Carlin Lake Association

Post-Thanksgiving

 

It still felt like fall as we drove south last week for Thanksgiving gatherings.   But, winter has settled in, as we drove back home on Sunday.    

A couple of inches of snow covers the ground.  So, I need to be reminded to leave home a few minutes early for any appointment, giving some extra time for slippery roads.   

At noon today, Tuesday, our car thermometer still reads 10 degrees.  That temp feels a little shocking, although it should warm to 30 degrees later in the week.

You can see that ice is forming on the lake.    But, the sun sparkling across the water is stil lovely for the next few days at least.

 

Spectacular fall weekend

 

Carlin Lake Celebrates The Barbie Movie

Bill Draves shares this colorful fall sunset, from his visit this last weekend.   

Along the way, he passes along some Barbie trivia for us.     But----he did not say whether he had seen the movie or not.   I wonder if he would have liked it, with the profusion of pink! 

First, in nature versus nurture, pink is definitely nurture. Up until the 1940s both boys and girls wore both blue and pink clothes.  If anything, pink was more of a boy color. In the 1940s a couple of department stores began recommending pink for girls, for no apparent reason other than to sell clothes with the new look.

The turning point came in 1953, when Mamie Eisenhower wore a pink gown to her husband’s Inaugural Ball. From then on, it was all pink.

Second, dolls, however, are all nature, the scientists say.  Infant girls at birth are attracted to dolls, while infant boys at birth are attracted to mobiles overhead.  Both inherent traits relate to survival, and preparation for life.  So enjoy pink while it’s still a girls’ color!  

 

Here's an app you do not need!

 

“Forest Sounds” is a new app I heard about.  With stress and anxiety at an all time high, especially for our children and grandchildren, there is ample scientific evidence that woodland sounds and sights have a most positive impact on mental wellness, feeling good emotionally, and a release of positive endorphins (whatever they are).  

We on the lake, even visiting, don’t need an app - -  we have the real thing.  And add in the water sounds, it’s like a free therapist without the awkward couch and missed but billable appointments.  

Frogs, birds, insects (yes), water lapping up on the shore or your boat, and the loon. Even here now in November there is the sound of snow falling. Or the best sound of all - - silence.  

But here’s the thing: you don’t have to think about it for the therapeutic effect of the woods, water, air and aromas to have a positive effect.  It just happens.

    Thanks for the positive thoughts, Bill!

 

Welcome to remote workers on Carlin Lake

 

Diane and Mark are two of the new people on the lake who work from home. Our lake neighbor Sam B. has installed technology to allow him to work just across the bay from Farwells.   I often say Hi to Al Krassel along the road when he works from his Carlin home.    Jeff and Amy can put in long work days before they take their paddle-board evening circuits around the lake.

But there are others. Our new young friends on Crab Lake Road work, from home, for giant corporation Cisco.    As for some others, it was escaping the pandemic that brought Julie and me up here almost year round. The Vilas County population grew 10% during the pandemic. 

  Here’s the thing: remote workers create an additional 4 local jobs for people in and around Presque Isle.  We don’t hire them, we don’t know who they are. But the U.S. Chamber of Commerce confirms this.  My income comes 98% out of Wisconsin, Diane teaches for Purdue University in Indiana, my Cisco friends’ income comes worldwide - - certainly almost 0 locally.

  Bottom line: we are good for the local economy. And here’s the amazing fact: Enrico Moretti in his book The New Geography of Jobs showed that high school graduates, known here as “the locals,” earn more and have a higher quality of life the more college educated workers there are in the community.   (Photo: Julie’s customized home office with Persian rugs,  aquarium, and track lighting.)

  P.S. Our financial advisor just moved up to Presque Isle Lake.  Don’t bother asking for his name. We’re not sharing 😊  

Many thanks to Bill Draves for being my blog back-up for the month of November.    I'm betting his additional blog posts will be just as interesting as this one is.   Carm