A West End View

Tellin' Stories

2011-07-07T19:42:00.000-07:00

I was listening to a podcast the other day and the term hagiography was brought up. Hagiographies are essentially idealized stories. Many times they refer to religious or historical figures, but can also have application to personal narratives, which we all tell ourselves. Hagiographies can be inspirational and can communicate an “essence” that “just the facts” may miss. In the stories that we tell ourselves, about ourselves, we are often searching for “essence” and a great deal of psychological research suggests that memory is reconstructive and creative; past events are often recontextualized to fit present experience. How many times have we said to ourselves, “What was THAT all about?” and later make sense of the experience by fitting it into a category or ignoring it altogether. This is not necessarily bad as sometimes historical analysis may quite simply miss the “vibe.”

But…hagiographies can also be a burden. When objective facts hit us in the face it can be devastating and our idealism unravels. Sometimes we are saved by “THAT” broken piece of reality and it becomes oddly comforting. Our “What was THAT all about?” becomes recognizable as simply “THAT.”

Elderberry Flowers

2011-06-27T21:47:00.000-07:00

I bought an elderberry plant from the Lake Erie Islands Chapter of the Black Swamp Conservancy plant sale a couple of years ago and I was quite happy to see that this year it has a few flower heads. Flower heads, of course, means that the plant will yield berries this year. Elderberry plants once flourished on Middle Bass and the berries were commonly picked for pies. We had a neighbor who even made wine out of the berry. In my yard at home and at the island, I am attempted to use native plants as much as possible. Indigenous plants and trees are better adapted to the soil and weather conditions. In addition, they provide a benefit to the surrounding ecosystem.

When I discovered my plant at the island had flowers I was inspired……I’m planting more of these next year….lots more!

A strangely isolated place…

2011-04-23T19:57:00.001-07:00

Last weekend was our first trip to the island. Took a bunch of my daughter’s friends from college and opened on the same trip….never thought we would do that. Besides us, the west end was entirely vacant and not many people on the island overall. It was cold, windy, and felt “spacious.” Now there are quite a few people I will be happy to see once the season rolls around, but as for last weekend it really cleared my head to be experience the isolation.

North Bass Trip

2010-06-01T17:21:00.001-07:00

We had the good fortune to join Coyote Peterson and Jasper Applewood on another shoot for the Reptile Show on North Bass. Entering the swamp on the west side of the island is quite incredible as you pass through a canal surrounded by enormous vegetation.....like 20 foot high enormous.

The horizon expands entering the main body of the swamp...frogs jumping everywhere as you walk. I saw three green herons, which I didn't even know existed.

The experience was truly primordial, recovering the darkness and enigma of prehistory. I pity the fool who can't appreciate the feel of trudging through decomposing organic matter.

Middle Bass Island Nature Preserve

2010-05-12T15:59:00.000-07:00

It is unfortunate that property is so expensive on Middle Bass Island and I regret that my family did not buy more land back in the day. I guess one could have made a lot of money purchasing property back years ago, but I’m not really interested in that kind of thing. For me, the issue is that there are only a few natural areas left on the island that have not been touched by development. Although I am glad that many of my friends have been able to own houses on Middle Bass, I do have concern that we may lose the feeling freedom and mystery that is a result of having unspoiled woods, swamps, and grasslands. That is why I am so pleased that there will now be a nature preserve on the east point of the island. I am sometimes asked why money should be spent on an area that has limited access and may only be visited by a relatively small number of people? That to me seems exactly the point.

Back in the late 1800’s naturalist John Muir made the argument that nature is not just a commodity to be exploited, but something that has transcendental…sublime qualities capable of transforming our consciousness. Muir used the term “going home” to refer becoming reacquainted with our natural world; too much civilization leads to alienation and returning to the wilderness brings us back to what existential philosophers call a sense of “authenticity.”

For many years our island has been a refuge for nature. Nevertheless, we should consider in 10, 30, 50 years what will be left of the island? Will Middle Bass become a suburb surrounded by water? I hope not and I hope that the next generation will not be deprived of those “special” places on the island that take some effort to reach, but the experience of “going home” awaits those who are willing to make the effort.

Snappers!

2009-09-10T08:35:00.000-07:00

Great weekend! My daughter and I had the opportunity to help out Coyote Peterson and Jasper Applewood on shooting for a TV show "The Reptile Show". Had quite a bit of fun shooting footage of snappers! Check out The Reptile Show.

The rest of the summer....

2009-08-30T19:16:00.001-07:00

Elderberry plant

I haven’t kept up with this blog and here it is the end of the summer…so a few things that happened.

Planted a garden and it was a success! Lettuce, tomatoes, spinach, and yellow beans….we got quite a few meals out of it and told a number of friends to help themselves when we were not around.

I also planted an elderberry bush. They are native to the island and it was a bit of homage to my neighbor who would pick elderberries in the wetlands and woods of the island with her older sister, who was in her late 80’s at the time. Wow could she bake a pie! They are both deceased now and I thought it was a fitting tribute.

Had the 2nd annual "White Bass Hoedown"….my friend, his son, my daughter and I caught a freezer full of fish. Nice thing about white bass is you can’t horde them and so you must share or waste fish….they only keep about a month in the freezer. We had a house full of people. My friend did 6 different varieties of white bass (e.g., teriyaki, Cajun) and even did a white bass chowder.

Plans

2009-08-05T18:06:00.001-07:00

We have just a small piece of the architectural plans for our cottage. In the corner it has the date 7-23-08..that’s 1908. I had always thought that our cottage was built in 08, but if the plans show late July, I wonder if the drawings were competed in 08 and the cottage was built in 09?

Not a great year for plans as many of them fell through. Here it is August and only two blog entries. Plans are necessary, but sometimes you must have to courage to abandon them and try to appreciate the freedom.

Spring 09

2009-05-17T19:38:00.001-07:00

Slow dissolve

2008-10-05T16:48:00.000-07:00

(Tree by swamp...approximately 20 years ago.)

Let It Be.

2008-08-20T18:34:00.001-07:00

White Bass Hoedown

2008-08-09T18:33:00.001-07:00

The white bass fishing has been simply amazing. My daughter and I have caught tons of fish….way too many for our family to eat. So I defrosted a bunch of bags in my freezer, got the Fry Baby fired up, and asked who ever I ran into one evening over for dinner. It was loads of fun and I found my guests returning the favor with all types of vegetables from their gardens, wine, pickles, desserts, and even gazpacho. I was sitting on my porch one night thinking I would love to eat some type of chocolate dessert and one of my neighbors appeared at the back door with a plate of brownies. Although the season has pretty much passed, it is the best white bass fishing I've seen since the 70s. I may have to get a bigger fryer for next year.

June Fishing

2008-07-01T19:33:00.000-07:00

This past week we were hoping to do some fishing, but the weather was not cooperating. Seemed like every evening a thunderstorm would occur. Neverthless, one night we spotted a flock of gulls off shore and they appeared to be feeding on minnows. Years ago when you saw this and it was early in the summer it was a sign for a school of White Bass. I remember being a kid and getting a fish on every cast.

As my small fishing boat is in need of repair we jumped in our kayaks and headed for the gulls. Unfortunately the current and wind were a bit much to contend with, but we managed to get a couple of White Bass....one even had minnow in its mouth.

Where have all the Lymans gone?

2008-06-15T13:27:00.000-07:00

Started looking at buying a boat and it made me think about all the boats our family has owned. My favorite was a 21 ft. wood Lyman that we would run between the mainland and Middle Bass. When I was a kid these boats were quite common, but today you almost never see one on the lake. I wonder if most just fell into disrepair and were eventually junked? The upkeep involved a ton of work, but there is nothing like a Lyman for Lake Erie.

Eagles on the Island!

2008-06-02T16:21:00.001-07:00

Who cares about the weather!

2008-04-13T17:46:00.001-07:00

Opened the cottage this weekend and as we were riding the ferry boat I commented to a friend that it looked like the weather wasn't going to be that great. He promptly replied, "Who cares!" I have to agree.....even when it rains and is cold I can still find a ton of things to do at the island. As pictured above, lots of big dark clouds mixed with bright light...made for unusual looking skies. It even snowed when we were on the boat home!

I really like spring on the island as everything looks so different than other times of the year. The lack of leaves on the trees makes for some interesting looking landscapes.

MBI 2008!

2008-02-03T18:46:00.000-08:00

We officially kicked off the year with our winter trip. The kids had a great time exploring and even came up with some new activities such as sledding and even bike riding. Many thanks to the islanders who were kind enough to offer us rides....on the island and on the ice as well!

End of the 07 MBI Season

2007-11-11T18:47:00.001-08:00

September skies....

2007-09-16T18:13:00.000-07:00

Island pets

2007-08-18T15:04:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted anything for a bit as I've been on the island....thus no Internet. Here's an very old picture of a rather unusual island pet that an islander had many years ago. The images is not all that great...a black car does not make for a great background for a black crow. In any event, Middle Bass is a great place for pets....of all types.

Nature Camp 07

2007-07-12T15:41:00.000-07:00

Many thanks to the Middle Bass Island School Board and the instructors from the Lake Erie Chapter of the Black Swamp Conservancy. From what I observed the kids had a great time and had an excellent educational experience!

Documenting MBI

2007-06-20T15:00:00.001-07:00

One piece of advice I would have for any parents is to take lots of pictures and videos of your kids growing up on the island!

Wish you were still here...

2007-06-06T16:01:00.001-07:00

Climbing trees in the clouds....

2007-05-30T16:41:00.000-07:00

Nature

2007-05-06T15:33:00.000-07:00

I was working on our porch and just as I happend to glance at the park when the sun came out. The flowers, which I failed to have notice previously, seemed to “pop” out of the grass.

Most kids spend countless hours involved in “organized” activities or wasting time and money at the mall. Middle Bass kids have to be a bit more involved with nature and enjoy such activities as climbing trees.

Spring Sunset

2007-04-23T11:39:00.000-07:00

Spring on the island

2007-04-03T17:28:00.000-07:00

Here’s a picture from 1971 of some type of flowering fruit trees. It was taken at the corner of Fox and Deist road, right next to where the airport is currently. I believe the trees eventually died from some type of disease. I am not sure but I think the picture was taken in the spring…oh well even if it wasn’t it’s a nice reminder of spring on the island.

Winter 07....summer begins!

2007-03-04T10:16:00.000-08:00

I always think of our annual winter trip as being the official beginning of summer at the island.....well it was cold...windy...there was ice on the lake. At first I thought we were in trouble because within 5 minutes of getting off the plane we had 2 kids with wet feet. Nevertheless, with dry socks and lots of winter landscape to explore it was a great time.

The cookout didn't take place on the shore however....just too cold. But, we did grill out in a backyard and on Middle Bass you never know who will show up for a barbeque.

On left, hot dogs, braughts, mets, but no buns. On right, a weather proof kid and dinner guest.

Just a few old pictures.....

2007-01-27T20:14:00.000-08:00

Thought I would post a few pictures from a family trip to the island on the tin goose in 1972. I was in my teens and just got a new 35 mm camera. With little experience using the camera, I ended up taking a few double exposures…the last image is one such example. The image intrigues me as it appears someone is in the foreground, but I have no idea who it could be.

Winter on the island

2006-12-21T16:52:00.000-08:00

It’s the first day of winter and I love to watch the Lake Erie web cams during this time of the year. ErieCam is great for seeing what’s going on at Put-in-Bay and LakeVision is excellent to see the lake when it freezes over. I sure hope we get some cold weather soon, as I love to make a trip to the island in the winter. It’s really fun to bring the kids and have a cookout on the beach.

A shot of the lake as seen from one of our winter beach parties.

Fishing on the dock

2006-10-23T11:19:00.000-07:00

In the fall I always think of fishing off the old Lonz dock, which is now pretty much underwater. As kids, we use to love fishing there for perch. I would really enjoy sitting in the warm sun and, with a bit of luck, pulling in a few double headers. Pictured above is Art Urban, who did quite a bit of handy work on the island back in the 60's and provided me with my first outboard boat motor...free of charge. (Photo slightly damaged.)

Legacy

2006-09-08T11:59:00.000-07:00

Most people I talk with want their children to have the opportunity to enjoy the quality of life they had growing up on the island. Looking at some old pictures the other day got me to thinking about how indebted we are to others who have made the island what it is today. In addition, it is sort of scary to think about some of the more negative turns Middle Bass could have taken. From the small actions to the grand the fate of the island is dependent upon how its inhabitants choose to live. Thus, I believe it is useful to reflect on how the choices we make today will impact future generations.

Mrs. Cizl, a past resident of the west end, gives a nature lesson on “turtles.”

My Parent’s Generation

2006-08-08T11:43:00.000-07:00

It was my parent’s generation that, to a great extent, revived the Middle Bass Club. Although bits and pieces of the club’s history have been posted online, not much has been mentioned about how during the 50’s and 60’s one could buy a cottage on the west end at a very reasonable price….granted these homes were in pretty bad disrepair and it took a considerable amount of work to get them back into shape. It was my parents and their cohorts who were people of modest means that worked hard and saved many of the cottages that were on the brink of being lost to neglect. Thanks!

My parents in 1956

ON

2006-08-08T11:26:00.000-07:00

I decided to switch this thing on and start posting. Yeah I picked one of the easy templates instead of doing a big search for the perfect look, but I would rather spend time posting than designing. My rules for posting are... to keep it short....who has time....and a picture or two often is better than lots of text. I will also try to post at least once a month..if not more.. especially in the summer.