Happiness is a Clean Lake

The lake cleanup on Saturday was a huge success, I must say. And that's thanks to all of you who participated. I know many of you can probably think of something you'd rather do than pick up other people's trash on a Saturday. But you really had fun with it, from what I could tell.

We ended up with four truckloads of garbage -- the bulk of that was tires (most likely from our breakwater), styrofoam blocks and cable -- all remnants of the storm in February. And there were several bags of actual trash. Several folks told me they were pleasantly surprised to find that there really wasn't that much trash to be picked up. And that means people are picking up after themselves on a regular basis, which they should, and that makes me happy.

Some of the most unusual finds: water heater, bowling bag with shoes, neck brace, port-o-potty, underwear (ewww!) and part of a crockpot. The winners of the most unusual find were Stephanie Phelps and Sue Jones -- they found the bowling bag with shoes. The person who collected the most trash was Craig Mincke. Congrats! (PS I do have framed certificates for you... I'll get them to you soon!)

The party was a lot of fun, too. Thank you to everyone who brought food. We ate every bit of 12 dozen hot dogs and brats. And all the side dishes and desserts, too! The bonfire was a must. While I wore shorts and a t-shirt all afternoon, I had to change into pants and a fleece at dark. It got chilly! Our poor musician, Allen Ross, about froze to death. So we came up with a little propane heater to put on the stage with him.

All in all, it was a fun day. Thanks again to all who participated. Stay tuned for more details about the chili cook-off on November 4.

Oh, and if you want to view the rest of the pictures from the cleanup, click here: http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=52683631/a=
22438134_22438134/t_=22438134

If you've never used Snapfish, it will ask you to create an account -- very simple. Just type your first and last name, e-mail address and create a password. No big deal...

Ciao!