Original anecdotes, commentary, rumination, and occasional pontification.
OCTOBER 8, 2025 – Back in the day I used darts, not dice, to decide when to take the boat(s) out of the lake at the end of the season. Beginning in mid-September I’d simply keep my eye on the weekend weather forecast and a few days in advance of a Saturday or Sunday with …
OCTOBER 3, 2025 – This season the water level of Grindstone Lake has taken a hit. Although rainfall has been slack, and additional problem has been DNR control of a small dam way downstream from our spring-fed lake, which forms the headwaters. The condition triggered a major local political re-action, which prompted the town board …
JUNE 13, 2025 – (Cont.) On the occasion of Byron and Mylène’s wedding extravaganza at the Red Cabin in the year prior to Covid, I fixed up the Capri to entertain a host of guests from overseas who were staying with us before and after the Big Day. My favorite crew members were the Portuguese …
JUNE 12, 2025 – (Cont.) I never attended to the naming of the Bayliner—officially or unofficially. It was simply called the “power boat” to distinguish it from the Capri sailboat, as well as from the other watercraft in our growing fleet consisting of a paddleboat, two aluminum canoes and two kayaks[1]. The Bayliner served us …
JUNE 11, 2025 – (Cont.) With the family’s collective directive in hand (“rent a boat that we can use to water ski and tube behind and that’s comfortable to ride in”), I drove to M & M Rentals to make arrangements. They offered exactly what I figured would please the family—a 16-foot Bayliner runabout with …
JUNE 10, 2025 – (Cont.) On a weekend trip to the cabin the next spring, we spotted a boat for sale in front of a familiar battered country house on Highway 70 just east of Spooner 30 miles from Grindstone. It was a Ouchita (an alternate spelling of “Witchita”) rowboat with an eight-horse Mariner motor, …