WHAT'S HAPPENING
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If you
have paid your 2020 Lake Hubert Conservation
Association dues, THANK YOU! If not,
please pay your dues now. Dues are $95 for a regular
membership and $50 for each associate member who is a
family member of a paid regular member. Paid associate
members receive the LHCA newsletters as well as
notices and invitations to association functions. You
are also encouraged to donate additional funds to the
association. You may designate additional donations
for general use, public access boat inspections,
historic depot maintenance and other association
needs.
Donations are tax deductible because
the Lake Hubert Conservation Association is a
501c3 non-profit charity. Send payments to
LHCA, P.O. Box 1352, Lake Hubert, MN 56459 and
thank you for supporting your lake association.
CLICK HERE TO READ THIS IMPORTANT ARTICLE
In addition to the precautions
listed in the article, make sure that any 110 Volt
electrical line on or near your dock is protected by a
GFCI (Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter). If there is
leakage of the electricity into the water, the GFCI will
shut off the power. Any licensed electrician can tell you
if your electrical line is protected by a GFCI and can
install a GFCI for you if not.
CPUE stands for Catch Per
Unit of Effort.
It’s a way of quantifying the abundance of a fish species.
The CPUE for a given species can be
compared from year to year to infer whether the abundance of
that species is rising, falling or static.
If I get quarantined for two
weeks with my wife and I die,
I can assure you that it will not be the virus that
killed me.
Day 9 without sports. Found a lady
sitting on my couch yesterday.
Apparently
she is my wife. She seems nice.
They said that a mask and
gloves were enough to go to the supermarket.
They lied. Everyone else has clothes on.
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And one
not so nice sign of spring: The first ticks have
been seen. They can be active at 40 degrees F so protect
your pets and check yourself when you've been outdoors.
Hang in there. Our guess is that
the weather will suddenly turn much warmer three or four
weeks from now but just when is anybody's guess.
The chunk of Lake Hubert ice in
this photo was removed from the lake by a spear fisherman in
2009. We estimate it to be at least two feet from top to
bottom, maybe more.
Crow Wing
County is beginning the process of reconstructing County
Road 13 from County Road 137 to Highway 371. There are new
surveyor's stakes along CR 13 that have to do with this
project. Among other improvements, six foot wide paved
shoulders will be added and drainage will be enhanced.
We're guessing that you should expect substantial travel
disruptions during construction.
CLICK
HERE to see the highway department's letter
describing this project.
Do you know
all of the different species of fish in Lake Hubert?
Have you ever
heard of the banded killifish or the Johnny darter?
According to the DNR, the
following fish are in our lake.
Black bullhead, black crappie,
bluegill, brown bullhead, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish,
largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, rock bass,
smallmouth bass, tullibee (cisco), walleye, yellow bullhead,
yellow perch, bowfin (dogfish), common carp, white sucker,
banded killifish, blacknose shiner, bluntnose minnow, common
shiner, Johnny darter, spottail shiner
CLICK
HERE
to see the detailed results of DNR fish counts in our
lake (not including the minnows).
We've had our first light snow
and now the Thanksgiving turkeys are strutting around Lake
Hubert. Winter must be coming.
Free Kindling
Forget crumpled newspaper and
high priced "fatwood" kindling. There's excellent free
kindling for your fireplace or wood stove. It's lying on the
ground beneath White Pine trees and it is one of the best
fire starters available anywhere. The cones of the White
Pine are often large, up to eight inches long, and are
coated with sticky, white, flammable resin.
When dry like the one in the photo above, the cones spread open, making them perfect for fire starting. When wet they close up but open again when they dry out. You can easily collect bushels of the cones after big winds, especially in autumn.
Hint: If your hands get sticky
from the resin, rub them with some peanut butter and then
wash it off with soap and water. Surprising, but it works
great.
Here's how:
Instead of typing AMAZON.COM into
your browser, or clicking on an Amazon Icon you have, type SMILE.AMAZON.COM
When you get to the Amazon Smile page, just type Lake
Hubert Conservation Association in the box for charity name
and follow the directions after the Association name comes
up. From then on, whenever you go to Smile.Amazon.Com and
make your purchase as usual, the Lake Hubert Conservation
Association will receive the 0.5% donation. Note: You musty
use the Smile.Amazon.Com address or there will be no
donation made.
In the north-central zone, anglers will be able to keep 10 northern pike, but not more than two pike longer than 26 inches; and all from 22 to 26 inches must be released.
This means that you can keep ten northern pike up to 21 inches (assuming you're not keeping any over 26 inches).
When we can keep all these
northerns, how can we filet the fish to remove those pesky
Y-bones?
CLICK
HERE
to see a good YouTube video showing exactly how to do
it.
Put a
plastic cup or tumbler full of water into the freezer and
wait for the water to freeze solid. Then put a penny on
top of the ice. If you return from a time away and find
the penny at the bottom of the container you'll know that
the ice has melted and your food thawed too so it's not
safe to eat. Simple but effective.
The two worst things to put down your drains are kitchen oil and grease. These common kitchen items are very difficult, or even impossible, for septic systems to break down and thus can cause system failure.
The solution is easy. Keep a
container such as a soup can in your refrigerator or freezer
and when you have bacon grease or used cooking oil, put it
into the container and when it gets full, throw it away in
the trash. To prevent odors in your fridge, just enclose the
can in a zip-lock bag.
Loon Sound
Deprivation
The lake is
frozen solid, the snow is blowing and we long for the
sounds of loons on warm summer nights.
We've found a website with loon sounds and the meaning of each sound. You can get your longings satisfied a bit at an excellent loon website www.loon.org/voice-loon.php
Lake Hubert is blessed with an
abundance of resident loons in the summer, probably due to
our very clear lake water and the abundance of fish. The
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources loon page has some
interesting loon facts. For example, did you know that loons
can dive to a depth of 250 feet and that their bones, unlike
other birds, are solid, not hollow? www.dnr.state.mn.us/birds/commonloon.html
Please remember that donations to the Lake Hubert Conservation Association are always warmly welcomed and appreciated . Such contributions are fully tax deductible as the LHCA is a “501c3” tax exempt organization. Please examine other parts of the web site to see all of the good things your organization does on your behalf. The LHCA thanks you for your continuing support.
Send your tax deductible
donations to:
LHCA
P.O. Box 1352
Lake Hubert,
MN 56459
5442 City Hall St., Nisswa
HOURS: 8:30 am – 4:30 pm Monday
through Friday.
You don't need to interact with anyone in the building. Just walk in and deposit your prescription drugs in the steel security box just a few steps inside the main door. It's easy and quick and your action could save someone from a major problem.
Thank you.
A few years ago several Lake
Hubert residents learned this lesson the hard way. During
the night, their boats were stolen from their lifts and
docks, driven out to the middle of the lake and completely
trashed. Where no keys were left, the boats were not taken.
It should be noted that last
winter, 2015-2016, the coldest recorded temperature on the
North side of Lake Hubert was 23 below zero making the
warmest winter in memory.
No, it
wasn't on Lake Hubert but it could have been. This
happened near Longville according to a Brainerd Dispatch
article.
CO
detectors/alarms
are inexpensive, easy to plug in or operate by battery and
could save your life. They're available everywhere
including Carlson Hardware in Nisswa, Target, Fleet Farm,
Wal Mart, Home Depot, Menards and online at many places
including Amazon.com.
Don't
wait! Get a Carbon Monoxide Detector/Alarm and install
it TODAY.
And while you're at it, install
some smoke detectors if you don't already have them.
The lives you save could be
your kids or grandkids.
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This bad news broke this week after the very invasive alien species was found on the East side of Lake Hubert. This invasive mussel originally came from Southern Russia and has now spread widely thoughout the world, causing serious problems. PLEASE check your water items such as docks, lifts, platforms for Zebra Mussels when you take the items out of the lake. It can be difficult to spot the tiny invaders but if you do, contact the DNR immediately to report your findings. The DNR main phone number in Brainerd is 218-203-4300, then press option 6.
For more
information Click
Here
to go to the Minnesota DNR Zebra Mussel page
Here are a few photos of past ice movement.
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The answer is regular household white vinegar and a few drops of liquid dish soap. All household vinegar contains a 5% solution of acetic acid and it is this non-toxic (except to plants) acid that kills plants. It does this by causing the plant to lose its water, thus drying it out. This happens very quickly, especially if it's a sunny day so you can expect the plant to wilt within hours.
One word of caution: Vinegar will kill any plant it touches so be very careful.
The vinegar should be used straight out of the bottle, not diluted with water. Pour the vinegar into a sprayer such as a small household sprayer or a small garden pump sprayer. Add a few drops of liquid dish soap and shake to mix. The drops of dish soap cause the vinegar to spread on waxy leaves, such as poison ivy, rather than beading and running off. If the weather is calm, spray the plants you want to kill. The plant will soon wither and any spray that gets into the water will not cause problems with frogs or fish.
A final
word: If the plant you spray has a deep tap root, like a
Canada thistle, it may re-sprout and you might have to
spray again.
The Great Gray Owl is usually found from Alaska to forested areas of Southern Canada and almost never near Lake Hubert. It is a huge owl with a length as much as 33 inches and a wingspan up to 5 feet.
Click on the photo below to see three large photos.
Click
Here
to go to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology Great Gray Owl
page
Fresh snow on the ground absorbs
sound because of the air trapped between snowflakes. When
heavy snow is falling through the air, the sound absorbing
effect is enhanced further. Once snow on the ground has
settled into a more compact layer, sounds can reflect off of
the surface and the silence is broken.
Adult deer tick on a thumbnail.
CLICK HERE to read
the whole story of Critter Wars at a home on Lake
Hubert.
Meet a New
Neighbor
We had a visitor this week, just
a few feet outside our window. This hawk is between 20 and
24 inches long and after much exploring of bird books it was
determined to be an immature goshawk. It stayed for quite a
few minutes and then flew away, seemingly effortlessly.
Soon, our wonderful flying acrobats, the hummingbirds, will disappear from our feeders, the osprey will be gone from our skies and thousands of little warblers will pass through.
Watch for these harbingers of
autumn as the first leaves change color and thoughts of
winter begin to creep into the far corners of our minds.
Some people's driveways were so clogged with large downed trees that they couldn't get out for days. The sound of chain saws became the most common sounds heard for most of the week. The cleanup will continue for a very long time.
Here are some photos taken of the damage. These do NOT show the worst damage because it was too difficult to get to the worst hit areas until many of the downed trees were cut up.
Click on a photo to see a larger version.
If you're not at the lake, we recommend you have your property checked as soon as possible.
Entrance road to Camp Lake
Hubert on July 13.
If you can hear thunder when you're on the lake you can be struck by lightning, even if you're not under the storm cloud. Lightning can travel more than ten miles away from the thunderstorm cloud. You can even be struck by lightning if the sun is shining on you so if you're out boating or fishing and you hear thunder, get off the lake immediately!
Click
Here
to see the complete government study.
This wonderful photo and note were sent to us by Lake Hubert residents Fred and Mary Jarl.
Early Easter Sunday evening we saw these two bald eagles laying on the ice on Lake Hubert about 250 feet out from our home. They probably had been fighting in mid-air, locked talons and crashed to the ice. Crows came in close for a look, but were chased away by other eagles. We contacted the DNR to report what we were witnessing.
After about 1-1/2 hours the two
eagles started flopping around and got untangled. One
eagle flew away immediately. The other one tried to
take off, but broke through the ice several times.
Eventually, it too was able to fly away.
Click
Here to see our snowflake photo page.
Thursday, February 7, 1929
"Henceforth Hubert will be known
to the world as Lake Hubert. The new name has already been
placed into effect by the U. S. Postal Department. Lake
Hubert today stands out as a summer resort station, the
terminal of many train journeyers to the lake country."
Thanks to Lake
Hubert resident Larry Lindman for passing this article
along.
Do You Know This
Bird?
The bird in the picture above does not make sounds and is seldom seen on Lake Hubert. It is the same loon we love to hear and see on our lake but this is its winter plumage. Note that the loon's red eye we see in summer is gone as are the beautiful black and white markings we recognize. In the winter, our loons travel to the east and south sea coasts of the U.S. and while there they do not call like they do on our lake. What an amazing transformation!
A family of Timber Wolves, also called Gray Wolves, has been living not far from Lake Hubert for several years. Recently several members of this family were spotted on the Paul Bunyan Trail a few miles from Lake Hubert. They did not bother the people who saw them or the dogs that were being walked.
Wolves are NOT the scary "big, bad, wolves" of childhood fairy tales and rarely, if ever, are a threat to humans.
Although the wolves are very unlikely to bother people, we recommend that you never leave your dogs or cats outside alone and that you not leave their food outside either. A domestic dog, even a large one, or a cat can be easy prey for wolves.
For those of you who find deer eating your garden plants again and again, the presence of wolves can be a good thing. Wolves often feed on deer, helping to keep the deer herd size in check.
We also have families of coyotes living quite close to Lake Hubert so if you see an animal and want to know whether it's a wolf or a coyote, here's how to tell them apart.
If you see tracks, here's how to identify them.
If you see tracks in the snow, you can make a preliminary determination by seeing whether the tracks are in a straight line or if they meander. Wolves and coyotes usually walk in a straight line. Dogs meander.
Quite a few of us at Lake Hubert would love to see the wolves but will probably never get the opportunity. If you see them and get pictures, please send them to us at LakeHubert@aol.com and we'll post them on this website.
To learn lots more about wolves,
check out the Wild
Bytes Blog written by the folks at the International
Wolf Center in Ely, Minnesota.
The LHCA fall newsletter will soon be under construction. The newsletter will contain valuable information about LHCA Board action, news items relating to Lake Hubert, nature and lake quality updates, and much, much more. However, it CANNOT be e-mailed unless we have accurate demographic information on you. Thus, if you have changed your e-mail address we need to know your updated information as soon as possible.
This valuable updated information can be sent to us at LHCAMN@gmail.com with the subject saying, "Address Change".
Please help us out on this matter so as we can serve you as best as we can.
Thank you!
Do you still bathe in the lake? Please seriously consider washing yourself in your shower rather than in the lake but if you can’t bring yourself to forgo washing in the lake, PLEASE use biodegradable soap instead of the polluting “bath bars” (also known as detergent, which is why the labels don’t use the word “soap”).
Here are some links to sites
where you can buy biodegradable soaps.
The Lake Hubert Conservation
Association doesn’t endorse any of these sites or products
but the soaps appear to be less harmful to the lake than
other so called bath and beauty bars. Remember, it’s still
best to bathe in your shower or tub rather than the lake.
Amazon.com: Two Pack of 2oz Campsuds Biodegradable Soap
REI-biodegradable soap at REI.com
Bassproshops.com/biodegradableSoap/
Campmor.com/outdoor/gear/BiodegradableSoap
If you see a neighbor bathing in the lake, point them to this article or buy them some biodegradable soap, or both. The lake will be better for it.
Thank you from the Lake Hubert Conservation
Association!
The following is from a book found for sale at Crow Wing State Park.
"In 1855 the council of Crow Wing appointed a committee to locate a Territorial Road from Fort Ripley to a point on the Red River in Pembina County.............This route was mapped by E.A. Holmes and George H. Belden in 1855. Surveyor George Hubert Belden married Miss Elizabeth Peake at St. Columbia in 1858 and was the man for whom Hubert Lake is named."
from: Old
Crow Wing, A History of a Village by Sister
Bernard Coleman, Sister Verona LaBud and John Humphrey,
originally published in 1967 and re-published in 2000 by
Evergreen Press in Baxter.