Enjoying the birds and the deer flies

I am writing this week’s column while sitting here at the cabin looking out across the lake while taking an occasional sip of my coffee. It is another beautiful day, the humidity is bearable, and the temps are predicted to be in the mid 70’s.

 

The birds are busily eating breakfast out of my feeders. I love watching the birds here, because you never know what species will show up. Right now, there are so many birds that these old eyes are having trouble keeping track.

 

The lake is just like glass this morning, which is not exactly ideal for fishing the clear lakes in this part of the state.

 

When my wife and I were first married, we would sometimes take the boys and go to Edgewater Park for a picnic. We usually met up with our friends, Russ and Sue, and their two kids. We would grill hotdogs and have beans and potato chips. After we ate, the kids and our wives would go to the playground while Russ and I would fish along shore. As the sun began to set, the fish would get active and we would catch some nice bluegill and crappie. This was a lot of fun to be had for all of us. These were times spent with good friends while making lasting memories. Those days were simple and fun times that we enjoyed close to home.

 

We attended a Singlestad family reunion on August 10. I saw and met many of my relatives for the first time. It was held on the old Singlestad home place East of Emmons off of State Line Road. My cousin, Richard Holt, and his wife were there also. It was good catching up with him, especially since I would spend a couple of weeks each summer with him on the farm. His sister, Teressa, lives on the homeplace and their sister, Karen, who lives in St. Paul, was also there. I met a lot of relatives that I didn’t know, and I think that everyone had a good time. Typical family reunion, more food than we could eat. We hadn’t gotten together for many years, but we made up for lost time.

 

My cousin, Duane Rasmusson, organized most of it, and did a god job of getting everyone together. Teresa was a gracious host, and she had it under control, even though it rained the majority of the day.

 

It almost sounds like I am writing for a small-town paper where they would post who visited who for coffee and cake. I always thought that was kind of neat.

 

Until next time: There is still plenty of good weather ahead, so get out and enjoy one of our many area parks. 

 

Please show your support for our troops who are now deployed. These service men and women are making that sacrifice, so that we may have the many freedoms that we enjoy today.