Aug 31 - again ?

Ok, so yesterday wasn't September 1. I corrected my blog after reading an email from Arlene. I couldn't let that one lie there for eternity.

I did go fishing yesterday and thought that I'd try the weed bed west of Grumblenot. I put down my line and bang ... hooked a good sized bass, got it up to the surface, and it swam away. He was just foolin'. I frittered away an hour or so there with regular minnows and then a catfish minnow to no avail, then decided to move to the weeds close to shore. The catfish minnow had similar non-luck there. The entire time that I was fishing at this spot there was a school of minnows around me.

Ok, I went back to regular minnows ... and then proceeded to have non-stop action for the next while. As fast as I could drop another minnow down I'd have a strike ... pulled in three and lost about six. They (presume bass) were simply stealing the minnows. Then the action stopped ... and nothing more happened.

Since it was after 10am by this point, I headed home. I had an early lunch, prepping for my bike ride, and then went to the end of the dock to clean the bass. I had my head down, focused on my work when a voice came to me from the water. No ... it was not a disembodied voice ... it was Shane, in a kayak. Kayaks have a very silent approach, plus it was glassy calm. Sandy came down and we chatted; Abby swam out to say hello once she realized that he was not going to dis-em-boat.

Then ... putt putt putt ... along came Donnie. We didn't even know that they were in. Claudia had gone off for the day to North Bay with their vehicle; Isaac was sleeping; Donnie was fishing. According to him, he'd caught three or four 4 pound pike that morning and let them go ... hmmm. We talked about minnnows -- according to him there's a spot where he drops his trap that 2-3 hours later he cannot lift the trap it's so heavy ... he catches enough minnows for the year ... hmmm. Anyway -- Donnie is prone to exaggeration -- just slightly.

We chatted -- Donnie wants me to take him crappie fishing. We talked about going last night -- I told him that he needed to catch some minnows because I didn't have enough for the three of us (including Isaac). I then went off for a bike ride.

Riding was good. After a few days off it took a while to warm up. I think that I was warmed up by the end of the ride :). It was sunny, moderate winds, lots of traffic on 69.

It was my first ride with the Hummer since I rebuilt it. Before even getting the bike to the car, I realized that I'd not pre-loaded the headset enough installing the stem. So, out comes the allen wrenches and that was fixed before driving off. Everything went well after that point -- saddle was comfortable; shifting was smooth with the new XTR rear derailleur and IRD 12/32 cassette. There was a marked improvement in diminished rattle from the rack, with the new mounts. All in all, things are looking and feeling good.

Back home, Sandy said that Donnie had been over and since Claudia had gone off with the vehicle, he couldn't get minnows. I headed over to talk to Donnie. Claudia was home by that point and they were both planning on coming over for a drink. It took some convincing, but eventually Donnie bought into delaying the fishing trip to the next day. He was all set to use a variety of artificial lures -- according to him, what he's used before -- but I want to have the minnows there as insurance. I want to use minnows. He and Isaac can use whatever the please. He talks about using "maggots" and "worms" but he's really referring to artificial. He's got flies and all sorts of things in his tackle box ... I want to use minnows.

Shane was saying that the introduction of crappie to Jack's Lake has caused them to come down-system to our lake. That makes sense because I'd never even heard of crappie, let alone caught any, before the last couple of years. They sure are plentiful now.

Donnie and Claudia visited for a while; we snacked (well, Sandy and I snacked, D&C didn't touch the cheese and crackers), and then they went home for supper. Sandy and I then had salad and bread -- and Sandy put the two steaks back in the fridge. We'd had too much cheese to be really hungry.

I'm not sure how long D&C are staying -- she's off to New Liskard today, which is 4+ hours each way. Donnie has a day trip somewhere tomorrow. They've been going full blast all summer, especially with Isaac's basketball.

Other news -- apparently Deloris received a "low ball" offer for the cottage. I'm not sure what her definition of low ball is; do not know the amount of the offer. Jim and Bonnie have dropped their price -- not sure by how much. Something is going to sell at some point. Claudia said that a friend of hers is looking for a place and has money to spend -- I said that if she was interested in this far north that a) they'd pay less than in Muskoka; b) Deloris' place is worth less than the listing and c) Bonnie's place is worth more than their listing. That's my gut sense.

It's warmer this morning, but still cool -- 50F. At 69F in the house, I decided to start a fire again. That's typical this time of year -- fire in the a.m. and then let it die out. The sun is out again; there's mist on the water again; I'm going to go fishing again. After fishing, I'll set my minnow traps so that I'll have enough minnows for Donnie and Isaac, should they be so inclined. I also want to go over and see Jim Matthews to see when he wants to do the wood splitting. I'm in no rush ... but want to be ready for him.

The weather is looking good through the weekend. I have not decided yet whether or not I'll head down to Toronto for that 200k. It says partly cloudy ... could be a very pleasant ride. I received the cue sheet for the ride in NYC for the following Sunday. This next month will go quickly ... ride, drive, ride, FL, drive ... then back up here. There ... I've just blown through September !

That's it.