions. Many of the local communities have "Hunters Supper", Cass Lake Chamber had a Chile Supper Friday evening at the Legion with numerous prizes to be given away. Many vendors have the "Biggest Buck/Doe" contests. By early next week I will know more about the local successes. Our early morning walkers decided to take a few days off until the excitement ends. The season in our area runs through Sunday November 22nd.
I heard a story earlier in the week about the "Three Buck Stand". A few years ago a group was hunting in stands out on "Oak Point" when one of there members saw a big buck deer come slowly into view. The hunter had to wait for a clear shot at this nervous deer. After what seemed like a long time. The deer finely walked into a clearing for a clean shot. The first buck was had. Then the hunter relaxed and let some time pass. But before he could get out of his stand to check on his first deer, yet another buck showed up just about as nice as the first one. Now after that one was shot the hunter was real excited. Never before had he shot two bucks with in ten minutes. You can probably guess the rest of the story, number three buck showed up with in a few minutes and that is how this particular stand is known as the "Three Buck Stand". The legend lives on.
Sometime during the last week/ten days the Leech Lake Loons have disappeared and did not tell us that they were leaving. Leech Lake has a number of our official state birds call the Common Loon, Gavia immer. The Minnesota birds migrate every October and fly 1,100 to 1,300 miles to the Gulf areas. They will return in late April or early May when the ice goes out. Loons take about 4 years before they reach breeding maturity and typically lay only two eggs. Both the female and male incubate the eggs and yes, the chicks do ride the back of their parents for a few weeks, I have seen this. Loons can live up to 15 to 20 years. On many a warm summer night we can hear the call of the loons which is music to our ears. Minnesota has about 10,000 adult birds in total with most of them living in the north woods lakes region.
Our graceful mighty oak trees that are the name sake for our area of Leech Lake have one minor drawback this time of the year. Their leaves. The leaves are as hardy as the wood, they are slow to drop from the trees and they don't deteriorate very fast. I mulch, rake and blow with my backpack blower and I still have my neighbor Dennis Yepma come by on Friday to pick up the leaves with his machine. I still have some leaves left in my yard trees and some more will blow in, but they will have to wait until spring. The oak wood heats our home every evening this time of the year.
Meteorologist Paul Douglas writes a piece on local Minnesota weather on http://www.minnpost.com/ that I like to read. Last week he forecast the great weather we had this weekend, but he also wrote about the normal November weather. Typically November is the second cloudiest and the third snowiest month of the year. Now that is depressing. However I am still excited and thankful about the great weather we are having today and yesterday. Yesterdays 60 degree day was the warmest day we have had since September.
The supervisor for the Oak Point Road project, who talked to us just about every day when we were walking, told us that they were stopping the project for the winter. Our road is in fairly good shape as long as it remains frozen. Just have to drive slower.

The Leaves are Falling

I had the opportunity this week of meeting Frieda Fairbanks, a life long resident of Oak Point where she lived and raised five daughters. Frieda told me a family legend concerning her husband's grandfather, John Ogema. In October of 1898 a battle between the Pillager band of Chippewa and the US Army took place. The troops under the command of Major Wilkinson, took a barge from Walker pulled by a steamer called the Flora headed toward Sugar Point to arrest the local chief Bug-o-nay-ge-shig. The Oak Point Indians including grandfather John Ogema had a group hidden in the woods along the narrows armed with guns in case the troops stopped at Oak Point. The troops didn't stop and no shots were fired . But family lore has it that if any shots had been fired grandfather would have headed home as fast as he could go. Frieda says you have to understand Native American humor to appreciate this story. What is interesting is that her family story is living history of our Oak Point area. I hope to have further talks with Frieda to learn more about our Oak Point area.
We found a local fruit this week called "Wild Crab Apples" that I didn't know even existed in this Oak Point area. We had to ask a local neighbor who spent her youth in the area what these fruits were. Pictured here are some Wild Crab Apples that we took off the Internet. The fruit we found was past peak ripeness but next year maybe we can get enough for some jelly. Apparently there are a number of these bushes or small trees down by the narrows. We are still enjoying our wild grape jelly with homemade English muffin bread.
Fall back is the word for tomorrow when daylight savings time ends on November 1st. My walking buddies and I will be glad to see that happen. We start walking at 7:30 AM every morning weather permitting. These last few days are real dark at 7:30 AM aided by overcast skies. This time of the year we wear blaze orange so that traffic can see us. Our 3 to 4 mile walk usually takes less then 1 1/2 hours , depending on the number of distractions. By distractions I mean how many neighbors stop and talk. If Jimmy Whipple stops he usually shuts off his car and we exchange neighborhood news. This week he wanted to talk about deer hunting.
More stories and talk about the deer opener coming up next Saturday the 7th. The neighborhood hunters are all going to the rifle range sight in their rifles. With the snow yesterday afternoon the deer are starting to move. We saw one this morning cross the road in front of us walkers. With hunting pressure and the upcoming rutting season the deer will be very active at night. That means slowing down with your cars on Oak Point Road. I hit a deer a few years back and it's not a pleasant thing, plus the hassle to get your car fixed.
We ate the last of our Leech Lake Walleyes. With my boat put away and the dock out. I will have to buy my fish now. We baked these fish with a shake and bake recipe and were they good.

Late October

In my opinion, fall is the most beautiful time of the year. Pictured here is the golden/yellow needled pine tree called Tamarack. Tamarack is the North American species of the larch tree, and are the only deciduous coniferous tree. They are commonly found in swampy areas and are very cold tolerant. These trees were found along the Oak Point Road. Other than the Tamarack the majority of the fall coloration is past their peak. Close to Leech Lake the mighty Oak Trees still have the majority of their leaves, their coloration has dulled, but they hang on the trees for a long time.
I also have a picture of the lake waters called the "Narrows". This connect the "Big Lake" to the Walker Bay area. This area is about 1/2 mile from the entrance to Oak Point Estates. Just to the right of the Narrows and to the south is the city of Walker. The Narrows is a great duck hunting area. Lots of boats pass through the Narrows on a daily basis.
The conversation at the local cafes and other neighborhood gathering areas has turned to where deer stands are going to be placed, what they are seeing with their trail cameras and the need to sight in rifles. The firearms season for Deer begins Saturday November 7th. Oak Point area is located in zone 100 that has a season from November 7th to the 22nd. Deer season is like a local holiday with many people coming back to their cabins and the locals have their friends up. I don't hunt deer and will have to rely upon my neighbors and friends to get me a venison taste.
The water temperature on the lake has come down quite a bit with the cold weather we have been having. The surface temperature is now in the mid 40's, down about 20 to 25 degrees in the last three weeks. We have had three days of rain this week which is helping the sloughs and wetlands.
The Oak Point Road project had a muddy week but the work continued every day. They replaced a number of culverts rain or shine. I still hope that the weather straightens out for a few more weeks.
Please contact me if I have made an error, last week I misspelled a critical word that was pointed out to me that I have now edited. Thank you. My email is nitchals@paulbunyan.net and my home phone is 218-335-2879 and cell phone is 218-760-3727. Give me some ideas on what you would like to read about.

Arrival of Fall at Oak Point

Today was the warmest and sunniest day that we have had in October. Highs in the mid 50's. We went from one of the warmest Septembers to one of the coldest, snowiest Octobers on record. Last week was dark, wet and windy. On Thursday morning, October the 15th we had a misty rain with the temps right at the freeze/thaw point, but two miles away from Leech Lake we had about two inches of snow! Thanks to the lake effect, close to the lake no snow.
On Thursday morning work on the Oak Point Road project began. Anderson Bros from the Brainerd area are the prime contractors. We are all wishing for about a three week period of "Indian Summer" so that most of the road can be completed before winter sets in. Typically, the first snow that stays will not come until Thanksgiving time. Also the big lake will freeze up about the first of December with Walker Bay having ice two weeks later. So we are hoping for some good road building weather.
The wild grape jelly turned out just great. Just Google wild grape jelly for a recipe. We ended up with about 14 pints. The jelly is great on homemade bread. I also got two keeper Walleyes this week which was a great taste treat.
My grandson Aaron and I learned a lesson in small town patriotism on Friday afternoon. A young soldier from Walker was killed in Afghanistan serving his country and they brought the body back to town in an motorcade escorted hearse with many, many area resident lining the streets in town in respect. The Walker Chamber put out an email alert.
A number of visitors were up at the lake this past weekend because most schools were closed for two days for MEA. Lots of docks and lifts came in for the winter. Many neighborhoods get together and work together. We hire a group of "boys" from Walker who brought my stuff in.
Pictured is some wild "Bittersweet" which is a poisonous perennial vine that had these oval coral red berries that add to fall decoration or wreaths.

Taste of Winter

We got a taste of winter this past week. Killing frost on Thursday morning and snow on Saturday morning. Most all of the snow was gone by Sunday afternoon. We still have plenty of leaves on the trees, many of them are just now at their color peak. Oak leaves will be the last to fall and are still green.
Picked wild grapes on Friday afternoon with my sister and her friend who were visiting from Iowa. In total we must have had about 8 gallons with the stems and leaves in the pails. We will be making wild grape jelly during the next few days. Wild grapes are about the size of pea and have a seed and are very intense in flavor and will need plenty of sugar. We find the wild grapes right along the lake shore or along ditches where can get plenty of sunlight. The wild grape vines trellis on small trees and shrubs with many up so high that we need to pull the vines down to get to the grapes.
Put my boat away for the winter with the help of a neighbor. I have two garages that get filled up with two cars, pickup, boat, two lawnmowers and a four-wheeler plus other possessions that we seemed to need.
Saw my first flock of Bluebills (Scaups) ducks that the winds blew down from up north. The bigger lakes in our area like Leech attract these speedy ducks that fly real fast just above the water with a whistling sound.
Nice to have high speed telephone connectivity at Oak Point so that I can watch all the sports activity from the Vikings, Twins and Gophers out in the wilderness by Leech Lake.

Fall Weather

Fall weather arrived with a rush on Monday of this week with a stiff NW wind. We had two mornings of frost away from the lake that I saw on my morning walks. We had rain, wind and much cooler weather here in early October. September turned out to be one of our warmer months this past summer. We are having evening fires in our fireplace now.
Duck hunting started this past Saturday. Duck number were up this year by an estimated 13 %. Leech Lake always has a good number of local hatches of Mallards and Wood ducks and a few other varieties. Oak Point Estates is just around the corner from the "Narrows" and wild rice areas that attract many duck hunters. Minnesota DNR reports that the number of duck hunters is slowly declining since the peak in 1999.
Got my hands on a copy of the "Mississippi River Headwaters Reservoir Operating Plan Evaluation" (ROPE). This report is the final operating plan and EIS for the 6 reservoirs that discharge water into the Mississippi River that are controlled by dams operated by US Army Corps of Engineers. The reservoirs studied were Cass Lake, Lake
Winnibigoshish, Leech Lake, Pokegama Lake and Sandy Lake. The original Leech Lake Dam was built in 1884 at the outlet of the Leech Lake River some 27 miles before the junction with the Mississippi River. The dam is called the Federal Dam (pictured here) where a small town with the same name sits. The results of this nearly eight year long study with various scenarios looked at is that no significant change in the Leech Lake water discharge will take place. The original purpose of these dams were to provide a constant water flow down river for the flour mills and saw mills in the Minneapolis area.

Sunrise over Leech Lake

This beautiful sunrise picture was taken about 6:45 AM overlooking the "big lake" with Goose Island to the left. Oak Point Estates faces easterly with about 20 plus miles of lake between us and the far shore. Leech Lake is the third largest lake in Minnesota. It has over 112,000 acres of surface water area. Because of the warm temps we have been having in September this year the water temps are still very warm. This time of the year the warm water has a positive impact on our temperatures on land around the lake, I call it the "lake effect". When we get up in the mornings our temps will between 4 to 10 degrees warmer than away from the lake depending on the wind. The only drawback to the positive lake effect is that the payback will come in the spring when we have a large ice cube covering the lake and it will keep the temps cool and the trees will not bud out for two weeks later then away from the lake.
Oak Point Road project had been advertised for bids that were to be submitted by last Friday the 25th of September for the whole 15.65 miles of road. I will use all my sources to find out who the low bidder is this week. The work involves some new culverts, stripping the old bituminous surface and putting down a new bituminous surface. We hope the weather holds until the project is completed.
Oak Point used to be called "Squaw Point" for many years. A group of high school girl students found the word offensive and as school project sought get it changed. They started to write letters and found a sympathetic ear in a state senator who introduced a bill that allowed counties to change the name of geographic features of the area. In February of 1995 the Cass County Board changed the name to "Oak Point". I hope to cover more local history in the weeks ahead. If anyone has a suggested topic, or question, please send me and email. nitchals@paulbunyan.net
Our first frost is forcast for tomorrow morning but I expect the "lake effect" will keep us arm right around the lake.

Great Weather Continues

Another great week of above normal weather with temperatures in the 70's and 80's. The local gardeners love it because all of those green tomatoes that didn't ripen in August are getting red now. Next Tuesday September 22 at 4:18 CDT is the Autumnal Equinox, the first day of fall. Pictured here are some wild grapes that grow on Oak Point. They need a frost which will bring on the sugar to the berries so that some grape jelly can be made. We have to get to the grapes before the birds and animals get them.
The Sumac leaves are starting to change to red. Sumac is deciduous woody shrub that grows in ditches, under power lines and along the edges of forested areas. The Native Americans used Sumac for food and medicine. The native folklore says that sumac foretells the weather and change of the seasons. For these reasons the Sumac were held as a sacred plant.
We had relatives that came for a visit this week who proceeded to catch a mess of Walleyes in the middle of the day, so we had beer batter fried walleyes. Always a treat.
Small Game Hunting Season started on Saturday September 19th for Grouse, Squirrels and Rabbits. Outdoor News reported that more bear have been harvested during the first two weeks of the 2009 hunting season then in all of 2008. Duck hunting begins the first Saturday in October.
The acorns continue to fall. At least once a day I use my leaf blower to roll them off my driveway.

September Weather

These last two weeks have been some of the best weather weeks we have seen this summer. Warming to the 70's and 80's during the day and staying around 60 degrees at night. The moon is called Manoominike Giizis, the wild rice making moon in Ojibwe country. Rice harvesting is at it's peak. Pictured is a common sight in and around Leech Lake, a car or pickup with one or two canoes and at least one long pole. Rice harvesting is still done the tradition way with a canoe and two occupants, one who poles the canoe though the wild rice beds and the other who who has two shorter wooden stakes one of which bends the rice over the canoe and the other to gently knock the grain off the stalk into the canoe. The raw rice is then sold to the DRM (Division of Resource Management) in Cass Lake where it's processed and sold. I bought three pounds this past week of the local rice harvest. I made a wild rice, venison sausage casserole, this evening for dinner and it was delicious. There is a world of differance between commercially grown wild rice and the native grown Leech Lake wild rice.

The recipe I used is as follows, 1 lb venison sausage (any balk sausage will do), one medium onion chopped, two cups of chopped celery, 1 cup of wild rice (uncooked), 1 can of cream of mushroom, beef boulion and french onion soups, two cans of mushrooms (including liquid). Brown sausage and drain, add onion and celery and cook until soft. Mix and put all the ingrediants in casserole and bake at 400 degree for one hour. Add dried cranberries for color and added sweet taste.

A third bear was taken from the neighborhood. It was taken from a stand where one of the earlier bears were taken.

This last weekend Walker celebrated its 17th annual Ethnic Fest to celebrate the many diverse cultures, food, music that make up our community. I still wonder which ethnicity the pork chop on a stick comes from.

Labor Day Weekend

The first weekend of September is bringing us great summer weather unlike any that we have ever experienced this summer. Highs in the 80 's, clear skies and just a slight wind. Lots of people are visiting with family and friends up north at the lake this long weekend. And if by magic, Mother Nature's time clock in Maple Trees, called Photosynthesis is now telling the Maples it's time to start changing the color of the leaves especially for the Sugar Maples. Various shades of reds and yellows are starting to appear.

Two Black Bear were taken the first days of the hunting season in our neighborhood by local families. It's quite a process to get the bear out of the woods, pictures taken and into the local locker for processing. The expensive decision is what to do with the hide, rug or mount.

Had a good visit with the owner of the Oak Point Resort this week. He said that business is going just great this summer. Just about doubled the 2008 numbers. He and his boys were putting up some new spearing houses for rental this winter for Northern Pike. Its important for all of us that a good vibrant resort be a part of our Oak Point community.

New Oak Point Newsletter came this week and we put a copy on our website http://www.oakpointestatesmn.com/ .

Largemouth Bass

My grandson Aaron, is pictured here with an 18 1/2 inch Largemouth Bass he caught this week while visiting with his grandparents out at Oak Point. His uncle estimates the fish weight 3.5 to 4 lbs. It was successfully released to fight again. Leech Lake has a good population of Largemouth Bass that are starting to gain some attention in the fishing community. Leech Lake of course is better known for it's Walleye and Musky fishing. Other fish caught in the Oak Point area are Perch and Sunfish.

The large slab of tree trunk came from a dead Red Oak Tree harvested out at Oak Point Estates for firewood. The slab measured 39 inches at the widest point. We estimate that the tree is somewhere between 135 and 140 years old. That places the tree as almost as old as the state of Minnesota and older than the city of Walker. I am aware of a few larger living oaks in our area. The acorns are starting to drop from the many oak trees now. Acorns make great food for the area deer and bear as they are high in protien. Acorns are also a sign of the changing seasons.

The talk of the Oak Point Road not getting funded may have been premature. I learned this week from the plowdriver that the funding did indeed come through for the Oak Point Road. I hope that they have sufficient time to bid this project and get started this fall. My road called Chippewa Bch. Road, just north of Oak Point Estates, got a new layer (3 to 4 inches) of class 5 gravel for the winter.

Bear hunters are out baiting for the start of the season which starts September 1st. The set out lots of old scraps of foods and put up trail cameras to see when their bears come into their stands.

Oak Point Progress

The first house at Oak Point Estates is coming along just fine. The owners hope to be able to get along far enough with construction to be able to stay in parts of the house yet this year. Let's hope that the weather cooperates with them. They have a framing contractor helping them from the Bemidji area.

We approached the Leech Lake Township Board last week to discuss with them taking over the road for maintenance purposes. We had a good reception at the meeting and the board promised to come out and inspect our gravel road called Sunrise Beach. We also learned this week that the blacktop road, Oak Point Road, will not be overlayed with new bitumious as had been expected. No money. There are a number of large pot holes that need to be repaired before the winter sets in.

My wood supply is all split and covered for this coming winter of 2009-2010, plus we have enough wood cut and split and covered for the winter of 2010-2011. Having that task done is a great feeling. My task now is get sufficient kindling ready for this coming winter. I have been collecting and splitting wood scraps from the house under constructing at Oak Point.

Yellow Flowers

Summer is here. Warm weather, thunderstorms and summer foliage. We are attaching pictures of three different yellow flowers that we are finding out at Oak Point area. They are Black-Eyed Susans, Goldenrods and Woodland Sunflowers. With the timely rains that we have been having this summer the vegetation is lush. That means weekly mowing of the yards that are usually drying up by now.

Another sure sign that the fishing is back on Leech Lake is the presences of "launches". These are the commercial fishing boats that take tourist from Walker out to angle for Walleyes on the "big" lake. For a number of years we had not seen any, but this summer they are back. Launches furnish the boat/driver guide, the bait and can be used for a half or full days charter. Those fishing with their own boats often follow the launches and imitate what they are doing.

LLR # 38

The Leech Lake, Walker area always has something going on. This past weekend was the Sailing of the 38th Leech Lake Regatta. With the wide open expanses of water, Leech is a natural for the sailing enthusiast. All sorts of styles, colors and sizes of sailboats participated. The sailboats come through the "Narrows" just south of Oak Point Estates and head for Goose Island. Walker also had its "Walker Bay Days" with fun for the entire family at the city park. The purpose of Walker Bay Days is to celebrate family values, community pride and the preservation of the Leech Lake area.

Wild rice season opens August 15, and yes you have to purchase a license unless you are a member of the LL Indian Reservation. The "Narrows" has some large wild rice beds and some other areas just south of Oak Point Estates. Hand parched wild rice from Leech Lake makes some excellent Christmas gifts.

Blueberries season is also upon us. I made two blueberry pies this week for my wife's birthday. Although I have to confess that I used commercial blueberries rather then the wild ones. I don't know of any blueberry patches near the Oak Point area, but a part of the up north summer experience is blueberry pie.

If anyone wants to communicate with me, use either of my email addresses. www.jimn@upnorthpropertysearch.com or nitchals@paulbunyan.net

Oak Point Road

The ditches of Oak Point Road are filled with Golden Alexanders. They provide camouflage for wildlife right up to the roadsurface, which is dangerious for drivers. The plans are are still on for a new road surface on Oak Point Road, but it's August already. I walked the road just about every morning with a neighbor this past week. I try to get started about 7:00 am. Saw several deer, some with fawns and one bear cross the road in front of us. On weekends we see more exercisers on the road, usually not so early, walking, jogging and riding bikes. We have a relativly level route north of Oak Point Estates and Chippewa Beach areas. There is not that much vehicle traffic early in the morning, if we see anyone they are usually neighbors who might stop and chat or the mailman.

Bear hunting in Minnesota starts in one month on September 1st. Deer hunting starts that first weekend in November. I don't hunt either. Seasons will begin to change fast and we still have not had much warm weather yet.

This weeks "Outdoor News" had a front page article entitled, Walleye Catch on Leech Makes it 'Hottest Lake in the State. 'http://www.minnesotaoutdoornews.com/articles/2009/07/30/top_news/news03.txt

Nice to hear positive reports about your lake.

Association Picnic

Saturday evening July 25 was the Oak Point Property Owners Annual Picnic and Golf Outing. We had about 60 to 70 attendees from the neighborhood for the picnic, potluck style. Good to see all the people that you don't normally see on a regular basis. The picnic was about 100 yards from Oak Point Estates

Typical summer weather pattern this past week, a few thunderstorms and warmer temps. Our grandkids were here for a few days so we had plenty of swimming, boating and fishing. In fact my grandkids got into a few Largemouth Bass that were all caught and released. The largest three were a 2, 3, and 4 lbs. Nice fighting fish. One keeper size Walleye was caught and ate.

If I have any readers out there that would like to email me, please do so. Nitchals@paulbuyyan.net. Let me know what on your mind, and what you would like to hear about.

Cool Weather

Last week it was cool, misty and windy weather. I learned a new weather term last week, "record low, highs" we had a couple of days where it didn't get into the 60's. Great for sleeping and wood pile working.

Saw lots of deer and fawn movement, deer flies. The deer flies are driving the deer out of the deep woods onto the roadways and open areas where they can get protection from the bitting. My neighbor who was stoped on the road talking to another neighbor when he saw a wild timber wolf cross the road. Wolf sightings are rare this time of year, we more often see them crossing the lakes on the ice in the winter. We are seeing more young geese and ducks swimming on the lake as their mothers flocks their young together.

Many community summer events have been taking place this past week. Walker had it's "Moondance Jam" featuring Sheryl Crow and other headline groups, Cass Lake had its 9th Annual Rib Feast featuring "Famious Daves" restraunt chain. Bemidji had its "Art in the Park" festivities by their lake.

Fishing continues with some nice Walleyes being caught with either Leechs or nightcrawlers.

Wood Pile

We had a rather cool weekend, so I spent my time and effort working on my wood pile. We have a wood burning Wilkening Fireplace in our home, which is like a wood burning furnace surrounded by masonry and bricks. We have a high efficient electric/LP furnace, but there is nothing better then having a wood fire in the evening with the heat circulated by a ceiling fan. Well anyway, I started to fill my 8' by 8' wood shed with last years wood that was stacked outside to dry out for the 2009-2010 winter. I have also been working with few other retired residents cutting some dead oak trees that we will split for the 2010-2011 heating season. Considering the time and expenses involved it's not a profitable venture, but living in the north country its part of what we do. Great exercise.

Walking in the early morning last week I saw black bear two mornings in a row. That makes four bear sighting this summer for me. Also saw a doe with twin fawns at Oak Point Estates one morning. The fawns were starting to lose their spots already.

Been a relatively cool summer so far. Have not used our air-conditing yet. Great sleeping weather with the open windows.

4th of July 2009

Perfect weather, sunny skies, calm winds made this past weekend just perfect on Leech Lake. All the cabins and homes had family and friends. Walker had its usual parade and fireworks with many people in attendance. Neighborhood picnics, family cookouts with all the usual 4th of July foods were everywhere. Plenty of water activities, boating fishing swimming skiing. Just great family fun at Leech Lake.

Last weekend we had the annual meeting of the Oak Point Property Association. We had a speaker who talked about the history of Oak Point area, very interesting. We also had a report on the efforts to fix up the Oak Point Road. The plans for the road are still on for 2009. They plan on starting at highway 371 and take one lane at a time, pickup the old tar and lay a new surface down. This is a major project that is much needed for our area. We also had the owner of the Oak Point Resort in attendance who spoke about the great year they are having. He told me that they are full until the middle of August.

Summer Weather

We have now had some warm weather and timely rains in the Oak Point area. The results have the summer flora in full bloom. The state flower, the Showy Lady Slipper, a rare wild Orchid can be found close to Oak Point Estates. The Showy Lady Slipper needs wetter areas with more sunlight then the Yellow Lady Slippers. We also have the ditches and open area with fieldsfull of white Daisey's and Mustard Flowers. We have also seen Wild Roses in the ditches.

Another summer ritual is under way called the Mayfly hatches. Mayflies are an aquatic insect that is present in Leech Lake. On Friday we had a rain storm with winds coming in off the lake stirring up the water. The results were a rather big hatch with the flies all over our house, garage, trees. Used my leaf blower to blow them off. Thank goodness the Mayflies are harmless and they usually last only 1 to 2 days at the most.

The walleye fishing has still been fairly good from the reports that I have been getting from my neighbors. With the Mayflies hatch on, that will put a stop to the fishing for awhile.

First Day of Summer

Today is Sunday June 21st, the first day of Summer. The weather has been more summer like with warmer days and thunderstorms. As I was mowing my grass on top of my riding mower today I couldn't help but think about ironies of my comfortable life here in the Chippewa National Forrest. We now have high speed digital telephone, Internet and television service along ways from civilization in a National Forrest with modern communication tools at my finger tips.

Exciting news on the fauna front here in the woods. I was getting my early morning walk in on the Oak Point Road all by myself a few mornings ago when all of a sudden I look up and a big black bear was crossing the road about 150' in front of me. I just stood still while he or she ambled back into the woods. I wanted to make sure there were no cubs around before I proceeded. This morning we saw our first fawn following its mother down a gravel road. We have two pair of Bald Eagles nesting in the neighborhood, we give them wide birth so as not to disturb them.

We have new property owners at Oak Point Estates. The property was officially sold last week to some young people from the twin cities area. We have the annual meeting of the Oak Point Property Owners Association next Saturday with some interesting speakers attending.

First Day of

First Week of June

The first week of June is more like early May or late April. It has been cold, temps in the low to mid 30's in the morning and having trouble getting above 50 degree range. We are having a fire in the fireplace to take the chill off tonight. The Walleye's continue to bite on Leech Lake. My neighbor caught and released a 26+ incher today. A number of neighbors are boating fish with a number in the slot needing to be released.

Progress is happening at Oak Point Estates. The foundation is poured for the first home. The owner plans spending vacation time in July, August and September getting a good start on building. Glad to see the first new home being built.

Saw my first goslings and ducklings of the year this week. Its surprising at how fast those little creatures grow. The two pair of Bald Eagles continue to do there nesting in the neighborhood.

End Of May

Today is May 31st and where did the month go. I am about three weeks behind in writing. The Walleye fishing has been just great in my area of the lake. I look out to the Goose Island, Big and Little Hardwoods, Pine Point areas and all have been reporting good success most of the month. My favorite is to use a jig and minnow off the dock from about 8:30 PM to 9:30 PM. Many a limit have been caught this way. The good people at Oak Point Resort have reported that their guest are have good catches of both Walleyes and Northerns.

During the Memorial Day weekend we had a large fish fry for all the family and relatives that were up this way. We caught and fried about 35 Walleyes and they were just great.

Spring is here in the Oak Point area. We are finding lots of Wild Leeks in the woods, they are like a mild green onion. We have used them in dips, sandwiches, and in baked goods as a substitute for onions. We are also spotting Yellow Ladyslippers in the woods, we will find the Showy Ladyslippers in about another three weeks. We have two pairs of Bald Eagles nesting within a mile of where we live, but we are careful not to disturb them.

Fishing Opener

Fishing "Opener" on Leech Lake was successfull for many friends and neighbors on Oak Point. We stopped at Oak Point Resort yesterday and spoke to the owner who was real pleased, they were full with fishermen with good fishing reports, including one Walleye that was caught and released that measured 31.5 inches. My neighbor and I fished off my dock and kept a limit of fish to send back with him to the cities. On Sunday morning there was a string of boats from Goose Island to Star Point, just north of my neighborhood, that must have been 80 to 100 strong. I heard similar number of boats off from Pine and Stoney Points. It was chilly, I don't think it got out of the 40 on Saturday. Had to come in and warm my hands.

We inked an agreement to sell another lot at Oak Point Estates, closing to be in early June if all goes well. That will make four lots sold. Go to www.oakpointestatesmn.com to check out the lot. The big common dock at Oak Point Estates has been installed.

Their are leaves to pickup and new grass to start thinking about cutting. The Wild Leeks are up and soon my wife and I need to go picking. Wild Leeks are a great addition to a sandwich.

Great Weekend

The first weekend of May was just great in the Oak Point Area of Leech Lake. Great tempratures, beautiful blue skies and plenty of visitors. Some of the seasonal residents and weekend crews were putting in dock, lifts and boats getting ready for the "opener" which will be next Saturday the 9th.

We saw our first wild flowers of the season called Anemone, white with a yellow center, poking through some dead leaves in the woods. Some trees along the roadways are starting to have green shoots poking through. My wife and I saw a porcupine high in a birch tree eating away on the tender shoots. Sure sign of spring was the finding of my first "Tick" while walking in the woods on some of our lots.

There will be plenty of families planning their first outting for next weekend which should be considered Minnesota Fishing Holiday. Traffic will be heavy, bait shope full of stories and suggested "hot spots". Great family get together.

ICE OUT - ALMOST !

The forces of nature were at work today on Leech Lake. We awoke with the lake ice pushed to the north from my vantage point, which is the "Big Lake" looking east towards Goose Island. This afternoon after the rain began the wind switched to the north and is now pushing the ice back to the south. Now at dusk on Sunday April 26 I see no ice between my home and Goose Island. I also heard my first loon of the season this afternoon. It will still be a couple of days before the officials will declare "ice out" because Walker Bay is always later with it's deep cool waters. It's always a special day when you can see open water. This is about two weeks earlier than it was last year.

In addition to the first loon we continue to see the migration north of many birds. It is surprising how the birds know when ice out happens, or is about to happen. The geese are pairing off to begin their spring duties. The first greens of spring grass continue to sprout along the roadway and in ditches. If we have some rains and a few warm days this week we will continue to see things green up. The tops of the birch, poplar and aspen trees along the road are beginning to show green. The trees along the lake will be a week or so later because of the temperature difference.

Two weeks until "Fishing Opener" when the north country will really begin to come to life. Have to remember to buy my fishing license for this year. I have a lot of outdoor work to do before I can seriously think about fishing.

Closer To Spring

95% or more of our snow has disappeared in the last week or so. We have had incredible weather with highs in the 60 and lows in the 40’s My prediction of ice out by May 1st needs to be revised to earlier. Today is April 20th and all I see is rotting ice as far as I can see on the main lake. I now predict by this weekend, say the 28th or 29th. We no longer see any ice fisherman venturing out very far with ATV’s, or snowmobiles on the main lake.

I opened up the road into Oak Point Estates this past weekend. The gravel road is in great shape with no mud holes to get your car dirty on. Seeing more deer out by the roadways with shoots of green grasses attracting some attention. We are also seeing more birds coming north. One more sure sign of spring is the filling of potholes by the public works crews. The rumor is that the Oak Point Road will receive an overlay of new bituminous this year. Yea, Yea.

On the flora front we are seeing tulips and snow drops starting to pop up. During the next two weeks we will have more activity on this front. We will have plenty of wildflowers that will start shortly to beautify the forest lands.

Happy Easter

Easter is coming this Sunday. We have put together three days in the high 30 and mid 40’s. Our snow is melting once again. Our Aprils fools joke came a day early in the form of 12 to 14 inches of snow. Our road that we live on called Chippewa Beach Road is filled with muddy ruts once again. We have more signs of spring with wild life sightings. Duck, geese and other waterfowl can be see where they can find open water, like the Steamboat River Lake by the bridge on Highway 371. We see plenty of Bald Eagles over the lake with them occasionally resting in trees along the lake shore look for a quick meal.
Our weather forecast is for a warm Easter weekend. This should help to dry out our road at Oak Point Estates. We are hoping to get that road reasonably dry before we have traffic. There have been signs of walking traffic looking at the lots.
It’s hard to believe that in only one month we will have open season for Walleye fishing once again on Leech Lake. The old timers in the neighborhood think we will still have lake ice until May 1st. The old-timers include me. The earliest ever recorded ice out on Leech Lake was April 9, 1945. The latest May 23, 1950. I myself can recall a few years when we were not totally ice free for the opening of walleye season. My favorite fishing spot for Walleyes is evening fishing off my dock. I have caught many limits of fish with a jig and minnow off my dock in shallow water. We have excellent fishing using this technique that will last until the mosquitoes drive me inside. Believe me nothing is better then catching a few fresh fish and have them in the frying pay the next evening for dinner.

SPRING?

It has been a long, cold winter here on Oak Point of Leech Lake, but with spring officially only a week away we are starting to see a few signs of the end of winter. Today we have temperatures in the 40's, sunshine and the sound of melting water. I had set the day aside for tax preparation but am taking a break to start this blog. From time to time I will post observations and news of our neighborhood here, fishing reports, weather reviews and perhaps some recipes.
My wife, Marlys, and I moved here permanently in the year 2000. Before that we had been eager weekend residents. We soon became addicted to the solitude and beauty of the area. Our neighborhood is deep in the Chippewa National Forest but has the wonderful advantage of a nice, small neighborhood of people to exchange stories of animal sightings with and play an occasional game of cribbage. We are about 7 miles from Walker as the crow flies. After our big snow this week, my neighbor who works at the Walker Public Library, went to and from work by snowmobile! Oak Point Road is always open and well plowed and sanded but this saved her some time.
Animal sightings recently have mostly been bald eagles, pileated woodpeckers and deer. An adventurous racoon has been seen nightly and of course the first sign of spring is the scent of an occasional skunk. There have also been reports of foxes and perhaps a wolf or two.
As I look out of our windows I am looking at the 'big lake" facing Goose Island and Ottertail Point. There are plenty of vehicles out there today so the panfishing must be good. An old time neighbor, Jan, who has been out here since the 50's mentioned that her grandson had caught some 1 and 1/2 pound perch on Leech lake this week.
The past couple years I have spent some of my time developing some lots near here. They are some of the last traditional lots on Leech Lake where the lot owns it's own private lakeshore. I've enjoyed working with this greatly, several lots have been sold and we will probably see the first home built this summer. For more information you can go to http://www.oakpointstatesmn.com/ . There is some interesting reading there about the history of our neighborhood.