Another Day at the Lake

Sunday morning, we were on the road to the lake at a quarter after 5! Yes, we are that crazy. I wasn't real sure how getting up that early would pan out, but mostly, it was a great time. I generally wake up at 4:30 these days anyway, so I just had to stay awake rather than go back to bed. Getting up so early provided us with some great views of nature in the morning, so that was a definite benefit. We saw quite a few deer, included an awesome buck in velvet, which of course the picture was too far away, and this giant antelope that nearly took my breath away.

We arrived at the lake and put our poles in, and were soon joined by the Miller family. The day was spent fishing, visiting, and swimming.

Sometimes fishing and swimming at the same time!

Even Anne got in the water for a swim! She REALLY likes cinnamon bears!
We arrived home hot and tired, so we put away the necessary things, showered, and crashed in the living room! As a result, today I am straightening the house, doing laundry, and tending to my sunburn, and preparing for our trip to the lake next weekend!

As you can see, this month we spent our spare time relaxing at the lake fishing. Maybe something else will be posted about next month. I will try to include garden happenings and our trip to Polson and Lewistown toward the end of the month, but don't be surprised if there are more pictures of us at the lake!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day! Here's a picture of my dad, fishing in the Dry Arm area of the lake, yesterday. Fishing is one of his favorite activities, so when he asked John to participate in the Wade Sukut Memorial "tourney," John secured his parents' boat, and we agreed. This "tournament," as it is called, is no stiff competition. It's a memorial gathering set up by the Sukut family and friends, mostly about spending time and enjoying a weekend at Rock Creek. We arrived Friday evening ahead of my parents and brother, Patrick and his fiance Jayme, and when they arrived we set up the campers and visited before settling in for the night. At 5:30 Saturday morning, we rose and ate breakfast, and put the boat in at 7:00. I thought we would be spending some time registering for the event, but were told to "go ahead and go fishing." We were one of the first boats out, but this did us little good in the long run. We had a hard time finding any fish, but dad caught one keeper, and John, Patrick and Jayme each caught a small walleye. The competition ended at 2, at which time fish were weighed and cleaned, and the small crowd visited, and continued to grow. More people showed up later for the evening fish fry. It was an enjoyable day, spent fishing and visiting!

Fencing

No, not the Olympic sport, the process of creating an enclosure, most likely for livestock in these parts! Yesterday I joined John for a day of fencing, and I learned many things about this process, which are most likely only a drop in the bucket. It would take me years and years to learn even some of what the man in this family knows about the subject, and even longer to emulate his skill, but he did teach me a few things, and I think I may remember some of them, for a little while. We created an entirely new stretch of barb-wire fence, connecting 2 existing fences, replacing another. This involved putting in corner braces, bracings for a gate, and another bracing where an existing fence was joined. I was given jobs like wrapping chain around old posts so they could be removed, and even ran the bobcat for a short time. I also ran the level to make sure posts were level and helped to spool out the wire, and run errands. Besides putting in the bracings, we stretched the bottom wire, laid wire for upper strings, and pounded metal posts. Of course when I say we, I mean John with some assistance from me; I did no stretching or pounding! It was a day of learning, sharing, bonding, and pondering, and although I came away exhausted from a day in the sun, I'm glad Igot the opportunity! Here are a few pics!