LOTS of rain

Loads of rain fell this afternoon and evening. It -- luckily -- didn't bring down any trees along the road. I really didn't want to rev up the chainsaw while fighting against mosquitoes at the same time. ... while standing in the rain. (On the plus side, I had obtained a car jack, which will allow me to get some leverage on downed trees so that they don't pinch the blade of the saw while trying to cut through them.)

Mowed grass, kayak picked up

I came back home this afternoon and mowed the grass. Hopefully, all this mowing after the rains will help "thicken" the grass so that it will be more robust for the end-of-October homecoming event. The re-seeded area is coming back S-L-O-W-L-Y... Oh well, perhaps it will get better as the rains come more frequently.

Also, this afternoon, E.W. came by to pick up his wooden sea kayak. We had a chat about various things as the mosquitoes buzzed around us, battered by the wind in order to get a blood meal. The kayak was stored in the barn for several years, and I hope that E.W. can find a place to store it.

There are also several shoots of purple loosestrife coming in around the lake... Urgh. Maybe I'll get some students to come out at the beginning of the semester.

Biting flies and purple loosestrife

The weather is perfect for all the biting flies that are buzzing around throughout the forest in the late afternoon. It makes maintenance annoyingly "piquant", and it makes me not actually want to do things outside, despite the lowered temperatures.

... and that's a bad thing, since I have noted several clumps of purple loosestrife around the lawn (near the lake) as well as in the wetland on the west side of the property. Without removing them, they will just take over the area in a few years, and -- as "lovely" as the flowers may seem to some -- their larger-picture problem (of taking over an area) far outweigh the "beauty" of their flowers. (In case it wasn't clear, I don't agree with the perception that they look nice. True, they look nicer than some other flowering plants, but they are -- to me -- far from pretty.)

Nope: fishing isn't allowed...

The other day, I met three gentlemen who were fishing in the lake. Although they had a state fishing permit, that is not adequate. I discussed these points with the men, and they were very happy to comply, moving -- presumably -- to fish at Fist and Second Sister Lakes.

There is a nice large sign on the south side of the lake that informs people that fishing is not allowed. (There is also plenty of notification of this point online, but not everyone researches things before coming out to the forest.) Just because there isn't a sign on the north side of the lake does not make it allowable there. As the sign says: No Fishing.

If you want to fish in Third Sister Lake, here is the long and the short of it: Unless you are doing sanctioned research, it is illegal, the police may be called, and you may be issued with penalties.

Pulling water out of the air

Although the temperatures in the forest are a few degrees lower than at the road, the forest's very breathing means that the forest is VERY humid, and in the cabin, keeping the dehumidifier going is the only thing that allows me to sleep at night. Of course, the dehumidifier is pulling out lots and lots of water: about 5 pints/hour. Of course, this could be decreased if the cabin were made more air-tight. Ah well, at least it looks like the heat's broken.

Rains, heat, and the cabin

The heat of last week was hardly bearable, even though the forest remains a few degrees cooler than in town. I had to retreat to the coolness of the downstairs, keep the use of the stove to a minimum, and run the dehumidifier (because at least it would be a "dry heat").

The rains have helped bring down the night-time temperatures, although it also brought a surfeit of humidity, which means that I have to make the choice of damp-and-slightly-cooler versus dry-and-slightly-warmer. I've been choosing the latter, in light of my dislike for mold.

Odd white oil on the surface of TSL

I walked outside today and noticed that there was something on the surface of the lake. At first, I thought that it was some ripples from the breeze, but then it was shaped in the wrong way, and it also wasn't rippling. Indeed, it just seemed to sit there on the surface of the water.

Going out on the dock didn't help much, either, except to recognize that it was definitely something on the surface (or just below) out toward the middle of the lake, and -- from what I could tell from there -- nowhere else in the lake. "Hrm.... Hopefully it's not pollution," I thought to myself. Best get into a boat to check out what it was.

I got oars out of the barn, pulled out one of the boats, and paddled slowly out to the white slick. As I approached it, the slick seemed to disappear as its whiteness became muddled with the reflection of the sky. On went the polarized lenses and I saw that it, indeed, was something floating just under the surface.

Looking out over the lake, I also noticed that there was a rippling on the water, and this, too, was something not being kicked up by the wind. Intrigued -- a small part of the back of my mind thinking of lake monsters -- I paddled slowly to that stationary rippling.

As I approached, pulled the oars out the water and peered over the edge of the boat.... and there were what looked like bass -- a shoal of them -- swimming together near the surface, and -- as I approached -- the group swam away from the boat, away off to another part of the lake.

I don't know what that white substance was, but it wasn't actually oily on the surface, but just below it. Perhaps some milt or other spawning juices...