Lots on Leech Lake

December Winter

2010-12-12T17:13:00.005-06:00

Oak Point is in the grip of winter weather. The Oak Point Road has a crust of snow and ice from the beginning to the end. Today we are getting the Arctic cold that is on its way south to the area that has the blizzard and snow today. I enjoy my winter days when we have a nice arm fire going in the fireplace and plenty of football to watch on TV.

Outdoor Tree

We have two Christmas trees at our house on Oak Point. Pictured is the outdoors tree that we cut down in the forest. For a $5.00 fee you can get a tag to cut a tree in the Chippewa National Forest. We went out on Wednesday afternoon and looked at numerous trees before we settled on this one. When they grow in the wild, most look like "Charlie Brown Trees" they are not trimmed, but if you look through a couple hundred you can usually find one that fits your needs.

Leech Lake Association

Annual Christmas Dinner

Coming up this coming Thursday December 16th, 2010 at the Ranch House Supper Club. Social Hour 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm, then our speaker Doug Schultz Large Lake Biologist, MN DNR and his topic will be "What Does a New Leech Lake Management Plan mean to me?". Dinner served at 7:00 pm with selections of prime rib, walleye, chicken supreme, and chicken and ribs.

Leech Lake Management Plan

The 2011-2015 Plan which is authored by Doug Schultz, our speaker is available on line at www.mndnr.gov/leechlake. It's a 40 plus page report that you might want to review before listening to our speaker.

Anne M. Dunn

Anne M. Dunn an Ojibwa author and storyteller, and former resident on Oak Point was a feature speaker at a program held at the Cass Lake Library recently. She told a number of her stories she learned from her mother and grandmother as a young girl growing up on the Leech Lake Reservation. Oral legends and animal fables were an important source of Ojibwa history that has been told and retold over many, many years.

This coming Thursday, December 14 at 4:00 pm the Cass Lake library has an interesting speaker and author, Anton Treuer, a BSU faculty member will speak about his new book, "Assassination of Hole-In-The Day".

White Thanksgiving

2010-11-30T10:55:00.002-06:00

Thanksgiving on Oak Point was white and cold. We had two snowfalls last week, one on Monday the 22nd, and the second one was on the afternoon of Wednesday the 24th and into the morning of Thanksgiving Day. We went to visit with our son, Matt and his family down in the cities. Thanks-giving is all about family and friends and the start of the Holiday Season. We all got a chance to say what we are thankful for.

We are getting another snowfall today Monday the 29th. The National Weather Service has a winter storm warning for our area today until noon tomorrow with new snows from 6 to 10 inches. With all the new snow one can easily see the deer tracks all over the places that I hunted. The big game specialist for the DNR was quoted as saying, It's looking like once everything is said and done we are looking at about 215,000 for the state wide kill."

Leech Lake ice has a lot of water on top of it thanks to the heavy snows. Walker Bay, Steamboat Lake and some of the larger lakes still have some open water. Yesterday I saw some fish houses out, which I think is way to early. I can't think of a Thanksgiving where we could go ice fishing this early.

Leech Lake Area

Watershed Foundation

The Leech Lake Area Watershed Foundation is a non-profit corporation whose mission is to promote activities that preserve and sustain the national resource of the area for the use and enjoyment of current and future generation. The Leech Lake Watershed is one of the 15 sub watersheds that drain into the Upper Mississippi. Our watershed consists of 674 lakes that all drain into Leech Lake. The total area consists of 855,000 acres of which Leech Lake is 111,500 acres. Our watershed is located in Cass, Hubbard and parts of Beltrami Counties. It's home to half of the Minnesota naturally reproducing Muskie lakes. One-third of the watershed area is in public ownership such as county, state and federal.

November Winter

2010-11-22T15:44:00.004-06:00

We have moved into the winter season here on Oak Point. It's cold and snowy this morning. The ice on Leech Lake is as far as we can see all around the Oak Point area. The 2010 deer hunting season quietly ended Sunday evening, November 21st. I went out for the last time and sat in a stand and saw no other hunters or hear any shots. I had a great hunt, but no deer this year. It was good just to be a part of the annual hunt.

Oak Point Resort

Our neighbors Lee and Laura Nupson have been busy this fall at their resort. Pictured here is the latest addition, they built new living quarters above their lodge for them selves. Lee told me that they are doing quite well this year and that they are looking forward to December, because they have a number of reservations for their cabins and spearing houses. They will be putting out the spearing houses just as soon as the ice is strong enough. Its good to hear that they are doing well this year. I might be interested ion renting one of their spearing houses a time or two over the upcoming holidays. The Oak Point Resort has a website at http://www.oakpointresort.com/ or phone them at 218-335-2993.

Beltrami Electric Coop.

Our supplier of electric power on all of Oak Point is Beltrami Electric Coop. out of Bemidji. They have been around this past week notifying their clients that starting in mid December they plan on removing trees and brush in the oak Point area underneath their over head power lines. This is nothing new, they have been doing this clearing process about every 5 to 7 years for some time. It's necessary to protect us from power outages and the chance of danger to our property and persons. What is new though, is that they plan on coming through one year after the mechanical clearing and apply a herbicide to control resprouting of trees and brush. Along the Chippewa Beach Road area this can be as close as 250 ft. from Leech Lake. This makes me nervous and I plan on checking into this. The US Forest Service does not allow them to spray on any of their properties.

Beltrami Electric has someone to call and his name is Dan Edens, Manager of Operations at 218-444-3649. I call and talked to him how you can opt out of the spraying and he told me that before they spray they will be contacting each of us and we can decline to have our property sprayed. If you have any concerns about this spraying you can contact me or call Dan Edens.

First Snow

2010-11-14T20:44:00.006-06:00

We woke up to our first covering of snow this morning. We must have 2" to 3" of the wet snow, compared to the 10" to 12" that they got down in the cities. The temps right now are in the low 30's with a forecast of somewhat higher temps for the next few days, so we are hoping for the snow to melt. Our son and family who live in south Mpls. were some of the unlucky homeowners whose electric power was knocked out.

Deer Hunting

Deer hunting continues here on Oak Point. The number of hunters in the woods are down some this weekend from last weekend, but still lots of blaze orange hunters are out. I had the privilege of going hunting with Gilbert Starr on Saturday morning. Gilbert grew up on Oak Point, Starr Point area, and he knows the area like the back of his hand. He show me the area that he has hunted over the years, included various tree stands. He has plenty of stories of successful hunts, both deer and bear, associated with various stands. With the new snow on the ground maybe that can help me locate a deer. The Minnesota DNR estimates that nearly 90,000 deer were taken during the first weekend from the approximate 450,000 hunters in the woods. I have until November 21 to get my deer.

Miscellaneous

Saw my first flock of swans flying over this morning. They are usually the last migratory birds that use the Leech Lake area as a stop on their way south. Saw some birds on the lake yesterday, I don't know if they were fisherman or duck hunters, but I suspect their days are limited. Usually by Thanksgiving we have some ice on the "big lake". We typically don't see any ice fishing houses out until sometime in December. Been burning plenty of oak wood in our fireplace these shorter days since we are back on Central Standard Time. Darkness comes early. So a warm fire and a warm supper in the oven is welcome. I cooked a bear steak in the slow cooker that turned out real tender and very tasty and was a great main dish with some locally grown potatoes.

It's That Time Again

2010-11-07T21:27:00.005-06:00

The opening of the Minnesota Deer Firearms Season started on Saturday November 6th. It's like a state holiday here on Oak Point, second only to the Fishing Opener. Lots of hunters took to the woods Saturday morning. I have never seen more hunters out after the local deer herd. Oak Point is located entirely in Zone 197 where the season runs until Sunday November 21. I heard many success stories. Most of the larger parties had at least one successful hunter. I heard of one party that had three deer to their credit.

I went hunting myself for the first time in about 15 years. I was not successful myself, or should I say "not yet". I still have plenty of time. I had to borrow a rifle, buy some new blaze orange clothing, build a deer stand and bake some oatmeal cookies. I even had to find my hunting knife and sharpen it up. I had the help of my grandson Aaron, who visited us during the long MEA weekend, building the deer stand. Maybe sometime in the future we can get him up here for some hunting. It did feel strange sitting in the deer stand and listing to the Loons doings their musical serenade.

The weather we had was just great. We had wake up weather in the low 30's. Saturday we had a high in the high 40's and today we made the 50's with a calm winds. No rain. The strong winds that we had last week brought down some flocks of Bluebills ducks who fly over the surface of the water with a whistling noise.

Indian Summer

2010-10-10T21:47:00.006-05:00

The weather we had this first full week of October was simply spectacular. We had sunny skies, and warm temperature in the 70's and even hitting 80 degrees a couple of days here on Oak Point. Lots of visitors up to their cabins to do fall chores these last few days. Most of the docks and lifts are now in, mine included. In many neighborhoods groups get together and work as a team to bring the equipment in. These are borrowed days that I am sure we will be paid back with cold temps fairly soon.

Leaves

Another fall duty we all have on Oak Point is leaves. Actually I think the Oak leaves are down earlier this year then some of the years in the past. I think this is the case since many trees budded out earlier this spring then normal, so the time has come for the leaves to fall. Many of us have cleaned our leaves once this fall with the full knowledge that we will have to do it one more this fall. I will have to mulch the leaves at least once more this week.

Hunting and Fishing

The local duck hunter chased the local birds out already and they are waiting for the big flights to come in. Grouse hunting has been spotty, with a few birds taken by the hunters that work for their birds. No more bear sightings and very few deer sightings. I understand that the bow hunters have not seen many deer. I was lucky enough to draw a doe permit this year. Good reports on the Walleye fishing. Lots of fish being taken on the rocky points like Pine Point and Big Hardwood in the evening.

Garden

Picked a few green peppers and zucchini for the last time. I still have a few potatoes and beets to dig that I hope to do this week, then I begin the task of tilling the garden. I sort of dread this task for some reason. I guess I hate to see the season end.

Twin Cities Marathon

2010-10-04T17:26:00.003-05:00

Our daughter-in-law Stephanie Nitchals ran her first marathon yesterday on a chilly October morning. Her time was 3 hrs and 53 min. and she stayed under 4 hours. This is the mother of our 3 grand kids. She took up running about two years ago. Their were 11,ooo runners that started the race, with about 9,000 finished. They estimated that 300,000 spectators lined the 26 miles of the streets to watch the race. She was the 357th woman to finish the race. We are real proud of her reaching this goal she set for herself.

Frost

We didn't have a frost here by Leech Lake, the big lake effect keep us warm on both Saturday and Sunday morning, but a few miles away from the lake there was frost. I took in my winter squash and dug the last of my baking potatoes this morning. I believe that our growing season has officially come to an end. Beautiful day today with heights for casted in the 60's and 70's this week.

Fall Chores

With the help of my neighbor and friend Dennis Yepma, we brought in my boat for the season. Took the boat into the marine shop to have it winterized and serviced for next year. My dock and lift are ready for those people to come this coming weekend to put that equipment up on shore. Had to take my leaf blower in to be worked on, should be able to get it by tomorrow.

High Speed Internet

I know that I have mentioned it before, one of our luxuries is the high speed Internet and cable TV that we get through Paul Bunyan Telephone out of Bemidji. I am able to get most of the sporting events live on my TV screen. This week the Twins start post season baseball. I get most of the NFL football games on Sunday, Sunday evening and on Monday nights. I am able to play fantasy Football with my friends on our computer. Not bad for living in the Chippewa National Forest.

Walleye Meeting

A reminder of the October 13th meeting that the DNR is having at the Walker HS Commons to discuss the proposed slot change from 18 to 26 inch fish to 20 to 26 inch fish. The meeting is from 6 to 9 pm. I plan on going and voicing my support for the change.

Fall Colors

2010-09-29T16:02:00.003-05:00

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.

Fall Weather

2010-09-18T14:39:00.008-05:00

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.

September 2010

2010-09-05T18:25:00.009-05:00

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.

Nice Weekend

2010-08-22T18:37:00.006-05:00

Leech Lake was busy yesterday and today. Lots of boats on the lake, people at their cabins, traffic on the roads. I think people wanted to get one more good weekend before Labor Day Weekend which is coming up in two weeks. We had warm temperatures but a good stiff wind off the lake kept us cool. We had 2 inches of rain in two storms during the week so that keeps the garden and the grass green.

Fauna

Bear hunters were in the woods setting out bait and putting their stands out for the up coming season. Continue to see deer on the Oak Point Road which should mean a successful deer season for the local hunters. Some of the young ducks and geese are starting to take flight. Have not heard any successful fishing reports on the lake. Been seeing more boats in the evening trolling in the Goose Islands flats.

Flora

Garden continues to produce produce for us. Right now tomatos are the prime crop. I have been picking them early and put them out on our picnic table to finish ripping. Green beans are pretty much finishing their season. Cucumbers are still producing as well as summer squash. We have a good crop of winter squash and pumpkins on the vine. Lots of potatoes for the fall and winter harvest.

This Blog

Taking a motor trip to Michigan this coming week to visit a sister and her family near Detroit. So the net result will be no blog next weekend.

Mid-August

2010-08-15T20:11:00.008-05:00

We awoke this morning to much cooler temperatures than we have been having in August so far. We had cool mid 50's this morning. The high for the day was 65. Now when you are used to 90's, its quite a change. We had over 2.5 inches of rain this past week. The lake water temps are still high with temps in the mid to high 70's which are quite high for such a large body of water like Leech.

Our grandchildren spent a few days with us this week and all of us had a good time. They swam, sewed, fished, boated and ate us out of food. But a good time was had by all. The 7 year old second grater caught the largest fish probably a 2 lb. rock bass off the dock. It always takes us a few days to get things back to normal after their visits.

The water level in the lake are still quite high, usually by this time of the year I am having problems getting my boat off the lift, but not this year. Getting some reports of Walleyes being caught in the Goose Island flats trolling Shad Raps. My grandson and I tried it twice with no success.

Fauna

Bear hunting begins in two weeks time. This weekend was the first time hunters could bait for bear. The MN DNR says that there are ample berries and wild nuts this year with all the rain we have been having. So baiting might not be as productive. In our area there are plenty of acorns from the oak trees this year. So far we continue to see plenty of your deer sightings in the woods, especially when we take walks in the morning along the Oak Point Road.

Flora

Garden continues to grow. Enjoying cucumbers, green beans, summer squash, tomatoes and new potatoes. Still mowing the yard at least once a week. Usually we see the end of the weekly mowing by this time of the year, but with all the rains we have been having I had to mow my lawn again today.

Pictured is some Jewelweed which is natures antidote for poison ivy.

Dog Days of August

2010-08-08T21:10:00.006-05:00

What I call the "Dog Days of August" came upon us this past week. Hot days cooling at nights, garden growing with new produce every day. It gets dark a little after 9:15 pm so I can get to bed early again.

Flora

Mid-summer flora is starting to appear. I am including some photo of some Jerusalem Artichoke, they have nothing to do with Jerusalem and are not Artichokes. The flowers are like the Black Eyed Susan with a more yellow center, but grow taller, sometimes to a height of nine feet. They have an edible tuber that resemble ginger roots. They are high in carbohydrates with a consistency like a potato when eaten raw, when they are boiled they are soft and mushy.

I am also including a picture of some Asters that is a wild flower that I have found over at Oak Point Estates. They flower in late summer or early fall and are purple or blue in coloration.

This past week I have harvested some smaller tomatoes, green peppers and some sweet banana peppers. I made a dish of stuffed peppers using hamburger and cooked wild rice, and a topping them off with a cheese and Ro-Tel dressing. They were real good. Also for my wife's birthday I made her my blueberry pie recipe.

Fauna

Some of my neighbors are reporting some Walleye catches in the area. Some are using bobber-stopper rigs with leeches around the outer edges of week beds and some are trolling Shad Raps in 10 to 12 ft. of water. My grandson is coming to visit this coming week so I will have to take him fishing.

Pictured here is some young mallard ducks starting to get some color. They have to get some flying lessons in before duck hunting season starts early on Saturday October 2nd.

August 1st

2010-08-01T17:40:00.005-05:00

It doesn't seem possible that we are in August already. Weather wise we have been getting plenty of rain still, gardens and lawns are green maybe two much rain for the tomatoes they are getting yellow leaves by the soil. Enjoying green beans, new potatoes, onions, cucumbers, summer squash, green peppers and lettuce. We have been busy the last 10 days. We had the damaged roof on the garage repaired, so we decided to have the house roof shingled as well. We had our hardwood floors refinished so that met that all the furniture had to be moved out. And you all know that one thing leads to another, so we have been busy.

I am adding some pictures that are interesting. Our neighbor Dennis Yepma has a new sailboat that he is learning to use. Also I was driving through the narrows the other day when I saw an unusual sight, I saw 14 Turkey vultures in one tree. Unfortunately someone had dumped some fish guts on the road and they were cleaning up the mess. I would hope that whoever is doing that would stop.

President Mike Rief

2010-08-01T16:41:00.004-05:00

Mike is on his 4th term as President of our Oak Point Property Owners Association. He is already looking for someone to take his place for next year. Mike says that the thing he enjoys most about the presidency is meeting and working with all the good people up here. He enjoys lining up the speakers for the annual meeting and working with the local media.

Mike and his wife Joyce have their permanent home in Buffalo just west of the twin cities. They live on the NW corner of Buffalo Lake. Mike is fully retired from his job as the controller for General Dynamics, Government Systems Division. They were the Department of Defense Contract Unit where 95% of their business was with the US Navy. They built computers for the F-18 fighter jets among other things. Joyce is also retired from the education field where she was in physical education, school counselor, and finished as a principal at Minnetonka High School.

Mike is an old Navy man himself. Going to Navy OCS after college at St Cloud State. He spent a number of years on navy ships based out of Brooklyn Navy Yards. He then spent 14 years in the Naval Reserves where he retired as a Lt. Commander.

Mike and Joyce have three adult children. Two boys and one girl. Their daughter has triplet boys who are 9 years old and live in Zimmerman. They bought their place on Mounds Point from Les Spitzack in 1999. Their cabin use to be owned by Glen and Verna Sickle who have plenty of stories about their time up here.

Mike claims the main reason he bought property up here on Leech Lake was for snowmobiling. Last year both he and Joyce put 1,100 miles on Leech Lake and 1,100 miles other places on their sleds. One of Mikes stories up here was the time they went to Walker Legion Meat Raffle on sleds. When they left to go home from where the Chase Hotel is they left across the ice when it got foggy, real foggy. So they decided to go back to town and followed their tracks back. They found the Heartland Trail by Marine Max and followed it back to Erickson's Landing. They took off across the ice once again keeping Sandpoint to their left and followed paths heading east. They new they were safe when they could see Christmas Lights on Mounds Point.

Mike's other major story about snowmobiling was when he was marking ice chunks at ice spearing fisherman had cutout for their spearing holes. Mike would mark these chunks so that other snowmobiler's would not hit them. Well wen mike stepped back and you guessed it, he fell into the hole catching himself by his left arm and was able to putt himself out, wet and all alone. It was about 30 degrees out so he was able to start his sled and hurry home before he froze up.

Mike and Joyce also enjoy playing golf at both Longbow and Sand Trap course's. They enjoy cruising Leech Lake in their pontoon boat looking for sand beaches and other places of interest. Fishing for Mike is the early season Walleyes and Sunfish.

If you want to get involved with the Oak Point Association, give Mike a call and volunteer.

Summer Time

2010-07-18T16:14:00.003-05:00

It's the middle of July! The garden is doing just great. We have ample and timely rains with approximately 2 inches falling this past week in four different occasions. We now enjoy green beans, new potatoes, green and yellow zucchini, cucumbers as well as the leaf lettuce and green onions. All the rain also means more weeds and bugs. The lawns are lush and green so that means more mowing and trimming.

We made raspberry jam today. Not the wild raspberry, but the pick-your-own variety that are at their prime right now. That jam will go great with toast in the mornings. We are freezing some raspberries to enjoy later. Lots of great fruit to enjoy this time of the year.

Seeing more deer along the road in the mornings with one good reason, "deer flies" are out, and they have a nasty bite. For my morning walks I have been going to buy one of those fish net face masks when I go to town, but I keep forgetting.

Arty Youngren

People enjoyed last week personal profile of Arty Youngren. I always enjoy writing them because I always gain some new insight on Oak Point. Suggest some people or ideas that I should write about. Either email or talk to me this coming Saturday at the Oak Point Picnic.

Two Things to Remember

Remember to go to the Oak Point Picnic and Golf Outing next Saturday, they are always fun. Second, the time to comment about the Leech Lake Draft Management Plan is now. You can comment until the end of July. Go to my July 4th Blog to gain access to the Draft Management Plan so that you can comment.

Thanks

Our thanks to Jim and Karen for their purchase of lot # 3 at Oak Point Estates that closed last week. That makes our 5th lot sold. We have 8 lots left to sell. Stop over and see the progress on the new home being built on lot # 11.

Ardy Youngren

2010-07-12T11:28:00.008-05:00

Ardy Youngren is pictured here with her oldest son Larry. They are spending some time up at the family cabin this summer.

Ardy Youngren and her late husband Bill are long time property owners here on Oak Point. They bought their cabin at 10500 Chippewa Beach Road back in 1969. Just prior to buying their cabin they were fishing with another couple at Red Rock Reef just east of Pelican Island and they were catching big Walleyes one after another. So they were sold on Leech Lake. Next they ran into Lon Ivan who took them out to Squaw Point to show them some cabins. They ended up buying the place which was the first one that they saw on a contract for deed which was 41 years ago and went back to Joliet, IL which was their home. Bill owned and operated Ace Root Beer Stand which was a car hop drive in that also sold food. The Youngrens had three children, six grandchildren and now 16 great grand children.

The next time they came back was at Easter Vacation in 1970 and they couldn't find their cabin and had to call Lon Ivan for directions to get there. This was before the present modern road system with the looping road by the Narrows. Pastor Schmidt from the Chippewa Bible Church had a tractor that he used to pull cars through the wet areas by Welch Lake.

Some of their neighbors at the time were the Savolas, Browns, Howlands, Reidel, Ray, Schuppe, Obergs, Darko, Loves and Nobles. Harold Kleen was the area handyman while he ran the Oakdale Resort. The telephone was a party line that ran trough the woods attached to trees to get here. The Youngrens' took their laundry to Walker by boat and would bring groceries and supplies back with them.

Some of their memories included the big storm of 1979 that destroyed their boat and store station. They have a plaque made out of one of the remaining boards from the boat that is attached just outside of their back door. They remember all the great fishing trips primarily after Walleyes. They remember one summer they put a new roof on the cottage and the garage. They remember Albert (aka) Oh-Gee-Che-Dah and his sister Susan Starr who lived entire life out on Oak Point. They remember some of the relatives losing a prop out on the lake. The forest fire in the Little Hardwood area in the 1970's that they called in to the forest service. They remember when son Dan swam to Goose Island and back. Ardy gave me a file titled Squaw Point Road, which contained all the correspondence, petitions and news articles about the efforts to get the modern looping road built in the early 1980's. The total effort took many years to get done with a total cost of less then $1.5 million that was completed in 1984. Contract that to the 2010 road improvement costs of approximately $3.3 million and took quite a bit of time to get done as well. Some of Ardy's best memories are about the family gatherings and the great food they ate.

Ardy said her husband Bill closed up his business in Joliet earlier and earlier every year fall so that they could travel north to their cabin. They use to stay until November when they headed back home. After they sold the business they spent the entire summer up here fishing, riding bicycle and doing what they enjoyed doing.

4th of July

2010-07-04T15:47:00.010-05:00

The fireworks started early today for the Nitchals household, we had a thunderstorm that came through our neighborhood and left 3 1/4 inches of rain last night and early this morning. A large branch from an Oak tree came crashing down on one of my garages putting 5 holes in the roof. Always something new to deal with. I have the mess cleaned up already and got a temporary patch over the holes. Will have to deal with the insurance company tomorrow or Tuesday morning.

The 4th of July is a busy midsummer holiday at the lakes. All up and down the neighborhood the lake places are filled with family and guests. My brother and sister-in-law were here staying with us, my sister and her husband were at their place along with two daughters and their families. The weather was warm, humid and windy which brought on the thunderstorm this morning. We had highs approaching 90's for three days. Had a chance to speak to a number of neighbors all wanting to talk about the heat.

Flora

With the rains the flora is thick and green here on Oak Point. Pictured here are some flowers call Crown Vetch which is a perennial legume that grows 2 to 3 ft. high and has white or pink flowers atop. They can be used as erosion control or cover crops. We see them growing down at Oak Point Estates. Another wild flower out is the yellow toad flax which are in the ditches and open areas where we find the white daisies. Wild raspberries are starting to ripen already but not enough to pick for some ice cream yet. Hope to pick them before the birds get them all.

Our garden is doing nicely, thank you. Young green beans are about an inch long. Plenty of leaf lettuce for salads. New potatoes and pea pods from my brother garden. With the rains last night, I will not have to run the sprinkler for awhile.

Fauna

Saw plenty of wildlife this week. One morning while walking we saw four adult deer and one fawn. One neighbor saw two bear cross the road. Lots of young ducks, geese and other waterbirds. Fishing reports are not good right now.

Draft Leech Lake Plan

Go to the Minnesota DNR Website at http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/ and on the main page they direct you to the draft Leech Lake Management Plan under news. You can try www.mndnr.gov/leechlake . The DNR is inviting public input.

Oak Point Association

2010-06-27T15:48:00.007-05:00

We had an excellent program at our annual meeting on Saturday the 26th of June. Our speaker was Doug Schultz, Large Lake Biologist for the Minnesota DNR located here in Walker.

The principal item on his agenda during his presentation was the Spread of Aquatic Invasive Species. He wants property owners and boaters to be aware of the problem and then what they can do about it here on Leech Lake. Doug thought that our water quality on Leech is generally better then it was in the 1950's and 1960's when untreated septic water was getting into the lake. We do have some limited invasive species in our lake they are the Eurasian Watermilfoil that is some of the harbors, Purple Loosestrife, Curly-Leaf Pondweed, Rusty Crayfish and Chinese Banded Mystery Snails. The best way to protect our waters is to prevent hitchhikers on our fishing boats and trailers. Remove any visible mud, plants, fish or animals before transporting any equipment, eliminate water from live wells, motors and minnow pails. Never release plants, fish or animals into a body of water unless they came out of that body of water.

Doug also spoke to us about an update to the Leech Lake Walleye Management Plan that will become public on July 1st. He reviewed for us the current regulation of the 18 to 26 inch slot fish, the special limit of 4 fish, the Cormorant control program and the fish stocking program. The new plan will have a survey associated with it which is your chance to voice your input about the slot size and the special limit. I will try and send along a copy of the survey when I get one.

Doug also spoke briefly about the status of the Musky in our lake, which he pointed out was still very good. You have a chance to volunteer in the spring when they tag Muskie's which sound like fun. Doug can be contacted at doug.w.schultz@state.mn.us . Very excellent program.

Summer 2010

It must have rained about everyday this week. We had over an inch of rain on Thursday morning. The grass on the lawns is growing very fast, just finished mowing once again. No need to water the garden. Had two meals of lose leaf lettuce this week. Weeds are growing fast.

With all the rains the lake level is up once again. The wheels on my dock have two or three inches of water on top. This is a good sign going into the summer dryer months.

Mayflies

I think we are finally at the end of the Mayfly season, what that means is that now it's time to clean windows and get ready for the 4th of July. Doug Schultz answered a question at our annual meeting about Mayflies by saying that their presences in Leech Lake is a good sign of the quality of water that we have.

Daisies

The wild flower of the week is the common white Daisy which has white petals with a yellow center. They grow in open areas where they can get plenty of sunlight like pastures, ditches, vacant lots, etc. This perennial flower blossoms in June and July and is quite common across most of the midwest states. The Showy Lady Slipper is still blossoming and can be still found.

June Storms

2010-06-20T14:54:00.008-05:00

The main topic of neighborhood conversation this past week was the weather. Early in the week we had cool, wet and overcast skies that was the continuation of the previous weeks gloomy weather. On Wednesday we had a nice day with warmer temps. Then on Thursday, when we had all the tornadoes in Minnesota, we had winds and an inch of rain. On Friday afternoon we had very high straight line winds from the west and southwest. We had at least 4 trees down on the Oak Point Road that partially blocked one lane. One big massive Oak tree down in my neighborhood. Many branches and leaves down on the lawns that had to be cleaned up. We had 3 smaller trees down at Oak Point Estates that are already cleaned up.

Showy Lady's Slipper

The Minnesota State Flower made its appearance this past week. It's a wild orchid native to northern North America. It has been protected in Minnesota since 1925. It's illegal to pick or transplant this flower. Many people consider it to be the most beautiful flower in the state. It is a brightly colored flower that has one or two blossoms on a single stem. White petals sit on top of a white pouch streaked with pick. It flowers in early June to mid July, about two weeks later the Yellow Lady Slipper. This orchid prefers more sunlight then its yellow cousin. This plant has a long life span and that some times be up to 100 years. The stem of this plant has a hairy appearance with the "hairs" causing irritation to some people.

We find the flower in the road ditches where it gets more sunlight. The best place that we find them is in the Highway 371 ditch just north of the intersection with the Oak Point Road. This past week we must have seen hundreds of them in this location. If you visit this site please take your pictures, but please leave them alone so that we can enjoy them for years to come. We also find them in various location along Oak Point Road.

Mayflies

Thursday winds and rain riled up the lake water and led to a major hatch of these flies. They were so thick they kept my motion detector light on my garage all night. Let's hope this will be the end of this years hatch.

Goose Island

In doing some research this past week I came across an ancient map by Antoine Nau, who working from Zebulon Pikes Journals, he showed and called Goose Island by name. This map is over two hundred years old. This doesn't answer the question of how Goose Island got its name, but its had the name for a long time.

Fauna

The unofficial report that I heard this week continues to be good for walleye catches, but the high winds have had a negative impact.

Still seeing White Tail Deer along the Oak Point Road in the mornings. Good numbers are younger deer.

The number of Minnesotans that want to hunt bear has increased to approximately 18,500 applying for permits. But the number of permits that the DNR issue is down to 9,500. The DNR estimates that there is 20,000 black bear in our state. About 30 % of the permit drawers end up not getting the license, plus the success rate for those that do get a license is about 30%.

Garden

Enjoyed some fresh green onions which is the first produce from the garden this spring. We should be able to pick some leafy lettuce by the end of the week. Green beans are about two weeks out yet. The growth has been slowed by the cool, overcast skies we have been having. However this week, the first week of summer promises to be more seasonal in temperatures which will help the garden grow.

Ken Carlson, Mail Boat

2010-06-12T10:53:00.009-05:00

Ken Carlson's first exposure to the Oak Point area was in 1947 when a young 17 year old Ken was treated to a boat ride on the Mail Boat Excursion Trips. At one of the stops he took a picture of the owners' lodge at the Mounds Point Resort. 42 years later Ken and Sig bought the exact same owners lodge as their first cabin on Leech Lake. Ken has that same picture framed in their home that they built to replace the old owners' lodge that they tore down.

Harold Fisher and his wife Vera ran the mail boat out of Walker. They had one of the most unusual rural star mail runs in Minnesota history. They had 55 customers from cabin owners to resorts. Mail boxes were on your dock. In addition to mail they also delivered some supplies. The trip covered 71 miles and took approximately 3 hours. It ran from May 15th to Sept 30th. The boat also had room for up to 17 riders who wanted to see the lake sights. Ken paid $5.00 for his excursion trip. In addition to the Squaw Point area the boat served Stony Point, Pine Point and out as far as Otter Tail Point. The boat stopped at Otter Tail Resort for passengers to take a break. The boat was a 23 ft. cruiser with a 210 hp engine. It is said that in the 24 years the Fishers ran the mail route they missed only one delivery day due to weather.

Vera Fisher who herself ran the boat for 15 years just died on May 5, 2010 at the age of 92 in Walker. Her obituary was in the May 12th Pilot Independent.

Ken was the founder and editor for the Oak Point News since July 1995. He wrote three newsletters a year. The first annual picnic he covered was at the Nicholson on Chippewa Beach Rd. At the first annual meeting that he covered at his own home the membership changed the name of the organization to Oak Point Homeowners Association. Ken and Sig have been married for 57 years. We owe Ken a debt of thanks for his efforts.

Rain, Wind and Mayflies

It has been a cool, rainy week here on Oak Point. According to my rain gauge we got over one inch of rain which is good for the gardens, lawns and wild flowers. We now need some good warm weather to get the garden growing. I found this beautiful group of wild roses in the Oak Point Road ditch this week. It had between 60 and 70 flowers in this one area. We had plenty of Mayflies this past week which in turn attracted sea gulls to the area. Used my leaf blower to blow Mayflies off my sidewalk and driveway.

Pure Maple Syrup

We had a meal of pancakes this week with some Oak Point Pure Maple Syrup thanks to Mike Schrank. It was just fantastic.

June 2010

2010-06-06T08:44:00.009-05:00

What a beautiful week, maybe a little on the cool side, but a real nice peaceful week here on Oak Point. Lake activity has quieted down after the Memorial Day weekend. Also the extra people and equipment from the road project are gone. Saw three groupings of deer on the road this week. also an indication that they enjoy the peace and quiet as well and are venturing out further. Been seeing some deer tracks in the new gravel shoulders of the Oak Point Road when I am on my morning walks. Good signs for the fall deer hunters. Saw the Oak Point wild turkey this week for the first time in several weeks. Maybe she was hiding from the road work as well. It's good to know that she is still around.

The month of May was a mixed bag weather wise with early snows and cool rains then warm, even hot weather. We actually ran our home air conditioner two days during May, and that was double what we ran it all last summer. Hope that June will be a more normal month.

Jim Proebstle

The author of the book "In the Absence of Honor" was at the Cass Lake Public Library for a program this past week. He was there for the Minnesota Legacy Program that brings authors to libraries to discuss their books. Well he has a summer home out on Otter Tail Point on Leech Lake just northeast of my home about 4 to 5 miles across the water. By car he is about 40 miles away. It was fun meeting him. His book is loosely based on Cass Lake and the native population and the gaming industry and its social impact.

Flora

Found this beautiful wild rose bush this week along Chippewa Beach Road. This bush is just starting to blossom out. Wild Roses have five pink shaded petals with a yellow centers. The skin of rose hips is editable and is a high source of vitamin C. Our wild Leeks season is coming to a halt, not that you can't harvest them later but the leaves and stems are turning brown and disappearing making the Leeks hard to find. The white bush is an American Cranberry or wild highbush cranberry that is a beautiful showy white bush in the spring followed by a bright red berries in the fall. The fruit is tart and high in vitamin C and can be used for jellies and sauces.

Mayfly Hatch

We had our first Mayfly hatch this week. Mayfly's are an aquatic insects that in their adult stage will last only a few minutes to one day or so. As adults their only duty is to lay eggs on the surface of the water that will be next years supply of Mayfly's. In our area they are associated with all lakes and rivers that flow to or from the Mississippi which includes Leech Lake. We will have sever hatches of these insects during the next two weeks before they are finished. Some of the insects are larger, some smaller, some will have a greener shade, some a yellow shade. Sometimes when the weather and temperature are right their will be millions of them. I have seen them cover the blacktop road after a rain. They are a high protein food source for fish, seagulls and ducks. Wait to clean your windows until this annual event is finished.

Fishing

One of my neighbors reports that he went fishing for a couple of days with some former co-workers who were visiting Leech Lake. They had real good success fishing with night crawlers in deeper waters. Numerous fish had to be returned to the water that were in the protective slot size.

Memorial Day 2010

2010-05-30T13:05:00.005-05:00

Called the unofficial beginning of summer. Memorial Day is the first three day weekend of the summer season. Originally called Decoration Day, the day was set aside to remember and honor those who died in our nations service. It is now a date to remember all lost loved ones. The last Monday of May is the official federal and state holiday, with May 30th as the observed Memorial Day. Decoration Day was first observed in 1868 at the end of the Civil War. Locally a number of VFW's and Legions have services. Walker has a joint service by both the VFW and American Legion.In Cass Lake the Leech Lake Band has a Memorial Pow Wow at their Veterans Memorial Complex for all. On this special day, let us not forget the true meaning of this day and remember our nations hero's.

Lots of people enjoying the Oak Point area this weekend. Between my sisters summer home and my place we had family members that totaled 14 adults and 11 kids. I grilled two turkeys in the kettle grills and made my famous Boston Baked Beans. We had all sorts of foods including Rhubarb treats. Many of the area residents had family gatherings as well. Summer time at Leech Lake is all about family, food and good times, including cribbage games at our house. This weekend we started to teach my grandson the rules of cribbage. The cribbage tradition lives on.

Fishing

With the heat and the warm water temp. the Walleye bite is slowing down. Only a few were caught off the docks this weekend. We have enough fish for a meal. Sister Susan's 27 inch Walleye was the prize winner for the weekend.

Flora Aplenty

Our warm humid weather brought forth plenty of mother natures beautiful spring flora. People outside of Oak Point are jealous of the real thick ferns that we have. The Wild Geraniums are out. They are the lavender colored flower with 5 petals that grow on the edge of the woods usually close to water. The red pedaled wild Columbines with the inverted flowers and thin stalks are also blooming. The Columbines need more sun and can be found in the road ditches and in the open areas. We also call them Honeysuckle because of their sweet taste. I found some additional clumps of Yellow Lady Slippers in my back lot this past week. One clump had 11 blossoms.

Garden plantings are starting to poke through. Green beans are 3 to 4 inches high, green onions 5 to 6 inches high. Potato just starting to sprout through the black soil. Spent some time in the mornings weeding. Out garden is about 250 ft. from the lake. And I am hope that the lake effect will serve our garden well. The lake will make things a bit cooler, but it can also help us maintain a constant temperature on chilly mornings. The drawback could be the lack of heat. Will it get warm enough, long enough to ripen tomatoes? We will have to wait and see.

Oak Point Road

Gravel shoulders are finished, the paint stripping is done. All that is left is the signage, but what do I know. What an improvement for all of us on Oak Point. This road improvement will add to the value of our properties. Let is hope that the speeders don't find the road to appealing.

Dock Fishing

2010-05-23T08:51:00.009-05:00

This is the time of the year that I enjoy just going down to my dock in the evening and fishing for Walleyes from about 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm or so. The fish are coming into the shallows to feed on minnows or insects during this time of the evening. The key to their movement is light penetration. The less the light penetrates the water surface from a slight chop to break up the surface, or we have an overcast sky, the fish will venture in sooner and shallower. Now I have a nice boat and I enjoy using it, but nothing pleases me more then sitting on my dock and catching my Leech Lake limit of 4 Walleyes within an hour or so. My usual presentation is a leaded jig with a minnow attached. Six pound test line is more then enough. A bobber stopper rig or plain minnow hook also works well. Any color jig will do as long as it has some green. I cast out and retrieve at various speeds and motions all to entice the fish to bite. The usual fish are the eater size or smaller and not the bigger ones, but occasionally one in the slot size shows up and needs to be released, but that is rare. I am quite often serenaded by the sound of the Loons as it was this evening. The peace and quiet is real relaxing. Low tech fishing for a relaxing, stress free evening. And yes, you will probably need some bug spray. You usually can be in bid by 10:30 pm or sooner.

May Weather and Garden

The weather has been real warm and summer like all week. May started out cool with snow the first weekend, but it has been warm since. My sister and I have been working in our garden. We went to the greenhouse for the first time this week. I am sure that that will be at least a weekly trip until everything is planted and the space used up. Spring is the time of the year when it feels good to get your fingernails dirty in the soil. I will be writing about our garden as the year progresses. My lawn grass is just popping right now. Lawns need to be cut about every five days now. Plenty of those pesky Dandelions. The warmth has also brought forth tree pollen. Both the Oaks and Basswood trees are doing their annual thing with seeds floating on the water, on decks, driveways and all other services.

Oak Point Road

With the nice weather the road contractor is making up for lost time. They are going early in the morning by 7:00 am to at least 8:30 pm in the evenings. I get tired watching them work. Both layers of asphalt are now down so the driving surface is completed. The contractor still has some finishing up to do, such as gravel shoulders, signage, stripping and things of that nature. It's a real nice drive right now. We did wash both our cars and the pickup this week to get the road grime off the sides and from underneath. I have resumed my morning walks on the new road.

Yellow Lady Slippers

Pictured here are some Yellow Lady Slippers that are wild orchids that grow out here on Oak Point. They show up in late May and early June. They are found in shady hardwood areas with rich organic soils and they like the early morning sun. They bloom early in the spring before the trees leaves are fully out. The flowers last 3 to 4 weeks. They are cousins to the Showy Lady Slippers (pink) that are the official Minnesota State Flower. Showy Lady Slippers will show up in 2 to 3 weeks and can also be found here on Oak Point.

2010 Fishing Opener

2010-05-16T14:51:00.007-05:00

Fishing Opener had to be defined as a success. I had two of my grand kids with me, my brother Mike, great weather and good food. We caught enough fish to have a good fish fry, but the numbers were limited. Most of the neighbors that I spoke to had limited success. We had no wind, blue skies and temps in the 70's. We needed a Walleye chop to get them biting. My grandson's 17 inch, 1.6 pound Crappie was the prize fish for the weekend. In two days we caught close to 12 Walleyes and an assortment of other fish to make it interesting. We had many, many boats on Leech Lake on Saturday morning, probably more then I have ever seen. Our neighborhoods here on Oak Point come alive with people and guests. To me the "Opener" is more about family and getting together and enjoying the lake.

Up until Saturday morning we had a wet windy week. According to my rain gauge we had about .7 of an inch of rain this past week. The water in the lake is now above the wheels on my dock which is a good level. So the rain in May is trying to makeup for March and Aprils lack. My lawn is needing mowing once again. Worked in the garden planting potato, green beans and onions. Need more time in the garden this coming week.

Road Progress

With the cool damp week the contractor, Anderson Bros., had limited success in their progress. Asphalt is laid half the way around the loop and has stopped by the "Narrows". The word now is the contractor wants to get done by Memorial Day Weekend. Pictured is a big Bald Eagle that I took today as he stood guard by the "Narrows". I think that the animals will be glad to see the road project completed.

Cold, Snow and Wild Leeks

2010-05-09T18:48:00.006-05:00

We had our first snow since the end of February on Friday May 5th. I didn't think we got much snow until I got away from the lake. Up by the Y intersection we must have had 3 to 4 inches of snow and it didn't disappear until Saturday afternoon. By the lake we got snow, but the lake effect kept us warm enough that it didn't accumulate. We got at least 1.5 inches of new rain this past week, which we need. I did mow parts of my lawn on Saturday afternoon just for the irony of it all.

Wild Leeks

Wild Leeks, also called Ramps, are wild onions that grow on Oak Point. They grow in groups in slightly sandy soil in wooded areas. They are called the first edible greenery of the spring. The leaves are light green and each leek usually has two leaves. The leaves are edible as well as the bulb. The roots are strong so use a knife, or hand digging tool to dig them up. Leeks are great in dips, soups, with eggs and potatoes. Use them like you would a green onion. Look for Leeks where Sugar Bush exists.

Oak Point Road

Our road project was slowed by the weather this week. The asphalt crew did get one layer done on both lanes all the way to the Y junction. I am not sure they will complete the project by "Opener" which is next Saturday.

Outdoor News

This sportsman weekly publication had an article featuring Leech Lake: Maintaining a Fishery that is interesting reading. The website for the newspaper is http://www.outdoornews.com/

Spring Work, Midge Flies and More

2010-05-02T14:49:00.007-05:00

On Thursday, Friday and Saturday it finally rained here at Oak Point. All toll we got about .7 of an inch by my gauge. Both March and April have been real dry. With the unseasonably warm weather fire danger has been real high. This rain is a welcome relief. You can see the grass green-up right in front of you. My mower blades are sharp and ready to go.

We had our first insect hatch of the season, Midge Flies, this past week. These are bugs that look like big mosquitoes that hover in the air but don't bite. When they are thick they seem to hover over the roads with a low hum. We don't see Midge Flies until the middle of May. But every thing is two to three weeks early this year. So far no mosquitoes, however that will not last.

Got my boat out of storage this past week. Washed it up and vacuumed the interior. Connected the garden hose to the motor and promptly discovered that no water was being exhausted through the engine, so I ended up taking the boat into town to be looked at. Always something. Good thing I checked. The next task will be to work on putting new fishing line on the reels and getting the tackle box ready. Always have to go shopping for the latest tackle inventions.

With the real early spring and unseasonably warm weather it will be an interesting "Opener" this year. The lake water temp is nearly 60 degrees already. It could be more like June fishing then May fishing when the fishing "Opener" happens on May 15th. The "Opener" is more like a Minnesota Holiday with time spent with friends and family. We are making plans for my Grandson Aaron coming and going fishing with me. My brother and some nephews may also be present.

Oak Point Road

All the asphalt has been milled up and added to the road base. With these rains the road is muddy and the sides of vehicles are real dirty. Don't wash your car. Drive slowly. It's like a bumpy wash-board in some areas. As soon as we can get some dry weather the contractor should be able to get the new asphalt down before the "Opener". Lets hope so. What an improvement the new road will be.

Garden

My sister Susan and I are collaborating on a new vegetable garden on some of her back property this year. My sister and brother-in-law have a summer place here on Chippewa Beach Road about a block from my house. Right now we are working on getting the property cleared. Knowing the the growing season will be short and with poor sandy soil our expectations are tempered. But we are looking forward to this project.

Road Work

2010-04-21T16:23:00.013-05:00

Road work on our Oak Point Road is progressing nicely. Anderson Bros. (general contractor) has two asphalt milling machines going at the same time so they are doing both lanes rather then just one at a time. They started milling the old asphalt on Monday of this week and they started on the loop section. They should have the asphalt milled off the entire loop before Friday. Once they mill the old asphalt they put it back down on the road bed. They then have two big heavy roller packers, one with big cleats pack the base after they wet it down with water. Once compacted it's as hard as concrete. They plan is to have the loop ready for the new hot asphalt by next week. They are also digging up some section of the old road bed and replacing that material with new. Lots going on. Lots of equipment and people to watch and just an old mans delight. Anderson Bros have flagman out directing traffic where necessary. Some delays are possible so drive accordingly.

Suckers are Running

All up and down the rocky shoreline on the "big lake" side the lake suckers are doing their annual spawning run. This year we are about three weeks earlier then normal. I tried to get pictures with no success. Right now there are thousands of these fish right along shore. The common name for these fish is White Suckers. Although this time of the year the breeding makes have a well-marked dark lateral bank with a salmon colored bank below this. After the spawning season they return to their drab grayish color.

Last weekend more docks and lifts were put in the lake. Pictured is the common dock at Oak Point Estates. Because we have had a dry spring water levels are down. I estimate water levels are about 6 inches lower then last year based on the wheels on my dock. We need rain real badly. Fire danger remains real high. The combination of the dry weather, road construction and tree pollen are raising problems with peoples allergies.

The north woods is greening up nicely and the early wild flowers are blooming. The white flowers are called Wood Anemone.

Road Work

2010-04-14T09:21:00.013-05:00

Our Oak Point Road reconstruction project is to resume this coming Monday. I had a chance to talk to Art Chase, Operations Manager for the Department of Public Works who's in charge of the project. The plan is to do one lane at a time, finish that part up and then do the other lane. They will be milling the existing blacktop and putting that down as a base. Then they will be putting down two new courses of bituminous. They plan on two inches of a base course, then 1.5 inches of a wearing course on top. Anderson Bros from Brainerd are the general contractors for the project. Art said that the project is scheduled to take three weeks. The whole project is over $3 million and is funded by Stimulus Monies.

Notice of Valuation

Most of us have received in the last two weeks our "Notices of Valuation" from the Cass County Assessor. You should read this notice real carefully. Most values stayed the same, or had a slight increase. Actually these values should be going down in my opinion. I would suggest that you call your local Assessor and have them come for a review. Most of the local assessors have not been inside of our homes in quite a few years. We were able to lower three of our lots at Oak Point Estates by asking for a review.

Benefit for Reggie Thiel

A benefit is planned for Reggie Thiel for Sunday, May 2, 2010 at the Walker Area Community Center. In September of 2009 Reggie underwent a heart transplant operation at the U of M Fairview Hospital. Reggie has been limited in his abilities to work as either a fishing guide or as a realtor because of his sickness. All proceeds will be used to help the family with medical expenses.

Deer on the Road

The deer are coming out to the road in the late evening now to eat some of the tender first blades of grass. My wife even saw a fawn already. Drive carefully. Pictured is a Bald Eagle that can be seened most evenings down by the "Narrows".

Ice Out

The official Date of "Ice Out" on Leech Lake was April 6 a new record.

Wild Turkeys

2010-04-11T11:24:00.010-05:00

I and several other people have seen a wild hen turkey along the Oak Point Road in the vicinity of "Dead Mans Curve" several times in the last couple of weeks. At first I thought I was seeing things, but that wasn't the case. I did call the local Wildlife Specialist from the DNR who assured me that they didn't release any turkeys in that area, but he speculated that some private citizen could have released one or more turkeys in the area. More then likely it, or they, have migrated to the area over the winter and spring. I and others were aware of some wild turkeys in the Tower Hill area along TH # 371.

Ice Out

Although the ice has been out in the "big lake" for a week now I can still see some ice piled up on "Big Hardwood" one week later. The power of wind and ice is something to behold. All along some shorelines either rock or sand beaches were rearranged by the power of the wind and the weight of the ice. I am including a photo of an ice pile on one of the Hardwood Points. I am not sure what date the Walker Pilot Independent declared the lake to be free of ice. I am sure that next week's paper will have something. A number of our neighbors have been busy already getting their docks and boat lifts in the water this weekend. I am in no rush and will wait a week or so. The water is still very cold.

Stan Peterson

The Walker Pilot Independent has an interesting article on its website http://www.walkermn.com/ in the Outdoors Section about Stan Peterson of Walker, entitled "Reflects on the Early Days of Leech Lake Tourism". Those of us who have property along Chippewa Beach Road know that Stan Peterson was the developer of our subdivision so many, many years ago. The Plat of Chippewa Beach was filed in November of 1956. So much history has passed since the plat was recorded. We, Jim and Marlys Nitchals purchased Lot # 10 in August of 1984 and are the only third owners of this lot. Of the 28 lots only 4 property owners have owned their lots longer then we have. Guess that makes us "old timers". Since we have purchased here most of the old "cabins" have been removed and new homes built. Some times you need to look back to see change.

Fire Restrictions

Its still very dry out here. We have just had some sprinkles. The state is imposing some very restricted fire regulations effective Monday April 12th. Even our local fire warden will not be able to issue burning permits.

Fishing Licenses

Your 2009 Minnesota Fishing License is good until April 30, 2010. After that you need a 2010 license. Hope that I remember mine.

Ice Free

2010-04-03T09:43:00.018-05:00

The "big lake" is free of ice as far as I can see. We had a strong south wind yesterday afternoon that pushed the ice to the north and northwest. Many of the "Hardwood Points" to the north of us have ice piled up on shore this morning. The ice piles on "Big Hardwood" appears to be 8 to 10 ft high. I will need to check around and see if any ice damage occurred. Ice has been out of Steamboat Bay and the Narrows for a couple of days already. The strong winds ended up taking one old tree out at Oak Point Estates and many branches were blown down. The winds could have brought us some much needed rains, but they didn't.

I don't know if the ice is out of Walker Bay yet. Walker bay is deep and the water does not warm as fast as the rest of Leech Lake. Usually "official ice out" date is not until Walker Bay open up. Even if the official ice out date is not for a couple of days we are talking about a new modern era record for early ice out. The current record is April 9, the average ice out date is April 27.

Lot of waterfowl in the area. They seem to follow the ice out up north. Mallards are setting up nesting areas in the wooded potholes. Canadian Geese are in the grassy areas down at Oak Point Estates. Wood Ducks, Golden Eyes and great variety of waterfowl.

With the dry March we have had, I continue to have concerns about water levels in the area lakes. Officially we are only a few inches lower then last years lake level at this time. However last year the melt was still on and their was more water in the water shed then we have now. We need rain.

2010-04-03T09:42:00.001-05:00

Lake Ice

2010-03-26T20:39:00.008-05:00

The ice on the lake started to move today. We had a rather stiff wind today from the south and it started to pile some ice up on the rocks. Like the old song, "It won't be long now" once lake ice starts to move around with wind "ice out" is not far behind.

The earliest "ice out" date is April 9, 1945. The rate we are going we could be in for a new record. We will just have to wait and see what "mother nature" has in store for us. The latest date for "ice out" was May 23, 1950. Two years ago we had a rather late May 13 lake opener. The Walker Pilot keeps these records.

I am going to upload a picture of our black squirrel that we call "Blackie". Blackie survived our winter in fine form. I wrote about our black squirrel last fall in one of my posts. The Bald Eagles are back in their nests. We have two eagle nests in the area. One is located on Oak Point Estates and the other is located close to the Oak Point Road down at the "Narrows". Raccoon's and skunks are out.

I am starting to have some concern about lake water levels. We have not had any snow and just some light rain so far this March. We will need some April showers to keep lake level at spring levels.

Sugar Bush

2010-03-26T18:09:00.014-05:00

Sugar bush is a place in the woods where Sugar Maple trees grow and people go year after year to make maple sugar. Sugar Maples, acer saccarum, are also known as hard maples. They produce the sap that is boiled down into Maple Syrup and that can be further refined down to Maple Sugar. The sap is clear liquid about 98% water.

I had the opportunity to visit an ancient sugar bush site this week with my neighbor Dennis Yepma. We took 4-wheelers across lake ice about a 1/4 mile north of his home at Little Hardwood, to an area just south of the "Meadows" where we walked ashore. This is in an area in Sec. 7, T.143N,-R.30W just west of Leech Lake. Immediately we knew we were in an maple syrup area. The majority of the trees were mature maples. It didn't take us long before we found physical evidence of old maple sugar making. We found old cans, bottles, tubs, barrows and other physical evidence. We were careful not to disturb the area.

Some of the native elders that know the area told me that the last time there was much sugar making in the area was around the WW II which would make that about 65 years ago. Each native family use to move to the bush where they stayed for the whole season which could last two to four weeks. One elder told me as a youngster his job was to gather wood for the fires. All the wood had to be cut by hand. Other jobs were to tap the trees, collect the gallons of the sap and tend the fire and boiling pots. This was also a sort of reunion time with all the families together they had a chance to reminisce and tell stories.

Maple syrup/sugar was an important food commodity for the native families. For ages it was used as a food source and as seasoning agent for meats and fish. It was also used for trading for other goods. Maple sugar was carefully stored for use during the year. It was stored in birch bark basket that were made by hand.

I had this feeling when I was in these woods that I was in the presence of many hundreds of years of history all around me. I felt privileged for this opportunity. We did find an ancient overgrown wagon trail in the woods with ruts filled with leaves. This trail will be the source of future adventures.

Mike & Zeus

2010-03-20T17:03:00.008-05:00

Mike and Zeus have a new twist on the old habit of taking your dog for a walk. Every afternoon Mike Schrank takes his Black Lab Zeus for a ride in his car. Rain for shine, hot or cold you can see them on their route seven days a week. At about 3:00 PM Mike get the signal from Zeus that its time for his ride. Their route takes them through the neighborhood including a trip through Oak Point Estates and down Camper Landing Road then all the way to Welsh Lake and back home. About a 20 mile round trip. Zeus has the back seat all to himself. He usually sticks his head out the window and barks at what ever catches his fancy. Mike steers his grey sedan, a Hyundai Sonata, through the course at about 20 mph. The whole trip last about one hour. On many days you can see Mike park his car down by the narrows where he gets excellent cell phone signals straight to the towers at Walker.

Actually Zeus is a recent substitute for Roc-e his predecessor in the back seat. Roc-e was also a Black Lab that lasted 13 years and many miles.

Mike, his wife Diane and son Joe have lived on the Steamboat side on Mounds Point Drive sine 1992 when Mike retired from the cities. Mike and Diane have two other children, Mike Jr. from Minneapolis and daughter Susan who lives in Delaware. This time of the year Mike harvests Maple Syrup. He taps 22 trees on his property to make his 30 plus pints of syrup. Mike uses his old turkey fryer cooker to boil down the sap. He says that his years process is about two weeks ahead of the usual harvest dates.

Mike is a very active man who enjoys his retirement up north. He enjoys a large garden full of usual vegetables beans, tomatoes, potatoes, squash etc etc. Mike and Diane like to can as much as possible. Mike likes to can because he says he knows what is inside. Good point. Mike likes to hunt deer and grouse. He hunts deep down by Jimmy Whipple's area. Mike and his son have a large pile of Oak that they have piled up ready for splitting for their fireplace. Mike is early to bed 8:00 pm and early to rise 5:00 am. Mike recently put his riding lawn mower aside and bought two new walk behind mowers so he and Joe can get their exercise.

The next time you see Mike driving his grey sedan in the afternoon on Oak Point Road with Zeus in the back seat, smile, wave and pass them by.

Vernal Equinox

2010-03-20T08:28:00.004-05:00

First day of spring happened this morning here on Leech Lake. Twice a year the sun is directly above the equator giving us equal amounts of daylight and nighttime. From my point of view from my deck the sun appears directly above Goose Island. Six months from now the sun will appear in the same place. It maybe spring but this morning we had the coolest morning in more then two weeks, it was 10 degrees and it was felt cold. Sunrise this morning was 6:22 am central daylight time. I always have trouble adjusting to and from daylight savings time. My body is just a creature of habit.

Rev. James Moses

Funeral services were held this week for Rev. James Moses who passed away from his battle with cancer. James Moses was the pastor of the Chippewa Bible Church here on Oak Point. The Chippewa Bible Church is the only church located on Oak Point and is located on the Oak Point Road and 56th Avenue.

Bye Bye Snow

2010-03-14T14:39:00.007-05:00

The majority of our snow is gone. We had an unusual week of weather. We had rain, drizzle, fog and lots of grey skies. But most of all we have had warm weather. We have not see the sun for over a week here. We much have had 5 to 6 days were it has stayed above freezing even at night. If we would have had colder weather we would be still digging our selves out of the snow. We had our first 50 degree today.

We had a partners meeting to discuss our lots at Oak Point Estates. We decided to keep the prices for 2010 the same as we had for 2009. We did decide to take a more friendly approach to seller financing with a willingness to look at lower interest rates and longer terms. During the next two weeks I will be making some changes to our website http://www.oakpointestatesmn.com/ where we will outline some of these changes. If anyone has a question, please give me a call or email me. My cell phone is 218-760-3727 and my email is nitchals@paulbunyan.net.

Oak Point Islands

2010-03-12T21:04:00.006-06:00

Of course Oak Point has no islands, but we do have two islands that effect our fishing, boat navigation and lake views. One island on the east side of Oak Point in the "big lake" is called Goose Island. The other island is called Minnesota Island and is located in the middle of Steamboat Bay on the west side of Oak Point. (click on picture to enlarge)

Minnesota Island was earlier called Duck Island on some of the old maps. It's the second largest island in Leech Lake, second only to Bear Island in size. The island is just a little over one mile long and is about 1/8 mile wide. It contains approximately 248 acres and is divided into several separate land parcels. Many parcels are in private ownership with a subdivision on the north end called King's Island Park that have Steamboat Loop physical mailing addresses. Much of the island is low ground and is quite wet. In fact boat navigation around the island is tricky with all the water vegetation growth. To the north of Minnesota Island are some of the richest wild beds in Leech Lake.

On the east side of the island is the remnants of the old Steamboat River channel that runs 3 ft to 5 ft deeper then the main part of the bay. In the spring of the year walleyes can be caught on the droop-offs with a jig and minnow. I do know of one Leech Lake fishing guide that spends a considerable amount of his time fishing this area of Leech Lake with great success. I have spent time on a couple of occasions stopping and cleaning weeds off my boat prop because I got mixed up with the weeds. Lot of good Largemouth Bass fishing around this island.

Goose Island is only 20 acres total and is in private ownership. I have been trying to find out how the island got its name, so if someone knows, please let me know. Goose Island has several fishing locations of note. Between the island and the Star Point, Little Hardwood areas is called the Goose Island Flats. Off to the south and east is an area called "Doc's Reef". To the east of the Island is an area that is called the "Snake Pits" where you are apt to catch a small northern while fishing for walleyes. I am sure that others have names for their favorite areas around the island.

My daily panoramic view of the mighty Leech Lake always includes Goose Island as a center piece.

March 2010

2010-03-07T16:01:00.006-06:00

March 2010 is more of a lamb, then a lion. The days are warmer then normal, and it even rained yesterday. Our snow cover is shrinking, but we still have plenty of snow in the woods. March is always an transition month from winter to spring. The only draw back that I can see is that we are just a few days away from the "mud season". This is when the local gravel driveways and roads turn to mud. Then someone drives through them putting making ruts that in turn freeze at night. All a part of the transition to spring. Our blacktop road is getting some potholes popping up here and their, plus the areas that they patch last fall with gravel topping are getting to be ruff and the sides of our cars and pickups are muddy.

I am attaching a picture of a sunrise over the "big lake". Our sunrise is 6:48 am today with sunset happening at 6:12 pm. Now next Sunday we switch back to daylight savings time when we will spring ahead one hour. Our high temperature today was 54 degrees setting a new record for the old 52 degree day a few years ago. The average maximum temp in Minnesota increases 15 degrees from March 1st to the 31st.

Jimmy Whipple

2010-03-04T20:04:00.008-06:00

James E. Whipple was born 71 years ago this March. His Indian name is Ahh-Zho-Gawh-Nabe which means crossing eagles feathers. Jimmy was born and raised on the 83 acres where he now lives. His parents were George Whipple who died in 1952 and his mother was Margaret Day. His house sits on a point overlooking the Narrows and its four wild rice beds, and is called Bear Trap Point. Also, right in front of his place, in the Narrows, is an old river bed that will run up to 15 ft. deep that holds some good fish. Most of the Narrows is only 3 to 5 ft. deep so when boating you need to follow the buoys to get through the weeds.

Jimmy grew up with four brothers, three are still living. He started school in a small one room building up where the Chippewa Bible Church is now located. That's just off the Oak Point Road fairly close to Welsh Lake. Jimmy then attended school in Cass Lake for 9 to 10 years. He got his GED in 1980. He and his family have properties located on Ottertail Point, Upper and Lower Sucker Lakes and on Stoney Point on Leech Lake by Whipolt where his father grew up. Jimmy has been married three times and has two kids.

Jimmy remembers helping to make maple sugar when he was growing up. He would gather firewood for the big fires and would collect sap to be boiled down. Cedar flutes would be used to plug the trees and the sap would be collected in birch bard baskets called we-goob. His family would harvest maple sugar up on Little Hardwood.

Jimmy said he was born with a gift to be a medicine man. He realized he had these gifts when he was two years old. He uses parts of cedar trees as his medicine. He likes to keep his medical powers low key.

Jimmy has worked various jobs over the years. He was a seasonal labor foreman for 13 years for the Forest Service. He was a logger for a number of years for the Wittners south of Cass Lake.

My walking partners, Dennis and Ray, and I got to know Jimmy on our morning walks. We would see Jimmy driving to town every morning and he would stop and we would exchange daily greetings. I saw Jimmy at about 8:00 am this morning going to town, he said he needed to see the tribal chairman. Jimmy is very sociable and goes to town for his mail and conduct his daily business usually every day.

Starr Point

2010-03-03T11:57:00.010-06:00

From my dock on the lake when I look north the first point of land that I see is called Starr Point. This is one of the Hardwood Points that I can see from my vista. Starr Point is named after the Starr Family that owns this property. They are Native and have owned this property for many, many years. The gentleman who currently is in charge is Gilbert Starr who lives in Cass Lake now, but grew up on the property.

I recently had a chance to speak to Gilbert who told me about the property and his family and how it was to grow up out there. Gilbert's father was Albert Starr, also called Oh-Gee-Che-Dah, which means the brave one. Albert lived and died his entire life on the property. The old timers in the neighborhood said he lived a traditional native lifestyle in an old frame house with his sisters Susan and Katherine and brother Dan Starr. They fished, hunted, raised a garden, harvested wild rice, maple sugar and heated with wood. They had to hitchhiked to town because they didn't drive. Jan Price, the Fire Warden told me that when Albert died his dog came laid down and cried on their property, but they didn't figure out what happened until later when they heard heard that he had passed away. This happened approximately 30 years ago. The old timers had stories about these great people that are probably now lost in history. Gilbert said that when he was growing up their were a number of different families that lived up and down our shoreline. Some of these families were the Clouds, Fairbanks, Goose, Whites, Winds, Whipple and Rocks. Very few of these families or peoples live out here now.

Gilbert said he had a brother and sister that he grew up with, they are Anna and Jimmy Starr. Gilbert is 70 years old and married to Marilyn Littlewolf from the White Earth Reservation. Together they have 4 kids and 11 grandkids. Gilbert currently works at the Veterans Memorial Building on the Palace Grounds in Cass Lake. His duties include taking care of the ball fields that get a lot of use in the summer. He said that when they grew up they didn't have much money but they never had to ask for help and that they had plenty to eat. Over the years he has worked in construction as an equipment operator as an logger and at the wood plant in Bena. He hunts deer and bear, traps and fishes for his family. Over this past weekend he invited me to watch him net fish which is his treaty rights. I was honored to watch them perform this ancient function. I didn't participate.

Addendum: On Thursday March 4th Gilbert invited me to watch them put out the nets which I did observe. One item that impressed me the most was who he had helping him. Gilbert had an adult daughter and son, plus two grandchildren. This is the families way to insuring that the traditions continue for another generation.

All of the Hardwood Points in my neighborhood are great fishing spots. The Hardwood Points that I refer to are Big Hardwood, also called Maple Point, Little Hardwood that use to have a resort on it and Starr Point. Click on enclosed map to enlarge. I believe the best fishing spot in Starr Point. I and many of my neighbors have caught many walleyes in the spring and fall off this and the other points. There is a drop off from about 8' to 13 ft that holds fish off to the southeast. With a south wind their is a great drift here. Minnows and jogs usually work best.

Mary Welsh Hemingway

2010-02-28T16:41:00.011-06:00

Mary, the fourth wife and last wife of Nobel Prize Novelist Earnest Hemingway, has a history at Leech Lake and also here in our Oak Point neighborhood. Mary was a war time correspondent and writer herself. In her biography, "How It Was", Mary wrote that her father's and her favorite lake in Minnesota was Leech Lake. In 1904 Thomas and Adeline Welsh decided that the village of Walker should be the base of their lumbering operation. Mary was born on the high banks outside of Walker one Sunday morning in 1908. As a part of his lumbering operation her father had a rather large 120' by 36' paddle boat called the Northland that moved large "booms" of his pine logs up the lake to Federal Dam where they were sent on their way to the mills down river. Thomas Welsh is the namesake for Welsh Lake an 188 acre lake located along the Oak Point Road and also the Welsh State Forest.

Mary wrote about an annual early spring travel by buckboard or with sled runners across the ice and through the "Narrows" past Squaw Point and then headed up to the sugar camps located around the Hardwood Points on Sucker Bay. This was where the annual harvesting of maple syrup took place. Maple syrup would be processed until it almost was hardened then placed in trays where it hardened into sugar. This usually coincided with the Easter Season. Her father would usually buy several pounds of the sugar called siz-ahbah-quit placed in a clean new mokahk made of birch bark. The sugar season lasted until the lake was liquid again and the robins returned. I found no mention that Ernest Hemingway ever visited Leech Lake.

According to an archaeologist with the US Forest Service commercial harvesting to timber on Oak Point didn't take place until about 1910 which would coincide with the period where Thomas Welsh lumbered in this area.

Fishing Season

The fishing season for game fish, walleyes, northern and bass on Leech Lake ended today. The next fishing season begins on Saturday May 15, 2010. Fish houses south of US #2, which includes Leech Lake, have to be removed today.

Grandkids

Our son and his three children paid us a visit this weekend. We are now back to the boring quietness once again. With a great warm weekend we went fishing, shot the BB Gun, rode the 4-wheeler, played Cribbage, watched a movie and ate lots of food. We loved every minute of it, but it tired us out. My 9 year old granddaughter who is a math whiz, played our traditional Nitchals game of Cribbage. I lost the last two games to her. She told me that I would need to practice for the next time.

Sunset

Sunset view from Mounds Point across Steamboat Bay and first Porcupine.

Eelpout Festival

2010-02-21T14:13:00.027-06:00

Walker and Leech Lake welcomed hundreds of visitors for its midwinter festival this weekend. It started early on Thursday and even heavier on Friday just a parade of hundreds of fish houses, 4-wheelers and snowmobiles being hauled into town for this big event. It was good to see Walker come alive with many people in the stores and on the sidewalks. With the great weather every one was in town. Our neighborhoods in the Oak Point area had more people then normal to enjoy the festivities. Next week the Pilot Independent will have a full report for all to read about. Check it out on the web at http://www.walkermn.com/ .

We had another week of great weather this past week. Nighttime temps were in the 0 to minus 5 degree range, but by mid-afternoon the temps would climb into the high 20's and 30's. We had three afternoons where we had temps above the freezing point. The bright sun is high in the sky with a powerful warming effect. Snowbanks are shrinking. On the blacktop the sun is melting the ice, I would guess that the usual 90% snow pack on the roads is closer to 20% now. However, we all know that March is our snowiest month of the year. The Oak Point Resort had their spearing houses safely back on shore. My neighbors and I are back walking on the blacktop road which is more interesting then on a treadmill. I am including a picture of my niece Megan who lives in Frederick, MD which is just outside of Washington, D.C. shovelling a path through the 40+ inches of snow that they got.

Another Deer Story

This story was told to me by Sharon my deer hunting neighbor here on Oak Point. This happened to her on another "Opener" a few years back. The weather was beautiful. She climbed into her deer stand about 5:15 A.M. All the leaves had finally fallen. The top leaves were dry and she easily brushed them to the ground. The rest were wet so she would waited until it was light to clean up her stand. She took out her book, put her cushion on the bucket, sat down andfell asleep.

A distant gun shot woke her. It was barely dawn and she became alert anyway. It was not really light enough to see yet. So she sat. Ready. Her senses were perked! By 7:30 A.M. she reached for her book. Not a deer came by. By 8:30 she put the book down, stood awhile peering into the forest all around her

By 9:30 A.M. the wet leaves on the floor of her stand were almost dry. She bent over and began picking them off the floor one by one very quietly and dropping them threw the cracks of her deer stand to the ground below. She would quietly stand up periodically and look around. Nothing.

By 10:15 her stand way clean and the floor dry. She just happened to look through the camouflage on the west side of her stand, as if by some premonitions, and there thirty feet away was a 10 point buck. The buck was straining its neck to look up at her stand. What was she to do? Her 30-30 was hanging on a nail to her right. If she reached for it, the buck would see her.

They stared at each other through the camouflage. The buck was skittish but did not run. He kept her eye on the strange thing in the tree but did not move. She could tell it was hard for him to look up that way. About 5 minutes passed when a noise further west of her caused the buck to turn around and fact that noise. That was all that Sharon needed. She got the first deer of that season.

Great Grey Owls

2010-02-14T11:56:00.014-06:00

A few years ago the snows came early and heavy in the Canadian provinces to our north. It forced the migration south of the Great Grey Owls looking for easier prey. These are one of the worlds largest owls. These birds are dark grey overall interspersed with light grey or white bands with very fluffy plumage with a rather large head. We saw these owls everywhere that winter. On fence poles, utility poles and on traffic signs. They perch and wait for prey and then fly very quietly and fairly close to the ground towards their prey. Their primary food source are small rodents, squirrels, rabbit's, chipmunks and prey of that sort.

Our neighbor Sharon talks about the time when she and Tony were returning from an unsuccessful hunt. She was lagging behind her husband enjoying the scenery and the soft snowfall when all of a sudden, swooping our of the pines in front of her was one of the largest owls she had ever seen! Its wing span was 5 to 6 feet and it was flying about 7 feet off the ground flying directly at Tony. The owl was on a mission. She shouted to her husband, "WATCH OUT'. The owl veered off just as her husband turned back to her. He ducked and the owl was only a few inches from the top of his head!

Tony and Sharon could never figure out what the owl was after. Was Tony a tender and juicy morsel? Or just another tall fence pole.

Wolves vs. Deer

The Mpls. Startribune.com had an interesting article about this hot button north woods topic. They quoted a number of deer hunters who returned from up north this fall and reported seeing more wolves. And with the deep population down they were concerned that their was some correlation. An adult wolf can eat 15 to 19 deer yearly. With the state wolf population at approximately 3,000, that could mean an annual kill of 45,000 to 60,000 deer. Which would be about 10 to 15 % of the total deer population. The article also pointed out that livestock depredation from wolves have been on the increase as well. Oak Point hunters have told me that the number of deer that they saw were down this year. Could this be part of our local problem?

February Weather

We had great February weather this past week. Most every morning we awoke to minus 5 to 15 below temps. By mid-afternoons it would warm up to 20 to 25 degrees above. We are have much longer days with the sun higher in the skies. We have a little over 1 hour longer sunlight in both the morning and evening periods now. The sun is bright enough to melt some snow on the Oak Point Road. But the best news that I heard all week is that spring is only 33 days away. Spring begins March 20th, 2010.

Street Maintenance

The Leech Lake Public Works Department has agreed to take over the snowplowing and maintenance of our road at Oak Point Estates called Sunrise Beach Dr. This will provide us with first rate care for the road with the proper heavy equipment and know how. Very good new for us. This crew currently plows and maintains The Oak Point Road and most of the side roads in our area from all the way in from Highway # 371.

Eelpout Festival

Next weekend February 19-21, 2010 Leech Lake and Walker will celebrate its 31st Eelpout Festival. The Eelpout also called Burbot is the only fresh water member of the codfish family. Often considered a rough fish by the sportsman. The tournament is an excuse for late winter festival on the ice.

Santadenny

2010-02-13T11:16:00.005-06:00

Santadenny, Plowman aka Dennis Yepma is one of my full time neighbors here on Oak Point. One look at him tells you how he earned his nick name. He bought property up here in 1997 and move up here in 2003 with his family after he retired early from driving a truck for UPS in the cities. His family is his wife Dawn, two children, Becky and Chris, two fat Labs and a puppy. They have a beautiful log home down the Camper Landing Road and face east over the "big lake".

Dawn still works at UPS in Bemidji. Dennis is still too young for Social Security so he has started a handyman business. He plows snow, mows lawns, picks up leaves and performs all sorts of services to the people up here. I swear that he knows everyone and everyone knows Dennis. He hunts, fishes, shoots trap and skeet and runs a trap line in his spare time. His vehicle is a big green one-ton diesel truck with a snow plow always at the ready. This fall he built an ice boat that will skate on the ice when he figures out his sail. I hope that he gets the boat sailing before the ice melts.

Dennis and Dawn are special people. Both of them always have a generous heart and a willingness to help their neighbors regardless of age or ethnicity. Early to bed and early to rise is Dennis' motto. He makes sure his boy is involved with scouts and his daughter has a part time job. You don't want to call his very late because he is already in bed. In the mornings he is heading to the bus stop with his son and a neighbor boy. He can be seen out walking with his neighbors to get his exercise in. Dawn on the other hand is a late sleeper and I am leery of calling too early and getting her out of bed trying to locate Dennis. Dawn is very friendly and outgoing and would give you the shirt off her back if you needed it.

Dennis has been a great help to me over at Oak Point. This summer he helped to organize a number of neighbors to help clear out a number of dead trees along the road. When my wife and I were in Minneapolis for two weeks for her kidney transplant he took care of out home back here. Many of us trust him with our keys for our houses and garages. He can be reached at 218-335-8162 home, or 612-207-9711 cell.

Fire Warden

2010-02-07T14:10:00.009-06:00

Our Fire Warden on Oak Point is Jan Price who together with her late husband Harold has held that volunteer position for over 20 years. Jan and Harold first came to Leech Lake on vacation in 1957 when they stayed at the Squaw Point Resort on Steamboat Bay. This resort at the time was run by the Volberdings. This was before the present road system with the looping road circling across the wetlands by the Narrows. Travel between the east and west sides was very difficult. You had to take the old dump road. Many of the early stories of Squaw Point from the old timers are about the travels crossing the streams and bogs on the old muddy roads, getting stuck and being pulled out by a tractor as people traveled to and from the highway.

Jan told me that the first time that Harold, their son Gary and she were on the "big lake" they were trolling big lures, "Double Jointed Pike Minnows" behind their boat. At approximately where the Wades now live, Jan got a hit on her lure and told Harold to stop the boat as she had a big fish on her line. Harold took one look and told her that she was struck on some rocks and he just kept on going. Jan kept holding onto the rod and kept cranking on the reel and yelling at Harold. Finely Harold realized that Jan had a big fish on, he stopped, and Jan got the big fish to the side of the boat. A big musky over four foot long. Son Gary tried to net the fish but mistakenly hit it with the net sending the monster back to the bottom of the lake. Jan had to fight the fish again to get the fish back up to the side of the boat. This time however in their efforts to land the big fish, the Musky just looked at them with his black eyes set about 6 inches apart, and spit the lure out of his mouth right back at them. This happened in front of the only house in the area, and older yellow farm type house with a blue roof.

On their return trip to Leech Lake in 1958, Jan was in Gafe's Tackle Shop on Second St. in Cass Lake and was talking to the shop owner about her big fish that got away. She was also telling him about this yellow house with the blue roof and asking who owned it. Well he owned it. The taxes were only $39.00 a year at that time. The property was for sale. Gafe Peterson is Myron Peterson's father and Neil Peterson's grandfather. Jan asked if she and Harold could she take a look at it. Well they had a dickens of a time figuring out how to find it, but eventually they located it. Well they fell in love with it and then figured out how to buy it. Harold and Jan moved up here permanently in October of 1975. Shortly after moving up here they took over the Fire Warden duties. Myron Paterson's widow, Virginia and her son Neil still live in the Oak Point area.

Fire Wardens play a critical role in forest safety in the wooded areas. During the dry burning season Jan issues burning permits from her home on East Oak Point Road. She has a remarkable memory of all the people she has come in contact with. She can remember who owned what and when during her 50 years experience out here on Oak Point. Harold and Jan Price are a big part of our local Oak Point history. I hope to tell more of her stories in the future.

EelPount Festival

In two weeks, February 19-21, 2010 Leech Lake will be hosting their 31st Eelpount Festival. If you have never experienced this wild festival before, by all means come and celebrate winter with the people from Walker. Bring warm clothing.

Wolf Moon

2010-01-31T17:14:00.009-06:00

January's full moon is also called the "Wolf Moon" according to Native American lore because they associated this full moon with the wolves howling in the cold winter nights. Our current full moon which appeared yesterday was 30% brighter and 14% larger. This was because the moon was some 30,000 miles closer due to its egg-like shaped orbit. With the clear skies and the white snow I told my wife that we could almost read the newspaper outside at midnight.

January 2010 ends today. For me this January went by real fast. Usually January drags for me. The first two weeks we were at the University of MN Hospital with my wife's surgery. These last two weeks have been associated with trying to adjust back to life in the woods with her new kidney. We go into Bemidji's Hospital three times a week for blood work with the results being faxed to the Univ. Hospital for analysis. This January also brought me my 65th Birthday. So I am an official old man. All of that was enough activity for January and I am now ready for February. Our temperatures have been January like with many below zero days and the words "wind chill" were used often.

Last week in my blog I wrote about the Leech Lake Trail. I found this subject fascinating and I marvel at the ancient history right here in my own back yard. This past week I found out more information. I visited with the Tribal Archeologist from their Heritage Program and also with some folks from the US Forest Service. From them I received more maps one of which I am attaching here. (click on map to enlarge) I also learned that the trail had different names, Red Lake Road, Leech Lake/Red Lake Trail and Wagon Road. From these maps I am able to follow where the trail's remains are now in several locations by looking at the Cass County Aerial Photos from their web mapping system. It appears that in various locations forest service roads and even township roads are using the ancient road beds. When the snow is gone and the weather is warmer I hope to walk several of these locations. The Leech Lake Trail beginning/ending is in the vicinity of the location of the Northwestern Trading Company that I wrote about in my blog of November 15th. This area must have had a significant Native American settlement in the immediate area. I will keep you posted as I learn more.

Our local Timber Wolf is also called the Grey Wolf, (canis lupis) is native to north central and north eastern Minnesota. The wolf is dog-like in appearance and can weigh between 60 and 120 pounds. Its usual color is grey but some are black, brown or redish. Wolves are highly social animals and usually exist in packs of between 5 to 8 members. The leader is the Alpha male who is usually the largest. Usually packs have only one breeding pair that will have 4 to 8 pups at birth. The whole pack gets involved in the rearing of the pups. Individual packs defend their territory which can range from 50 to 100 square miles. The usual ratio is one wolf per 10 square mile. Wolves eat a variety of large and small animals with the white tail deer making up approximately 80% of their diet.

If anyone is interested in providing stories or ideas please email me at nitchals@paulbunyan.net.

Leech Lake Trail

2010-01-23T17:52:00.006-06:00

The Oak Point area has another claim to ancient historical significances called the "Leech Lake Trail". This ancient trail begins on the northeastern side of Oak Point (formally called Squaw Point) and ended up at the east side of the Red Lake Agency in Beltrami County. The beginning of the trail is lost in the pre-history of the Dakota, or Sioux, who had villages on both lakes. The Dakota were driven out by the Chippewa probably around 1750. Henry Schoolcraft in his 1820 accounts called the route "ancient". The trail was used for communication and trade between the tribes. Travel was by foot across the high ground and across the lakes and rivers by canoe.

From the trails beginning at Oak Point it went northwest to the northwest side of Pike Bay and then proceeding to the eastern side of Little Wolf Lake all in Cass County. At that point the trail proceeded north into Beltrami County east of Wolf Lake to cross the Mississippi River near the entrance to Andrusia Lake before proceeding on to Red Lake in a northern direction.

The trail was improved under the Chippewa Treaty of 1863 when a $5,000 budget was allocated for construction. The trail continued to be used until travel was replaced by railroads and roadways. But it all started out on Oak Point.

Timber Wolf

2010-01-17T20:04:00.005-06:00

The Minnesota DNR estimates that about 3,000 Timber Wolves live in our state so the sighting of one is a rare occasion. I happened to see a wolf run in front of my car on Oak Point Road just a few days ago. You are more apt to see a wolf in the winter because their coloration contrasts with the white snow, plus you can occasionally see them cross the frozen lake.

While on the subject of wolves I have a true story of a deer stand called "Wolf Stand". In my blog of Sunday November 8th I wrote about the legend of the "Three Buck Stand", this story is equally famous. I have neighbors here on Oak Point named Sharon and Anthony that retired from the hectic life in the cities and built a beautiful home up here. She is Native, but he is not. She is one of the five daughters of Frieda Fairbanks who grew up here on Oak Point but never hunted until she got married. They now hunt deer, ducks, geese, and grouse. In the summer they fish and will soon start ice fishing. This is her story about the legend of the "Wolf Stand".

This happened a few years ago. It was opening day. The weather was warm, but not too warm. The first snow of the season occurred about two days prior and had already melted. The leaves were soft to walk on and hardly any noise was made by my falling feet. It was 5:10 am in the morning. It was very dark. My headlamp lit up the trail directly in front of me. My deer stand was about three quarters of a mile into the dark forest. It would take me about 10 to 15 minutes to walk there walking at a fairly even pace-not to fast to get too warm-but not too slow either.

I got there safely-no strange noises along the way to make me jump and make my heart race.

I climbed into my stand and settled in waiting for the light. I arranged my seat cushion, quietly put my headlamp away into my backpack, took out my book for reading later, and leaned back into the tree and promptly fell asleep until a seeping shill woke me. I was dawn-about 6:15 am and I became alert.

By 7:00 am it was very light out. But not a breaking branch could be heard anywhere near me. I heard very distance gunshots almost right away. But not a sound near me, not a chipmunk or a squirrel not a blue jay or a chickadee, and not a grouse. This was strange. Usually as soon as daylight comes, the smaller animals become active and noisy. But I never thought about it at that time that it was very strange.

By 8:00 am I was reading an excellent Alex Cross novel but keeping ears open and my eyes scanning the woods around me about every half a page. By 8:30 am I was wondering why it was so quiet. Where were all the forest animals! A few geese flew over me talking loudly to each other probably arguing about whether to head south now or later, their wings beating a whoosh, whoosh sound as they flew by.

All of a sudden , off to my left about 300 yards through the brush, pine, popple, and oak trees a huge doe cam running toward my woods but angling away from me at a horrific pace! Before I could blink, the biggest wolf I ever saw, I mean big and fat looking, ran between my stand and the doe. The wolf was only about 60 feet from me. And then, the doe and the wolf were gone in a blink of an eye and then came the second wolf flanking the doe on the other side of her running after the both of them. I don't know if they ever got her. Maybe they did. I don't know. I hope they didn't.

Needless to say, 4 years passed before I would walk to and from that stand in the dark! To this day, my husband and I call that stand the "Wolf Stand". And their hunting legends live on.

Caring Bridge Site

2010-01-08T14:40:00.002-06:00

I have set up a website so that others can follow Marlys Nitchals medical progress. The site is called Caring Bridge and can be accessed at www.caringbridge.com and the password is marlysnitchals. Both of us miss Oak Point area very much even when its this cold outside. We miss that warmth of the wood fire with the contrast of the snow and cold outside. Although I could get use to going to Starbucks for a good coffee and a Blueberry Scone and read the paper every morning. Please remember Marlys in your prayers. I have some great stories lined up for the new year. Jim Nitchals

Christmas Miracle

2010-01-03T10:33:00.005-06:00

My wife, Marlys Nitchals, and I are down at the University of MN Fairview Hospital where she just received a new transplanted kidney. Our 9 year old, 4th grade granddaughter, Katherine Nitchals, wrote this wonderful story that I am going to copy to the blog:

Christmas Miracle

On Christmas Day my grandparents and I were playing a game that I just got from them as a gift. We were sitting at the table playing, it was 8:00 PM at night. My grandma has to go and get her blood cleaned (dialysis) every other day because she has a disease in her kidneys. We could not play much longer because my grandmother had to sleep so she could go in the morning for her blood cleaning. While we were playing a phone rang and my grandma picked it up. Disappointed because she thought it was a person calling to sell something. It was not at all like that, it was a doctor from the University of Minnesota because he had a perfect match for my grandma's kidney that she needed. The person that had the kidney was a 55 year old woman who had fallen from her attic in Georgia and was on life support. This kind of thing does not usually happen, it was amazing that they found a person that lived on the other side of the United States of America that had the same kidney as my grandma. Over the night on Christmas Day the doctor called twice once at 10:00 pm and again at 1:00 am in the morning. The doctor told my grandma that tomorrow she should come to the University for a Transplant. The next morning my grandma and my family went to the University of Minnesota it was pretty convenient that the University was only 10 miles away from my house. The next morning at six o'clock my grandma had the transplant. They put some amnesia gas on her so that she would fall a sleep so that it would not hurt. She woke up that afternoon. The day after that me and my family went to visit with her and she looked pretty fine. Their were lots of cords, wires and stuff on her but I knew that she was okay. She ordered some food it was mashed potatoes and spaghetti it sounded gross it looked so good and it was real food. My grandma told me that she thought she was really lucky and she was. It was a Christmas Miracle.

Seasons Greetings

2009-12-20T18:09:00.008-06:00

'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

2009-12-13T17:50:00.003-06:00

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

2009-12-06T16:29:00.008-06:00

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

2009-11-29T19:54:00.003-06:00

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

2009-11-22T16:35:00.007-06:00

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

2009-11-15T16:26:00.004-06:00

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

2009-11-08T11:50:00.007-06:00

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

2009-10-31T09:53:00.004-05:00

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

2009-10-25T17:45:00.005-05:00

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

2009-10-18T17:17:00.008-05:00

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

2009-10-11T18:28:00.010-05:00

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

2009-10-04T18:30:00.003-05:00

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

2009-09-28T11:01:00.004-05:00

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

2009-09-20T17:21:00.005-05:00

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

2009-09-13T20:21:00.004-05:00

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

2009-09-06T19:12:00.006-05:00

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

2009-08-30T15:44:00.003-05:00

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

2009-08-23T20:56:00.005-05:00

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

2009-08-17T11:07:00.003-05:00

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

2009-08-09T16:57:00.006-05:00

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

2009-08-02T17:50:00.005-05:00

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

2009-07-26T19:57:00.003-05:00

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

2009-07-20T10:34:00.002-05:00

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

2009-07-12T21:00:00.004-05:00

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

2009-07-05T21:17:00.004-05:00

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

2009-06-28T21:39:00.004-05:00

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

2009-06-21T16:31:00.009-05:00

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

2009-06-21T16:31:00.002-05:00

2009-06-21T16:31:00.001-05:00

First Week of June

2009-06-07T21:05:00.003-05:00

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

2009-05-31T18:00:00.003-05:00

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.

2009-05-31T17:58:00.002-05:00

Fishing Opener

2009-05-11T20:56:00.004-05:00

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

2009-05-03T20:52:00.008-05:00

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 !

2009-04-29T10:13:00.003-05:00

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

2009-04-21T08:21:00.000-05:00

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

2009-04-09T21:00:00.001-05:00

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?

2009-03-15T14:10:00.000-05:00

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.