Meggisi

June 15, 2008

:: Father's Day Reflection

On this Father's Day - my first as a father - I have several things on my mind. They all connect to the overall theme of fatherhood, which is celebrated today. Here it goes:

1. Floods, tornadoes, and the fathers and sons of the midwestern US.

Being an Eagle Scout, I intently watched the coverage this week of the tornado disaster at Little Sioux Scout Ranch in Iowa. My fatherly instincts swelled within when I watched the scout leaders and parents look upon their boys - truly young men - describing how they trained for a tornado warning just hours before the storm struck camp. They looked so in awe of their kids. Then as the kids recounted horrific scenes of mayhem post-twister, and how they sprung into action, "just like we learned" administrating first aid and stabilizing the situation, the parent's faces showed pure love, pride, and joy. Some were grinning slightly, several had tears welled up in their weary eyes.

Meanwhile, I watched parents across the midwest flood plains deal with a nearly-insurmountable situation...saving their families from the tragedy of flooding. They talked of their children, who are scared and confused. They don't want to go out and play, in fear of a levee break or a tornado. Fathers being interviewed about how their sons are not tending fields or going to summer semester at college because they are on a work crew to fill sandbags. Again, the emotions - pride, joy, anguish, fear...hope. This Father's Day, I am thinking about the challenges we face to prepare our kids for natural disasters and civil emergencies, and the reward we receive when our children respond in a way that saves not only their own lives, but the lives of others.

2. Fathers with sons in the military, deployed to war

My cousin is a Marine. He showed extreme skill as a marksman during training - and he is trained to kill, and has the expertise the military needs to fight our wars in Iraq and Afganistan. Due to his talent, he is on the "tip of the spear"...he sits up front on his vehicle as they patrol, gun at the ready...and the first to possibly take the hit from an insurgent attack. He serves bravely for our country. His father, and his extended family, would very much like him back home, away from places where he needs to kill-or-be-killed. Today I opened up my Sunday newspaper to find the "Happy Fathers Day" greeting on the front page -- next to the headline, "4 Marines Killed In Afganistan". This Father's Day, I am praying for my uncle, his son, and all other fathers with sons in the military...especially those who have died for our country. They died, and their fathers, while deeply anguished, are proud.

3. Honoring our own fathers, and remembering how they taught us to be dads

Tim Russert passed away this week, and a nation is mourning - not because he was an exceptional journalist (he was), but because he was an exceptional person in the public eye. To those of us who saw him through the glass of our TV's, he was a normal guy. He loved the Bills, loved his family, spoke with the common sensibility of a neighbor over the fence, and he loved his father. He loved his father so much, he wrote a book about him. Today, Tim Russert's father, "Big Russ", is mourning the passing of his son. It is commonly said that children should not die before their parents. But reality is that they do...whether in war, due to tragedy, accident, or health. And God has His reasons and plans -- we may not understand, but He does have a reason for this to happen. My father is currently writing his memoirs as he tries to enjoy early retirement. I got him Barack Obama's first book - a memoir of sorts that relates back to his father. Not having read it myself, I thought it might have a "Father's Day" tilt to it. I also wanted to get him something to get his memoir project some inspiration....I guess we shall see. Perhaps I should have purchased "Big Russ and Me" - Tim Russert's book about his father. Basically his father's memoirs with his son's journalistic pen. Either way, I think both books have a common thread -- that is, how we honor our fathers, and remember how they taught us to be dads. I know my own father's memoirs will meditate on this, and I for certain know mine will too someday.

4. How great it is to be a "new dad"...or an "old dad"

My daughter, Evelyn, is now 8 months old. This is my first Father's Day, and I can't believe how much I am in love with my daughter. She is so precious to me! One of my closest friends called up today - he has a daughter who is 2, and invited me to a Father's Day BBQ. This morning, to celebrate Father's Day, we will enjoy a brunch of lake trout from Meggisi with my father who could not make the annual pilgramage this year. Later we will go to the BBQ. New dads, and old dads, we all have a very certain and common bond. Celebrating fathers brings together families and friends alike. Dads learn from one another, and pass on the awesome knowledge and responsibility to be "Dad". It's a blast!

Posted by pierre at 10:21 AM

May 24, 2008

:: Meggisi 2008 - A Success!!

We arrived at Meggisi this year AT ice out. Not before, not after. We were there right when it happened! Truth be told, we actually had to break some ice with the boats to get to our favorite fishing grounds. By the second night, the ice was completely off Meggisi.

Between all of us, over 4 days of fishing, we caught 112 lakers and 4 northerns (all catch and release, of course...for those who don't know). All the trout averaged between 3-5 lbs, largest was around 7 lbs.

For more great pictures of the trip, please go here. I should have some video posted soon as well, so check back!

Posted by pierre at 12:30 PM

April 27, 2008

:: Melt, melt, melt!

So, Meggisi 2008 is approaching fast, and the lakes up north -- whilst trying to melt -- just got 6"+ of snow dumped on them yesterday in a very powerful and freak late-April snowstorm. WTF?! I have been keeping my eye on several webcams up on lakes of notable interest over the last couple of weeks, including lakes around Ely, MN, Rainy Lake, and Lake of the Woods. All locales - pre snowstorm - had black ice and major "candleing" working on the ice conditions. In fact there was also quite a bit of open water. I emailed some contacts north of the border and one of them said not to worry and that the snow might help to "weight down" the ice. Hmmmm.

I am not too sure about that. Chemists agree that ice does not sink "on its own", but what if there was something with higher density on top of the ice? The density of ice is less than the density liquid water (remember that ol' chestnut from high school Chem?) so what if there was water on top of ice? Another mystery is the phenomena of water's highest density - it occurs at 4°C, just before the freezing point. It gets less dense in the final cooling degrees before it freezes to its solid form (ice). This causes convection currents in lakes, which help agitate either the freezing or thawing process. Technically, lake ice melts from the bottom-up. As the sun's rays penetrate the snow and ice from above, the energy stimulates the convection currents from the bottom of the lake where water warms to somewhere above 4°C. That water rises up to the ice layer, transfers its heat energy to the ice as it cools back down to 4°C and then sinks back down to the bottom where it can be warmed again. The cycle continues (in circular, convection currents) until the ice is melted to a point where other forces from above the ice can take over. This may include snowmelt and surface currents. Remember, snow is simply ice crystals in a very loose, air-filed structure. Snowflakes are less dense than ice, but snowflakes enmasse (snow pack) may have enough combined density to cause a less-dense ice structure to be overcome by gravity.

I am not certain the snow that fell up at Meggisi and across other parts of northern MN and southern ON accumulated enough to "weight down" the ice. More probable to me is the possibility that the snow melts on top of the lake ice, and the liquid snowmelt (which is more dense than the ice) has some effect on "weighting down" the ice. Some other surface effects may come into play here as well: snowmelt may come off of land (where it is sure to melt somewhat faster) and rush into lakes, causing more warm water to move in and amplify the lake ice melting process. If warmer runoff currents flow under the icepack, the convective process described above could get a nice boost!

So, in the long run, I think the rest of MN and southern ON's lakes will melt in due time for opener (and Meggisi 2008)...given the following:

- Sunny days, with highs pushing or better than 10°C every day
- No more accumulating snow
- Low temps only hitting 0°C at their lowest points of the overnights, so there is not a prolonged time at or below the freezing point in the atmosphere.

Posted by pierre at 10:02 AM