We're Overflowing

Probably because we had a record 10 feet of snow this last winter and because we've had LOTS of rain this spring, we are experiencing higher than ever water levels on the river and lake.  Rain is better than drought, but there is a limit.  We have some floating docks and we have some stationary docks that are floating that shouldn't be.  John has been putting boards to serve as bridges so guests can get on the docks without wading through water to get to their boats.  It's even threatening to overflow our boardwalk to the docks. 

Naturally we have a great mosquito crop from all the rain, but it has been cooler than usual too.  Just recently the temps are starting to go up and it looks like I might be able to have a tomato crop after all.  The blueberries are really enjoying all the moisture so we might have another bumper crop this year like last year.  We're trying to bake lots of blueberry desserts to make room for more blueberries in the freezer.   The sun is shining today and the flowers and vegetables are growing rapidly in the warmth.  I'm thankful to live in such a beautiful place.

Mighty Fine Catches

The fishing season began with a flurry of fine catches.  The Bob Wille group, which covered a two week period in all, came up with lots of walleyes over 27 inches including some 30 to 31 inches.  They were having trouble getting the smaller eating size walleyes they said.  What a terrible problem to have.  :)  I have always wanted to fish early in the spring when the fishing is best in the hot spots on the lake.  Usually we find ourselves overwhelmed with finishing up spring projects, planting flowers and the vegetable garden and regular maintenance.  

Bob overheard me voicing this desire and he immediately offered to take me out on the lake in his boat for some afternoon fishing.  I lept at the opportunity and grabbed my fishing rod.  Once parked at our "hot spot" , it wasn't long before I got a bite and pulled in a 22 inch Walleye.  Bob was regularly pulling in some nice fish. 

As I was reeling in a cast, my drag started squealing and my rod bent over.  I thought for sure I'd caught a big one.   Bob told me to stop reeling that I had snagged a log.  Oh, I was so disappointed.  He was able to free my hook so I didn't lose my jighead.  Next time, I caught a fish,  Bob asks, "Is it a fish?"  I said, "Yes!  Logs don't wiggle."   Next time he caught a fish, I asked,  "Is it a fish?"  I got an amusing look from him on that. 

 Soon after that I hooked my lunker, a 28 inch walleye, the biggest fish I've caught to date.  It looked huge as I pulled it up to the boat.  It really didn't fight all that much, so I was surprised how big it was.  We got it into the boat and some friends in another boat came along and took my picture before I released it again.  What a thrill!

  I decided to stop casting and just let my line down to the bottom, about seven feet and do some jigging off the bottom.  Shortly, I got a bite and excitedly reeled in an 18 incher, good eating size.  I got three more to fill out my limit and so we decided to head home and leave some for others to catch.   Bob had surely outfished me with all his catches, but his buddies teasingly told me the next day that Bob had nightmares about me catching more fish than him.  He's a good sport.

As you can see from the above pictures, their group got some mighty fine catches on Indian Lake. 

New Additions to the Dogyard

About four weeks ago, we got six new additions to the dog yard.  Lark, an extremely vibrant star on Joanna's racing team gave birth to five females and one male puppy.  Joanna was so excited about this breeding as the father of the pups is Riby, a super star stud from a consistent winning kennel near Duluth, MN.  It just so happened that this kennel was at the same race we were in Calumet, MI in February and Lark was ripe and ready for breeding at the end of the race.  Perfect timing. 

Joanna was really hoping for a large litter and lots of males as the males are typically bigger and stronger for racing, although females can be great pullers and leaders as well.  It's easier to take males to the races also since you don't have to worry about females being in heat and it messing up the heads of the males. 

Even though she only got one male in the litter, it was a good sized litter and all pups are healthy.  She went with an Arab sounding and desert theme for the names which includes, Warrior, Sahara, Sheika......

Joanna keeps a close eye on the pups, taking note of those that could be future leaders by the way they venture out without fear in exploring their environment.  She watches how they interact with their litter mates which shows their personalities and temperament.   And of course she'll be checking out their build as they develop, looking for smooth lopers with good angulation in the legs.  It looks like they will be a terrific addition to her racing team in the next couple of years.