A Taste of Autumn

Last week started off hot. Summery hot. Then Wednesday happened and highs struggled into the 60s°F, lows fell into the upper 40s°F, and the lake steamed away its summer heat.

The weather change was startling, but not as startling as having this guy pop out of a tree above your head as you clean up the beach in the morning. He was very quiet except for the whooshing of his wings.

Monday's ski show was warm, dry, and well attended.

Monday's flat lake helped in making it one of the best ski shows of the year.

Wednesday's show was cold, rainy, and windy.

The rough water was hard on the pyramids.

There are several ways to control Eurasian milfoil. We choose pulling which is effective at reducing current abundance of plants and is useful to clear show docks. Our diver (and LLAA board member) pulled an entire tank of air worth in about 90 minutes.

There was also a Hamm's beer truck during the picking.

The patches on the north end of the lake will get theirs soon.

The sky raccoon infestation of the north end continued into the weekend.

Some took advantage of the cooler air to do some light pruning.

The bigger twigs were put aside for crafting or something.

With the cold came rain. It all blew out of the area by Thursday evening.

The three quarters of an inch will keep the lake level high.

The bout of cold weather took the lake temperature down to 72°F.

Diving into the lake makes for a cold swim, but it remains crystal clear.

Water hazards at the NCC golf course are also very full.

Other northwoods golf adventures last week included what we thought would be the recovery of a club head cover lost near the fifty yard marker on six.

It was not a club head cover.

I've been known to get a little grumpy when woken up from a nap so we quietly took a few pictures and moved on.

With the cooler weather from the north came the canadian smoke we have come to know and loathe.

The smoke can take visibility down and make breathing worrisome, but it makes for some cool sunsets.

The Highway 8 redux continued last week.

The ATV tunnel should be pretty neat when it's finished.

By the end of the smoky weekend, it felt like summer may yet shake off its autumnal coat and put its swim suit back on. The warmer weather would pair well with some more milfoil pulling. My history with ground raccoons (Procyon lotor assholeus) is very strained. In the past, they have eaten our harvests, invaded our basements, and damaged our roofs, but the heap we encountered on six parked themselves in the center of the fairway, the very area that my drive was least likely to come to a rest, as a sort of peace offering. It is unlikely that relations between the Bar and the Raccoon will ever be completely normalized, but the act of not interfering with my par on six will extend the shaky peace that currently exists.

-Nemo's one more lawn pooping away from war with the sky raccoons!

A Taste of Autumn

July 14th through 20th, 2025