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| Sunrise at Jage Lake. It don't git no better. |
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| A selfie with Lila and Grace, two memers of the K-team. Oh, we were stopped. |
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| Von photobombs Sophie while I am taking her senior portraits. |
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| The 2014 Jag Lake tribe. |
Grouse
Hollow Journal for August 7, 2014 by Greg Koelker
It
is Saturday morning, and I just got in from a walk up the ridge with
my girls. Up on top of the hill, while Scout hunted along the corn,
Ellen showed me Japanese beetles in the soybean field. El has been
making war on these particular pests for a few weeks now. Be that as
it may, the crops look good, but they sure could use a little drink.
The deer flies and mosquitoes seem to be relishing the shady path up
the road though. We sprayed down with Off before we went on the
walk. (I put some Blackberry Vanilla spray in my ears and on my bald
spot just to be sure.)
Back
at the ranch, Ellen gave me a tour of her garden. (I tilled it but
she has done all the work. Oh, I'll help eat stuff though.) We
picked a few early girl tomatoes and El showed me the Japanese
beetles in the asparagus and red raspberries. She has been getting a
pail full of green beans every day for awhile, and although she
picked yesterday evening, there were plenty to pick this morning too.
The zucchini, squash, pumpkins, basil, brussels sprouts, and giant
sunflowers look great. The sweetcorn has started to tassel; no hurry
here though as I picked Hickory Hollow sweetcorn off of their wagon
in Genoa the other day and it has sustained us for a bit. Last night
I did sweetcorn in the microwave. I saw this video on Youtube that
showed someone microwaving the entire ear of corn for four and a half
minutes. Then cutting off the stalk end of the cob up until one gets
kernels. Then you hold the silk end of the ear and start squeezing.
The ear will drop out onto your plate cooked and completely free of
silk, ready for some salt and butter! Of course use gloves when you
handle the steaming ear of corn. The corn was really good and easy
to fix, but for a change tonight I am grilling it for supper.
After
our walk, Ellen took our neighbor Pearl Sikora and her friend Misato,
4H foreign exchange student from Japan, over to the Flying Horse for
some horsing around. They helped groom Ellen's palomino, Libby and
then they got to ride a bit. Earlier in the week, Ellen showed the
soon-to-be 7th graders how to make mixed berry jelly.
Pearl and Misato hand made labels, using English and Japanese
labeling. Ellen said the artwork and labeling was a labor of love
for both of them.
This
last week I was up in the north woods helping to ride herd on a dozen
teenagers at the FFA Jag Lake Camp. I had four girls riding with me:
Lila Kozelka, Sierra Martinson, Grace Mitchell, and Olivia Strasser
- I dubbed them the K Team and they dubbed me OMG - short for old man
Greg. They were worried when I took the lead on the road: “Do you
know where we're going?” was asked a couple of times. Now, (unless
they have been talking to Ellen about my sense of direction) these
questions were completely unfounded. I have only taken a wrong turn
on this trip - once, or maybe twice, but for sure not more than three
times. We had a good trip north, stopping for our last taste of
civilization for several days: McDonald's in Minocqua.
I
told my team to watch for the lake as we turned down the dirt road to
the FFA Camp and Jag lake. I had my doubts when we pulled into the
camp and the first thing I noticed besides the lake was the cloud of
mosquitoes. “This could be bad,” I thought. Some judicious
spraying and we were good. We got unloaded and the kids were in the
lake within minutes of breaking into their bags. Von and I set up
our Jag Lake recliners and took up our station overlooking the
swimming area. Curt, who lives near Minocqua now, showed up later,
pulling his Crestliner for watersports. The kids were also able to
kayak this year for the first time; the kayaks were a big hit with
almost all of them, but I think Brady Bedward is hooked. We had free
range pizza for supper and s'mores by the bonfire that night for
dessert. It started to rain around 9 PM, so we had a cabin full of
uber-sugared boisterous boys and girls playing card games with the
lights on. I eventually fell asleep after they all did and the
lights went out.
On
Tuesday morning, mother nature got me up at early-thirty as usual.
Von was down on the dock already, so I made coffee and took a couple
cups down to the shore. We sat and sipped in relative quiet,
listening to the birds - loons, eagles, gulls, crows and such - come
awake by the lake. I tossed a slip bobber out with a crawler
dangling from it and let it soak. There was a slight chop on the
water, but the sunrise was magnificent: two orange balls growing
apart from each other creating a light show in the sky and lake.
Only one student, Anna Veglahn, showed up for the sunrise. I had
already caught a small bass and released it when Von said quietly,
“Yer bobber's down.” I set down my coffee cup and reeled in some
slack and set the hook. The fish pulled back, seriously. I was
using my micro-lite rod and reel, so this was reel fun. I asked Anna
if she ever dip netted a fish before. “Of course, I worked at the
fish hatchery last summer,” she responded. After a good fight, I
finally managed to get the bass in close to the dock without letting
it get tangled in the pilings or wheels. Anna netted it on the
second try. I lipped the fish and worked the hook out. Von took our
picture with it. I guestimated the fish as somewhere between 18 and
20 inches (based on the diameter of Curt's net) and released it. (I
read recently that when one lands a fish that will be released, one
should start holding their breath. When their breath runs out, the
fish should be back in the water. This is easier said than done
depending on the fisherperson's fitness.)
My
favorite meal at Jag Lake is breakfast. Around 7:30, Von started
frying several pounds of bacon and some three dozen eggs - in bacon
grease, while Cameron Perry, an earlier than most riser, was pressed
into making toast. I fried hash browns on a griddle and stirred up
some frozen OJ. My second favorite part of breakfast is the wake up
call, often done to the harmonious dissonance of a large spoon
beating upon a large pan accompanied by snidely smiling adults
singing 60's songs like “I Saw Her Standing There.” I know that
Von, Curt, and I would both have been dead long ago - if looks could
kill.
Tuesday's
calendar was cleared for water sports, swimming, kayaking, rowing
about, bathing in the lake, exploring the island, fishing, and
tubing. I took a walk over to Upper Gresham Lake and campground, and
then read my book, An Atheist
in the Foxhole by
Joe Mutto, in my Jag Lake recliner overlooking the
swimming area. FFA president Sophie Peterson made bar-b-cue and ram
rodded a crew making lunch. Somebody made red velvet cupcakes with
frosting for Sierra and Grace's birthdays for dessert. We had
leftover pizza and bar-b-cue for supper. I actually napped through
supper as I had tried to read (I was also starting River of Doubt
by Candice Millard about Teddy Roosevelt's perilous trek deep into
the Amazon - kind of like an early Jag Lake - in 1912) and sleep
in my van to avoid the noise and light in the cabin. I did - a
little - and then stiffly moved back inside. I got my towel and soap
and went out for a cool, no danged cold, lake bath. I ate some
canned peaches and potato chips as a late dinner. There was no rain
this night, so the kids were at the fire until pretty late, and the
little darlings went to bed quietly, no doubt worn down by their long
day on the lake, besides I was long away off in dreamland by then
anyway.
On
Wednesday morning, the lake was fogged in. I went outside at first
light and turned around, settling back in the sack for a bit before
the scent of Von's - much stronger than I make - coffee lured me up
and out. The morning fog was a thing of beauty. We could barely see
our camp, and there was no sign of the island or other side of the
lake or even the sun, giving the feel of being on an island
ourselves. The only action on the lake was from three mallards that
seemed to think they were sneaking by us as they fed. Von and I
chilled out on the dock and sipped our coffee and quietly solved the
problems of the world. Eventually, Von wandered off to the cabin and
started making my favorite breakfast for my favorite meal: biscuits
and sausage gravy with fried-in-the-sausage-grease eggs over easy and
hash browns for breakfast. Today was R & R Day (like we/they
needed it), so after some water sports, we gave the troops time to
get spiffed up and took them to Boulder Junction. For me that meant
a huge ice cream cone at Mad Dog Jake's, a stroll through an art
gallery, and a stop by the taxidermy freezer on main street to see
the trophies waiting to be made into, well, uh trophies. There was a
nice northern and a 20-inch smallie. The proprietor told me that
someone was coming in with a 47-inch musky shortly, but I never saw
it. Oh yeah, using a real toilet vs the outhouse is a treat too.
That evening I took Anna and McKenzie Buckles over to Upper Gresham
for a short fishing trip in the Mississippi Queen. We all caught
fish, but Kenzie hooked the biggest, a nice smallmouth bass. Back at
camp, I supervised grilling steaks while Von deep fried French fries
and the crew warmed up some veggies and opened up some fruit for
supper before heading off to the bonfire for another s'more or two.
Thursday
morning: fog on the lake, just small panfish on the hook, Von's
coffee was spot on for caffeine power, Curt was on time for the
sunrise that didn't show itself, and the mute button was on
everything around us. The three of us visited quietly; Curt took a
lake bath; Von and I got our stuff rounded up and around seven,
roused those crew members who weren't up for cleaning the camp,
packing up, and loading the vehicles for the trip home. Eventually,
I took Curt's vehicle and trailer over to the boat landing and he
brought me back to camp over the water before saying goodbye. K Team
once again took the lead and headed out for breakfast back in
civilization - McDonald's in Minocqua (which is good, but pales in
comparison to Von's Jag Lake breakfast.) K Team all say they are
going again next year. I'm in too.
Our
annual adventure to Oneida County and the Boulder Junction area was
another great success. (Of course, we set the bar a bit low as we
deem the trip a success if take all the kids we took, back.)
Until
next time, get out - again this year, you can play
a part in Wisconsin’s deer management program. Operation Deer Watch
enlists the public to report the number of deer they see from August
1 to September 30. Participating in the survey is simple. Record all
bucks, does and fawns you see during August and September by keeping
track of daily observations with an online tally sheet. This data
from the public, along with deer observations collected by DNR staff,
provides valuable information regarding the reproductive status of
Wisconsin's deer herd in 2014. For more information, call
608-266-2621, maybe check with our local wildlife guy, Dave
Matheys(608)
637-3938 or by email at david.matheys@wisconsin.gov.
or go online and visit
dnr.wi.gov and search keyword “Deer Watch.”
Holy
cow! Can you believe the Packers are on TV tonight! Enjoy.
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