Carlin Lake, beautiful and clear, is a medium-sized lake in Vilas County, Wisconsin. This blog's purpose is to enhance communication among lake residents and other neighbors and friends of the lake.
The blog is sponsored by William Draves and maintained by Carmen Farwell. Please click at the end of any post to comment, or contact Carmen at johncarmf@gmail.com.
We hope you come back and click in here often!
Our neighbor Marty Coonen has agreed to join the history of other Carlin volunteers who have taken secchi dish readings for decades. Thanks to Gary and Sally Wise, George and Ramona Kubica, Alex and Carl Watras, John Farwell, and Duanne Swift for recording water clarity, and now, many thanks to Marty for assuming this monthly task from first ice-out to ice-in again.
But, I will make a guess that none of the prior volunteers were out on the lake in a canoe on November 22nd, "above and beyond the call of duty," to get the season's final measurement of water clarity.
Aliza supplies these fun photos, of the two of them out on the water during yesterday's snowy afternoon. Her pictures show the ice that is forming on their end of the lake. They had to do some ice-busting to get the canoe out from shore.
And they got to see an otter slide from the bank into the water. On the right, you see his belly marks across the ice.
Many thanks to Carl Watras, for measuring and recording Carlin Lake's water level year after year, as well for providing these graphs showing the results.
The first graph is for Carlin (in the Superior watershed); the second is for Little Rock Lake (in the MIssissippi watershed); and the third is for the Great Lakes region as a whole.
You see that in general, they all follow the same patterns. For sure, each area remains at near record high water levels now in fall 2020.
In the final graph, you will see that water levels have risen and fallen in approximately decade-long increments since 1940. Most of us will remember the record-low lake levels around 2010, and now see the record-high levels.
Do you think we may still be here in 2030, to see if Carlin's water level takes another dramatic drop in the next decade?
Thank you, Carl!
Nine Carlin readers gathered by Zoom and Facetime this week, for our monthly book discussion. The faces in this photo show that both the discussion of Giver of Stars and the conversation were a pleasure.
One positive side of meeting in this virtual format is that friends who are away from the lake can also participate. Any Carlin woman is welcome to join--just let one of us know.
Plan ahead for Tuesday, December 8th at 2:00 pm, when we will be discussing Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton.
While we might consider ourselves red, blue, or purple in these November days of 2020, there is certainly one thing we all fervently agree about: our gratitude to the veterans who served on our behalf, to maintain our freedoms and our wonderful lives in America!
Thank you very sincerely, Danny LaPean, Jim Stocker, Bill Huemann, Richard Straus, Chuck McCall, Martin Coonen, and Duanne Swift for your years of service.
And this Veterans' Day, I'm pleased to add our appreciation to Dr. Matt Babcock, who served in Iraq as a Captain in the Army.
As neighbor Jeanne says, "We are blessed to be surrounded by those who were willing to sacrifice their time and efforts for our county!"
We thank you all and honor you all this week!
John Martin has learned quickly about life at Carlin Lake! Jeanne brought him cookies. Cecil loaned him tools. Rich invited him out for a sandwich. Betsy offered him a kayak for a late-fall paddle. He learned that Ron and Tracy can not only plow snow but can help with any home maintenance. And, he got to visit with neighbors Mary and Ruby Begonia.
John says he is just as happy to be at Carlin Lake as Carlin neighbors have been to welcome him. This young (to most of us) single man, a pharmacist from the Chicago area, first came Up North to the Hayward area as a boy with his grandparents. He and his sister Dawn always had a dream of having a family place in the Northwoods, and so, John was delighted to find the Carlin Club property for sale.
John intends to use the property to welcome family and friends, using the hotel rooms as overflow for guests. He also has purchased the "Sorensen property," AKA the "duplex property." Thus, he and family will be able to use the main Carlin pier, as well as ensuring that a large new home couldn't be built just across the drive from the main house.
John says, "This is the prettiest place ever," a sentiment with which we all would agree. As we sat in sunshine and talked, John told us what he looks forward to doing at the lake: "sitting in a fishing boat, sitting by a campfire, listening to loon calls." He pointed out the calming sounds of the wind in the Norway pine trees overhead.
John's pharmacy career allows him to work by internet, and he expects to stay at the lake much of November and December, as he gradually puts his own mark on the property.
The Carlin folks whom John has already met tell how personable, interesting and hard-working he is. We are so happy to have him already adding to the long and rich history of Carlin Lake!
Rich Janusz took me for a quick look today at the remodeling he and Suzanne have in progress on at their lake cottage. These photos will give you an idea of the space they are adding for bedrooms, gathering rooms, bathrooms, office, and laundry.
Rich raved about their contractors: famous Carlin Lake residents Ron and Tracy Bricco. He says Ron was able to envision the new addition and drew up the plans. Here you see Ron finishing up one spot of shingling on the roof and Tracy taking trips up and down the ladder with supplies.
This week of beautiful sunny weather will allow them to get the roof finished, the windows installed, and everything enclosed. In the carport area, Rich and Suzanne will have a three-season porch, similar to the one their neighbors Bill and Jeanne Huemann enjoy.
Top photo is taken from the lake side, with Ron and Tracy on the roof. Second photo is view from the driveway, and bottom photo is Rich in front of the present carport, with future loft area above and three-season porch below.
Good wishes for Rich and Suzanne, and for Ron and Tracy, for the successful completion of this remodeling project!
What an interesting day! This morning, the wind and falling snow made it feel like blizzard conditions. Danny reports that his electronic weather gauge showed 30 mile per hour winds---the highest Danny has ever seen. This photo isn't the greatest, but maybe gives an idea of how the snow was swirling.
And, this afternoon I was able to take a walk in the sunshine---about 2" of new snow and still breezy. Forecasts for the week show temps reaching the middle 50s.
While this may not be called Indian summer, we will certainly enjoy it. I expect that snow will quickly melt, and our winter can start again at "ground zero."
In the last years, you will have followed the great destruction to bats in our area, from white-nose syndrome. But, now, we have seen the beginning hopeful signs of their resurgence.
This week, Discovery Center naturalist Licia Johnson has posted bat information on the Center's Facebook page, in honor of National Bat Week. The data from Carlin Lake from the surveys on 2013 and 2017 is a dramatic graphic depiction of the loss of bats in our area.
While this wasn't positive news in 2017, it was fun to see Carlin noticed on Licia's post yesterday.
Here, though, I copy and paste the hopeful results Bob and Judy got from their August survey of the lake, showing that bats seem to be returning. (You also saw this 2020 map in an earlier post, below, on this blog.)
Let's celebrate! In addition to a full moon and Halloween, it's National Bat Week. A great time to celebrate the gradual return of bats to our areas!