I’m spending a full week at Camp this year.  Let’s see how far I get with journaling it.

I left home around 9am and got to Camp at about 11:30.  Kelly (sister) was there with Mom & Dad.  She and Mom went to prepare beds for our cousins who are visiting later in the week.  Dad and I decided to go check out what was going on at Ausable Chasm.

The water in the river is near its all-time low.  There was some rain today–the first in a long time, but it won’t be enough to bring the water up.  Rafters are not able to traverse the rapids.  Indeed, even a raft with a lone guide had trouble getting through to pick up her passengers who had to walk around the rapids!

Whirlpool Basin is the lowest I have ever seen it.

Dean (brother in-law) and I moved the dock and boat hoist out for the third time so far this year.  The lake level is below 95 feet (above sea level) and falling.  Mission accomplished, Mom, Dad, Kelly, Dean, and I took the boat for a ride down Willsboro Bay and back.  Despite a raininy morning, it was a beautiful day on the lake!

While we were waiting for dinner to cook, we sat on the porch.  Seeing a massive plume of dark smoke on Trembleau Point, I hopped in the boat to investigate.  By the time I got out there there wasn’t much to see.  I suspect someone had started a fire using a serious amount of yard waste–probably a lot of pine needles.  The plume we saw from Camp had settled down to a haze that drifted down the bay and which we could smell back at Camp 45 minutes later.

Me on my way back to Camp:

After dinner, I futzed with the Sea Doos, which never seem to run exactly right for us.  The 3-seater’s battery was dead, but the 2-seater fired right up.  Both needed gas.  I removed the dead battery.  It’s charging overnight.

I put the boat on the hoist and then took to preparing a replacement manifold I had to order for my Dad’s air compressor, having broken it 2 weeks ago while working on his lawnmower.  Fortunately, it’s a standard part and was both cheap and easy to find online.

It’s ready to go.  I’ll install it some time this week, while I still remember where everything goes.

More porch time with Mom while Dad went for a walk.  When he returned he reported seeing a young deer lazing about in the weeds in the ditch next to the road.  He walked past very close and the deer did not flinch.  It was still there on his way back.  It seemed healthy…it just had no interest in being anywhere else.

I went inside to post some pictures on Facebook. Amanda called to say goodnight.  (She stayed home because she has a conference in Boston this week, but doesn’t leave until Tuesday morning.)

That’s it for today.  I’m going to bed (11pm).  Here’s a picture of a fawn I saw on the beach north of Camp shortly after arriving today: