Where was I?
Oh yeah, we cleaned up after the June 27 "gustado", but the area still looks like a bomb went off. As a result of the non-tornado with winds in excess of a 100 mph we get new siding on two sides of the house and a new roof. Whoopeee! Now to come up with the deductible.
Katie healed up but didn't even receive a Thank You card from Steve after hauling his sorry ass off the golf course and likely saving his life from being squashed by a tree. Not that she expected anything, but I felt it would have been the very least he could have done. She did, however, receive a gift certificate for an hour long massage from a friend. Brenton told Denny that he had never known a hero before and wanted to do something nice for her. What a guy!
Since I can't show Betty again until the AKC gets off their collective butts and processes the DNA Belinda and I sent in to get Betty's individual registration, I decided to take a week off and head to my brother, Bill and sister in law, Sue's place at Leech Lake, Minnesota. I invited my friend and neighbor, Gin, to join me as she had last year. We left on July 19th and returned yesterday evening. Of course Betty and Cash went with us. Keegan, the crybaby, stayed home with Denny and Katie so I didn't get annoyed with his whining and leave him on the side of the road in his crate. Just kidding. Sort of. I had to drug Betty with Alprazolam (Xanax) as she gets motion sickness and there was no way I wanted to be stopping to clean her up and have her miserable on that long of a trip. She crashed in her crate and only woke up for potty breaks. What a good girl!
We traveled nine hours up I-29 from Omaha to Wahpeton, ND and
cut cross country on two lane highways from there to the lake. I think it is Park Rapids, MN that has this lovely funeral home. Call it my demented sense of humor but I think the name is hysterical. Get it? CEASE?
Ahem...
Apparently it is a family name and there is a chain of these in northern Minnesota.
Anyway, we got in to Bill & Sue's in the late afternoon on Saturday
and spent Sunday and Monday walleye fishing on the lake. Gin doesn't fish but enjoys riding in the boat. Sue asked her if she wanted a refresher course in boat driving and soon she was at the helm. Sue loved it as she is always multi-tasking with boat driving, fishing, watching the fish finder, etc. It was a nice break for her. Here's Gin at the wheel.
Apparently she was very good luck as Sue hooked into this monster. Unfortunately Leech Lake has a slot limit meaning no fish between 18" and 26" can be taken. That size is breeding size and they are needed to repopulate the walleye. This sucker was 24"
and weighed a little over 5 pounds. I couldn't have made him 26" if I used a rolling pin, so back he went.
We did bring home our limits so a walleye dinner will be coming up soon.
Tuesday and Wednesday were too rough on the lake to fish so we played golf, cut grass, had lunch in town, shopped and met Gin's former boss and his wife, who have a beautiful log home a few miles from Bill and Sue, for dinner in Walker on Wednesday night.
Thursday my brother welded me a set of three 2x2 weave poles bases to bring home. He even painted them for me. (Those who train in agility will understand what weave pole bases are.) While Bill was busy welding, Sue and I bathed and trimmed their 13 year old Shih Tzu, Dolly. Thursday night is game night on the peninsula so we headed to the township hall for a couple of rounds of dominos separated by potluck desserts.
Friday was another day of fishing. Denny had Katie send me a text message. "How ya doing on the CPF?" It puzzled me for a second. Certified Public Something???? Then I got it and called her. "I know that message may have come from your phone, but I know who REALLY sent it." She asked if I knew what it meant. "Of course, Cost Per Fish." They both cracked up laughing. Sue and I decided if we had kept all the perch, huge Northern Pikes and slot limit walleye we caught, we could have had the CPF down to about 50 cents. Unfortunately, it was nowhere near that. Suffice it to say you can't put a price on fun.
Saturday we all drove about 45 miles away to Blackduck, Minnesota, home of the Woodcarver's Festival. Gin had never seen it and that kind of artistry is hard to imagine. These folks carve some of the most intricate items with everything from a chainsaw to a scalpel. It's fascinating.
When we returned to the lake I had Betty and Cash out off leash. Cash has a decent recall and responds well from a distance when I direct him away from something. Betty, not so much, but she was trying hard. Unfortunately some asshat from down the lake had arrived at his campsite and turned his two large Brittany Spaniels loose. The male came charging into the yard and Betty immediately took offense with snapping and snarling in his face. When she turned to me as I called her he tried a sneak attack and got nailed on the nose for his trouble. The last we saw he was heading back to his campsite with his tail between his legs. Dolly has always protected her turf and it was as if she was telepathically telling Betty to do the same. Betty may be a full-coated show girl, but she's got some brass ones. She never even wrinkled her coat in the short-lived fracas. She has always gotten along with other dogs but something about the way he charged into the yard got her dander up. Although the encounter surprised me, I was glad to see she has some moxie.
After the long return trip, it's good to be home.
