So, who's started their season?
 

I thought that it might be interesting to start a thread that we can use to "check in" as we return to the lake!

Indy 4 went into the water last Thursday, so the Admiral and I were up on Friday for our first cruise of the season. It was absolutely wonderful; bright sun, warn, and the lake was like glass! :D

Silver Duck

March 25
 

.. Hung the Camp sign on March 25, Opened the camp April 1, boat went in that week.. used the boat for the first time this weekend and spend the weekend in my own camp this weekend for the first time... It was wonderful!!!! With the hard work of good friends I have running water... the earliest ever... I am ecstatic!!

It is good to be home! (I only hang my hat in MA to work, the island is my real home)
IG

Next week
 

Been up a few times to do cleanup and such. Waiting for the water to get turned back on. Should be this upcoming weekend. Boat goes in the following Fri. I think there was still snow on the ground this time last year.

4/28 Is The Day!!!
 

:D

We're opening our place on Bear Island on 4/28. I can't wait!!!

Belinda

April 29th for us, we are counting the days!

Ive been doing spring clean ups for 2 weeks now. The snow being gone early is a great thing, for me anyways...lol
I guess its time to put the sleds away and start up the jet ski...

March 31
 

Opened in March, and for being on an Island is really good. Took the next weekend off to spend with brand new granddaughter (now have 3 & 3) and put the water on this weekend. Came back early for Easter with the family.
Back up Monday with some of the grandkids to help with branch pickup and the like.

Almost time for Black Flies....
 

I'll be heading up on Tuesday. Luckily I have school vacation time. Though we use the place in the winter time, on occasion, the water is shut off for the winter so the place doesn't have to be heated all during the cold season. (electric heat....ouch!) Under these conditions we have to lug lots of water! But it's like camping out inside so it's an adventure. And it's not really 'roughing it' with heat, cable and internet. Any way the water gets turned on this week. That means the shower works! (and I smell much better!) A bit of advice to everyone....now is the time to do your raking, sweeping (under the house plumbing connections?) and other outside tasks BEFORE the black flies come out!

Boat launching for me is no big deal as it involves throwing the kayak off the dock. Oh wait a minute....my dock floated away last October.....
http://images.rei.com/media/511248.jpg

highly recommended....CLICK HERE

Went up last weekend and did clean up. Mcdude I know how you feel with the no water I always say I have running water just run down to the lake and get it.
Splashed the boat on Wed. the 12th had a great day on the lake(looked for what is in the water on the weirs cam but found nothing) had lunch on the boat.
Hope to get the water turned on this weekend.

.....lots of May flies!
 

So many mayflies, thick as can be and it's not even the month of May, yet! Most mayflies ever! I opened the door to go inside and wasn't quick enough so a swarm of these mayflies swarmed in with me and were very annoying. Believe it or not, there a was even a bat attached to the side of the recliner, totally dead. It must have eaten too many mayflies and suffered a bout of instant mayflyitis, or something.

The lake level sure is looking low, and the mayflies sure are looking thick and too many. Hey, maybe this will qualify me for a property tax abatement as in land value diminished by low water and too many mayflies. Methinks I see a letter of assessment appeal.......Dearest Selectmen & Selectwoman....

I have already been on the lake 5 times, had a great lunch at Pepper's, opened up the house and blew up an outboard motor...Boy its going to be a great season!

My season dont start til July17th when I go to Weirs Beach whoo hoo!! Its just about 90 more days yeaaaaaaahhhhhhhh :D

Running water
 

Like you and McD, our water gets "off'ed" in late fall and then "on'ed" in a week (or two). We've been going up these past few weeks to get a start on the normal opening tasks and, for "Mee", indoor plumbing is one of those BIG things. We have heat, should we want, via the gas stove. Works well for our small hovel. But back to H2O ... so like you we have "running water"; she wants water and I run down to the lake and back to get it ! The raking goes much faster when 2 are raking rather than just myself. ;)

april 1
 

We opened up on 4/1 :D We had to fix a few leaks but that seems appropriate considering the day. The sailboat won't be in the water for awhile, she still needs some bottom paint and we are waiting for new sails.
The past few weekends have been for chores...raking...prep for painting, etc. and just relaxing with long walks with the pooch. I did take a walk in the Lake until my toes turned blue :eek: and I was numb up to my shins.
We love it here!!!

Hark! A sandy beach!
 

'Been here a week, a few weeks later than usual. "Re-seasoned" the place the first day. No windfalls, so there's no chainsawing to do. And, surrounded by an acre of forest, there's no point in raking this non-lawn. Lots of the usual birdlife, including the flycatchers. (No mayflies as yet, though).

Until yesterday, it's been sunny and calm. Lots of shiny aluminum boats seeking salmon out there. A great week in the sun for them, too, even if they get "skunked". Friday, I saw a trout feeding off the surface within two feet of the water's edge.

What's weird this year is the sound of the occasional wake hitting the shoreline. Now that I have a beach, the waves just go "whoosh, whoosh, whoosh", instead of the customary crashing sounds.

'Haven't boated very far as yet, just visiting the neighbors' docks. All the local docks with pilings have suffered some "pushovers" due to ice movement. My own dock got pushed back to "level"!

Peeking through the boards on the dock, the lake water itself has a lot of small fragments suspended in it. Except for the occasional grassy fragment, there's little that can be identified.

The weather has been superb for taking my customary nap in the sun on the dock. (And sweating!) :coolsm:

This Past Weekend
 

We opened up this past weekend (14th-15th). Cleaned a ton of downed branches and sticks around the yard. Put the dock in, turned the water on, and chopped wood for six hours (my hands are killing me today-no grip).

I saw five deer Saturday morning, big ones too. A lot of black flies. The loons were calling to each other when we arrived Friday night.

Couldn't believe how low the lake is. It's the lowest I've seen in over thirty years.

It was good to be home though.

Life Is Good
 

The runaway dock has been (at least temporarily) restored to its' ordained location (the new waders worked great!) ...and the water has been successfully turned on with no leaks! I think it was three years ago that today was ice-out. Today it is about 70 degrees! If it weren't for those black flies....and how did I get this poison ivy? (itch, itch, itch)
:D

We opened up!
 

Steve at Fay's had our boat ready so...

Our season started 4/18, putting down the dock, getting the water running, and doing general inspection around the place. We are in good shape; our neighbors lost not one, but both docks. I wonder if it was the high water last fall or ice that did them in.

I had never spent time on the islands earlier than Memorial Day, so I was impressed with the clearness of the air, the dormancy of the deciduous vegetation, the visible snow pack not just on Mt. Washington, but all the Presidentials. Midweek it was warm (mid 60's) and quiet. The water temp at our place was 44 - 45F.

The big project for the year, replacing our 450 sq. ft. deck, got underway by removing the old one. My nephew and niece hauled all the old boards to the swamp. Now the decision as to what to replace it with is really on the front burner. We are thinking ipe, cedar or PT???

A great early start and Waldo Pepper's too
 

We got up to Alton today. It was a beautiful day. The lake was sparkling.. the mountains majestic as always.......The house was intact and the water turned on. Even the outside only needed raking...no downed trees or branches. We luckily seemed to be one of only a few homes in our cove whose dock was not hurt... the advantage of being deep in the cove. of course the disadvantage is that there is not much water under my dock. This is the lowest water level I have ever seen in the spring. I am praying for a lot of rain...otherwise it might be a very short boating season.

The great advantage of not having to do much work was that we got to find Waldo Peppers and get a lobster roll. I am embarrassed to say that in 15 years here... I had never been there.. after reading all the posts I had to go. The best decision I ever made.!!! Will be back

On the lake
 

We took our boat out this afternoon. Few other boats were on the lake. It is still cold!

Dress well and enjoy
 

I have mastered the fine art of dresssing for boating when it is cold. I would prefer a nice bimini with windows... but ... I wear many layers, a warm hat, goggles and fleece up to my nose...

... so for me, boating this time of year is a joy... no boat chop on the lake! ;)

Normaly this time of year we're still ridding our sleds on the lake, so maybe we just keep the riding gear out for boating?:laugh:

We opened up on April 19th. The docks/boat won't go in for a while, probably around another month. We were surprised to see that so many trees were down, including a few of our neighbors'. Nothing major done to our property besides the thousands of sticks in the yard. Our plumber was nice and even plugged in the fridge before we got there!

A spring break well spent.

My Season Has Started
 

Had the boat de-winterized today and took the "Just Sold" on her maiden cruise for 06. Whoopie!!!!!

It was nice and sunny with a lot of wind but not too much chop to deal with. The gusts hit the boat a couple of times and tried to re-direct our course. Saw very few other boats cruising around and saw a few fishermen hoping for the big one.

Had lunch at WP's and saw some island friends who were up because it is school vacation week. Could of fooled me...no kids at my home anymore for me to know when the kids are on a school break.

Upon my return to shore I discovered that there are 2 other boats of the same year, brand, model, length and color at the boat yard. :eek: This could get confusing :confused: if we all we in the rack storage building which we are not. Popular boats these Four Winns 225 Sundowner's are.

We open up this weekend! Yay!
Boat won't go in till Labor Day-ish though.... :(
It's ok - just being up there is good enough for me! :banana:

Wow... what a shame.... there's a lot of good boating to be had between now and *Labor* Day!

:)

Gusman

"Labor Day" or "Memorial Day"
 

I hope you meant Memorial Day, otherwise, why have a boat.

will arrive Friday to open up

It's Official For Us
 

We were at the lake for a weekend in March to watch our daughter play in a women's ice hockey tournament for the Wolfeboro She-Wolves but we rearrived last night to make it official for 2006. Yippee.

We were greeted by 2 loons who sounded off just as we turned on the outside lights. What a great way to arrive. The water is on and so was the heat this morning.

Lots of things to do. Yard cleanup, get the boat and Seadoo ready, put the moorings in and do some diving ASAP.

It's great to be back at the lake for another season, albeit, still just weekends and vacation. But...one of these days...a little more permanent.

Bring on summer!

we opened up on Easter weekend!
 

We have been busy raking, repairing and emptying as many wine bottles as possible every weekend since. Very quiet at night but picking up during the days. Great weekends so far!

I'm right behind you. I'm up there by noon Thursday. Can't wait.

Very anxious to see how much worse the dock damage got after my mid-February visit. Hopefully not much! Permits have to be applied for prior to the work being done.

Anyone have a black fly report?

the black flies which are a myth
 

While blacl flies which are not real did appear this weekend. The wind was clam so they were around more then they should have been. Only flatlanders noticed the little balck ones.

OHHHHHHH, to be.............!
 

......at the lake!!!!!!!! No longer have a place there, but the boat still lives at the marina, so we get up there as often as possible! Some of the descriptions here of the clear air, the snow on the range, the loons calling...... just about make me weep with yearning! Not much longer before the "Bear" family gets to start our season, and in the meantime, all of you lucky enough to already be at the lake, enjoy, and have a day for me!

WB

Grant:

The Black Flies were pretty nasty at my place in Tuftonboro this past Sunday. It may be that they aren't as bad on Parker Island, or perhaps, as suggested, us Flatlanders are whimps. My theory is that the dry weather has brought the flies out early this year. Hopefully, they will leave earlier than normal as well.

That's what I figured. We're in Tuftonboro also, and I *knew* this was their time, but some years they are worse/better than others. And don't be fooled by any claims of black fly bravado...doesn't matter where you're from, those suckers are nasty.

Black fly remedy
 

We didn't notice them until Sunday. They didn't actually bother me that much but then again I know the proper remedy ... which is to have somebody else around whom they like better ! "Mee" was bitten repeatedly while I don't recall a single bite. :eek:

Guess who is sweeter?
 

You know what they say about catching flys with honey!:D

Never Quite Close
 

In one sense my season never stops as I try to use our place in Wolfeboro in the winter as well. This year though was not the best of winters for that. No snow equals no cross country skiing. But more on topic, I just put my boat in last Saturday. With the usual pre-launch work to be done (adding all the gear and cleaning the cushions, etc., although the boat yard does the heavy lifiting) and a glitch on the new Navman, I did not actually launch until about 4:00 PM. Nonetheless, it was great and still had enough time to leave Goodhue Hawkins and head out for a little shakedown cruise. Few boats, flat and a nice night, brought back to mind all the reasons I was so eager to launch. Had to put it off until last weekend because of commitments back home. I managed to get out for a couple of hours Sunday morning as well. Even with the May flies as thick as they were last weekend, it was great to be on the Lake. Hope you all have that same experience soon if you have not already.

Counting the Days
 

We're hoping to get the the Official Weekend Pundit Lake Winnipesaukee Runabout (aka The Boat) back into the water sometime next weekend. We've been compounding the gel coat today and hope to get a coat of wax on it tomorrow. Then it will be just the last bit of clean-up in the cockpit and cuddy to take care of and it'll be ready for its slip at Fay's.

We started the swimming season with a couple of plunges from the dock last Friday...brisk, yet not as bad as the previous two years. And went diving with Senter Cove Guy on Saturday afternoon. So I guess the season has started.

Your a braver man then me!:eek:

No -- just stupid. Here's the trick: Rake leaves and haul limbs for a few hours on a nice warm day -- with long sleeves, pants, and a hat for black fly protection. Soon you'll be sweating like a Derby horse. If the sun is out and the air is warm, your brain will eventually be fooled into believing that a plunge in the Lake is needed to "cool down." It's also a good way to brush up on your fast swimming skills.

Weirs beach Cam
 

The Bug on the Weirs cam look like it escaped form one of those great old sci fi pix that played at the drive in but you never saw:D

OK, I Apologize...
 

The "Upthesaukee" has made it "Inthesaukee", and is registered and ready to go...except for the rainy forecast for Tues, Wed, Thurs, Fri, cloudy Sat & Sun, rainy Mon, Tues, Wed...it's gotta be my fault and I am so ashamed:blush: .

Well, we do need it, and the important thing is that it is in the water, it is on top of the water (mostly), all checked out and ready to go.

Hope to get out for a while this weekend. BTW, happy Mother's Day to the boaters, boaters wifes and moms, and moms everywhere. (sorry, one sentence off topic).

Brrrrrrr.....too soon....too cold.

Arrived last night for the season. Let's see.....80 and sunny in Coral Gables, 45 and raining on Lake...but we would rather be here. Will officially start tomorrow with a visit to Waldo Peppers....only decision is lobster roll vs. fried clams. Will make the correct decision...both!!

This snow bird has returned