Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Fall Colors


This last weekend the colors out on Oak Point had to be at their peak. This past week when Minnesota had its deluge in the southern parts of our state we got close to 2 inches or rain which brought down some acorns and leaves. Fall officially arrived on Wednesday the 23rd. Still no killing frost, but that can't be far off now.


Black Bear/Deer Hunting


No more stories of successful hunts. But more sighting along the road. In fact my wife saw one going after some still green grapes along Chippewa Ch Rd just adjacent to our home. The bear are after the food to fatten up for the long winter nap. According to the DNR the number of bear kills lags behind last year.


Deer hunters are talking about where they are going to put up their stands this year. A few die hard archery deer hunters are taking to the stands. That sport takes an enormous amount of patience waiting for the deer to come by. Lots of leaves still on the trees and shrubs make it very difficult to see the deer.


Fall Chores


I am having a hard time getting my fall chores done. I have been splitting wood, not for this winter, but for the 2011-2012 season. My wood shed is just about full, but my pile is still high. I have been mulching my leaves already when I mow my lawn. We will start to pick up the leaves about one month from now. The Oak leaves stay on for some time. I have begun taking apart my garden. Still have some beets and potatoes to dig and some winter squash to put away. One chore that I need to get at is bring in the boat and getting it ready for winter storage. I will take the boat in to change the oil in the four stroke engine.


Biggs Family


Congratulation to the Biggs Family of Plymouth, MN for their purchase of Lot # 14 in Oak Point Estates. They plan on starting building yet this fall. This makes the 6th lot sold with 7 more lots left. Our thanks to the Biggs Family.

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Fall Weather

When I left for my walk this morning it was 38 degrees out. Fall Equinox happens this coming Wednesday, Sept 22nd. We have not had a killing frost yet, but that can't be long away.

Today was also the first day of the 2010 Grouse Hunting Season. Heard many shotgun blasts coming from the woods this morning as many hunters were after the early season action with the young dumber birds. Most of the reports for the Grouse season are down from prior years harvests. It was also the first day to archery hunt deer. Duck hunting begins on October 2nd this year.

Oak Point Bear

Pictured here is Ray Copa with his first black bear that he shot on Wednesday evening the 15th of September. The bear was taken about one mile from his home here on Oak Point Road. Karen called a number of us to help him get the bear out of the woods. Congratulations to Ray.

Ray is my walking partner and the day before he got this bear we had seen a rather large bear cross the road about 300 yards in front of us. I have also talked to three other people who have see bears on the move this past week. The theory is that they are eating heavily now trying to get that extra layer of fat for the long cold winter hibernation.

Wild Rice Harvest

The 2010 season is over already. Those in the know say that the harvest was only about 1/3 of the 2009 harvest. The theory is that with the high water levels and brisk September winds have knocked a lot of the wild rice off the stocks early, leaving just a little for the pickers this fall. I will speculate this will mean higher retail prices.

Garden

The 2010 garden season is coming to a halt. I have some potatoes, winter squash and beets left to harvest, and then it's time to plow the soil to prepare for next year garden.

Leech Lake Walleyes

The Minnesota DNR is considering whether to maintain or modify the Walleye regulation on Leech Lake. A public meeting is scheduled for October 13th at the Walker H.S. Commons area from 6 to 9 pm. The two plans they are looking at are to maintain the current 4 fish limit, but modify the 18 to 26 inch slot size to 20 to 26 inch size with one fist over 26 inches. This plan would allow the new size to revert back to 18 to 26 inches if the DNR felt it was necessary. The second plan is to keep the s8 to 26 slot size as they are now. I have been suggesting the new size so for one I am going to show up and speak for the change. I would suggest that others who have strong feelings show up as well. I will try to remind people before the October 13 meeting date.

Fall Colors

We are still maybe one to two weeks away from the peak colors, but still the maples are just truly beautiful. The Sumac bushes are turning red. The green oak leaves have not started to change colors yet, will have to wait for that first freeze.





Sunday, September 5, 2010

September 2010

September is here, the days are getting shorter and the temperature is getting cooler. Hunting season has begun for bear. Deer hunting for members of the reservation and some wild ricing harvesting in the Narrows. The large beds of rice in Steamboat Bay are not open yet. We are having Labor Day Weekend so plenty of extra people are enjoying the long weekend at the cabin. We had visitors, our son and grandson are visiting from the cities. Football season will be upon us soon. We had our draft for our Fantasy Football.

Had a couple of thunderstorms this past week with over an inch of rain. Had some strong winds associated with the rain storm the night of Sept 1st that came out of the east. A number of property owners facing to the east had damage to their docks and boat lifts. One person had some damage to their fishing boat. We had one tree dowm on Oak Point Estates, but nothing serious.


Garden

The end of the growing season is coming on for the garden. Had our first meal of beets last evening. Might get a few more green beans, a few summer squash and cucumbers yet, but with the cooling weather and shorter days the prime growing season is behind us. I will have to dig potatoes and harvest the winter squash soon.

Maple Trees

Some of the leaves of the maples are starting to change their coloration. Pretty soon we will have lovely reds, yellows and orange leaves that make our falls so beautiful. It will be 4 to 6 weeks before any serious leaf raking has to take place. With the rains still coming down we will have to keep mowing the green grass at least once per-week.

House Progress

The Christenson new house on Oak Point Estates is making some serious progress. I know that they want to be able to work inside this coming winter.