News and Views from around Lake Hubert
or
  WHAT'S HAPPENING

This Web Site Updated July 26, 2010

Check back often to be sure you don't miss anything.
(Especially this week's Ole and Lena joke - Click Here)

Posted July 26
Why do we insist that you not use lawn fertilizer with phosphorus in it?
It's illegal in Minnesota and here's why. There's already a lot of phosphorus in the ground in Minnesota so any you apply will just run off and just one pound of phosphorus in the lake will cause five hundred pounds of algae to grow.
Posted July 26
DO NOT put used oil down a drain. DO NOT pour used oil onto the ground.
Recycle used oil.
You can now recycle used oil at the Nisswa recycling center, behind the Nisswa fire station.
The 2010-2011
Lake Hubert Conservation Association
Officers are:
PRESIDENT: JIM SAWYER
VICE PRESIDENT: PERRY SKRUKRUD
SECRETARY: JANET BUDACK
TREASURER: FRANK LORENO
VICE PRESIDENT FOR EXTERNAL AFFAIRS: HAROLD STEWART

The rest of the Directors are Chuck Corchran, Marcia Corchran, MaryJo Cote, Gary Eidson, John Holbrook, Jeff Schoenwetter, Cheri Skrukrud, Dennis Tack, George Vilfordi

Posted July 19
Lake Hubert Conservation Association Board of Directors July meeting summary.
Click Here
Posted July 19
Some Little Known "Facts" About Minnesota
 Minnesota became the 32nd state on May 11, 1858 and was originally settled by a lost tribe of Norwegians seeking refuge from the searing heat of Wisconsin's winters.
Click Here for more

Posted July 14
There is a new state law
that requires all of us to remove the drain plug as soon as we take any watercraft out of a body of water and to drain all water from live wells at the landing. The purpose of this law is to help protect our lake from alien invasive species that can ruin the lake forever. You can read all about it in an excellent Brainerd Dispatch article. click here
Posted July 14
PLEASE
remind your family and guests not to drive boats through the reeds. The reeds (bulrushes) are vital to the health of the lake and boat props chop them off. They actually take take in toxins and detoxify them. They remove heavy metals from lake water and they provide cover for waterfowl and fish.
Please don't let your boats damage the reeds.

CLICK HERE to see this year's
4th of July Boat Parade photos

Posted July 14
Do you leave the keys in your boat overnight?
Don't!
A few years ago, several boats that had keys left in them were stolen from lifts at night, taken out to the middle of the lake and trashed. Boats without keys were left alone. Be smart. Your boat and its contents will be a lot safer.

Posted July 5
A big THANK YOU to the great crew of gals
that cleaned the historic Lake Hubert Depot, inside and out, in June.
The wonderful volunteers are:

Janet Budack
Barb Peterson
Sandy Raisenen
Tam Reneke
Cheri Skrukrud


Posted July 5
Yes, the sun actually did shine at least once in June.
For those who thought that EVERY day in June was cloudy and rainy (and most of them were) here's a photo taken by Tam Reneke showing a lovely June sunset on Lake Hubert.



Posted June 20

"I wonder what it would be like to live in a world where it was always June."

L.M. Montgomery


Posted June 6
Sven, Ole and Lena are alive and well
and living at the Lake Hubert depot!

They are three new hardy roses developed by the University of Minnesota, planted by Carol and Dennis Tack in the raised bed at the depot with the help of several Master Gardeners.  They are surrounded by “Profusion” zinnias and will soon be joined by asters from Russ and Berniece Hinkie’s garden.  For many years the Hinkies tended the depot flowers

Lena, Ole and Sven love company.  Stop by and visit with them.

To see photos of the garden being planted, CLICK HERE.


Posted June 1
It's Turtle Nesting Time
At this time of the year turtles leave the water and walk to higher ground to mate and lay eggs. This often leads them to walk on roadways, probably because the walking is easier there then through the brush and logs in the woods. The photos below were taken during the last week in May, on Clark Lake Road. This very large snapping turtle is about three feet long from nose to tip of the tail. According to experts, a snapping turtle of this size can be 75 years old or more. Happily, this one waddled off into the wetland without getting hit by a car.

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Posted May 23
If you're not at the Lake yet, here are a couple of updates for you.
The hummingbirds returned on the 20th, which is fifteen days later than normal.
The mayflies are swarming, about two weeks EARLIER than normal. (Not withstanding the name, Mayflies usually swarm in June at Lake Hubert.)
Go figure.

For those of you who don't know about Mayflies, they are non-biting insects that hatch underwater and swarm above the lake to mate. They live their entire lives underwater except for the few hours when they mate in the air. The reason all this is notable is that the Mayflies emerge by the many millions, appearing like smoke in the distance because there are so many. When the breeze blows toward your cabin, there can be so many Mayflies on your outside walls and windows that they actually look fuzzy! The good things are that the Mayfly hatch lasts only a few days and the birds and fish get a feast..

--------

Posted May 17
The DNR has installed a new sign near the Historic Lake Hubert Depot. It faces the trail and tells people what's behind the big trees.



Posted May 10
An old newspaper ad from
"downtown Lake Hubert"

Thanks to Larry Lindman for passing this along.

Posted May 10
And now for a more CURRENT news item from downtown Lake Hubert
The Lake Hubert/Clark Lake channel is flowing OUT of Lake Hubert for the first time in years. This tells you something about how high the water level is this spring. There should be no problems getting your boat on or off your lift this year. UPDATE on May 17 - The flow has reversed overnight and is now flowing into Hubert. The water level remains about the same as before.

Posted May 12
DNR OUTDOOR BURNING BAN LIFTED.
BURNING PERMITS STILL REQUIRED
Click Here to go to the DNR Burning info web site
Posted April 2
ICE OUT!
In the early morning hours of April second, the ice went out of Lake Hubert. This is the third earliest ice out in 47 years.
CLICK HERE to see all the ice out dates since 1963

October 20 (and again May 2)
CARBON MONOXIDE POISONING
KILLS 2 IN CABIN
Do YOU have carbon monoxide detectors in your cabin? These people didn't.

No, it wasn't on Lake Hubert but it could have been. This happened near Longville over the weekend 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 hardware stores, Target, Fleet Farm and Wal Mart.
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.

Posted March 27
First Boat of the Year on Lake Hubert
On a sunny Saturday, March 27, 2010, a Lake Hubert resident named John was, once again, the first boater of the year on Lake Hubert. Yes, there is enough liquid water to float a canoe. No, it is not yet warm enough to be a lovely boating experience. It does, however, alleviate cabin fever.

In the words of our intrepid canoeist:
"The ice shelf is now nearly twenty feet from the shoreline allowing plenty of open water to paddle a small canoe several hundred yards in either direction.

It is also noteworthy that the remaining ice is already quite thin and fragile. With expected 65 degree temperatures next week, the forecast for "ice out" has been moved up a week to around April 7th which would be more than a couple of weeks before the average ice out date of April 24th."

.....


Posted March 13
Wishing Spring Would Arrive?
Here are a couple of great photos from Phil Sollom to remind you of warmer days. These were taken last summer in the N.W. corner of the lake.


Bald Eagle


Osprey with lunch for the kids

Myths About Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS)
from MINNESOTA WATERS: DECEMBER 2009 CONFLUENCE

1. The spread of AIS is slowing and is lower than surrounding states. This is not true. AIS infestations
are increasing in Minnesota, in many cases, exponentially.

2. Managing invasibility is the key to minimizing the spread and establishment of AIS. Invasibility is
an ecological concept, whereby a less invasible environment is less inviting to an introduced species. However,
this is not an effective prevention measure because there are no operational models to guide managers regarding
how to make a waterbody less invasible.

3. Some AIS are good for lakes and rivers. There have been claims of short-term or small-scale beneficial
effects, like increased water clarity from zebra mussels or better bass fishing with milfoil, but they are
dwarfed by the long-term and broader-scale ecological damage caused by invasive species.

4. Education and awareness is high in Minnesota and that is enough. Education and awareness
among Minnesota’s recreational boaters is indeed high, but that is clearly not stopping the spread of invasive
species to more lakes and rivers.

5. Constitutional amendment monies can be used to pay for AIS management. Unfortunately, the current
guidelines for these monies (both clean water and habitat funds) do not include AIS management.


Posted February 8
Virulent Fish Virus Identified for First Time in Lake Superior
For the first time, the presence of an exceptionally virulent fish virus (viral hemorrhagic septicem
ia virus or VHSV) has been identified in fish from Lake Superior by researchers at the Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine and confirmed by scientists at the USGS Western Fisheries Research Center in Seattle.

Experts fear the disease could potentially spread from the Great Lakes into new populations of native fish in the 31 states of the Mississippi River basin.

To read the full story, click here.


Has your email address changed?

The LHCA spring 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, or sent to you via the postal service unless we have accurate demographic information on you. Thus, if you have changed your e-mail address, or postal address (16 of you did and didn’t tell us about it last spring), we need to know your updated information as soon as possible.

This valuable updated information can be sent to us at LakeHubert@aol.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!


Posted January 31

Moonlit January Night
by John Holbrook

"See How Sweet the Moonlight Sleeps Upon the Bank"
(Merchant of Venice, Act V, by Shakespeare)

Indeed, tonight the moonlight does "sleep upon the bank" here at Lake Hubert. It is one of those frigid, bracingly clear evenings when such moonlight delicately defines and shadows every tree and every branch, every past animal track and human footprint with subtle but still quite perceptible illumination.

There is something nearly spiritual about standing on a frozen lake in moonlight bright enough to read a book when it is 20 below zero, when each step on the crusted snow reverberates with a resounding crunch, when no matter how warmly you are dressed, a thousand icy pin pricks molest any exposed flesh.

It is good to do this now and then. To stand outside and shiver in the frigid silence of deep winter, to see one's shadow courtesy of a soft spotlight from an absolute full moon, to breathe icy air that tingles the lungs, to gaze to the heavens and be thankful for an evocative moment most others will never have.

For such moonlight will not "sleep upon the bank" for very long,
And then its cast of shadows will quickly be forever gone.


If You Throw a Cup of Boiling Water into Sub-Zero Air, Will the Water Freeze Before Hitting the Ground?
Check out photos of Scott Hough's 31 below zero experiment at Lake Hubert.
CLICK HERE

January 10
When the temperatures have been below zero all week, you need some smiles so we now present:

WHEN YOU KNOW AND APPRECIATE MINNESOTA …


Late November sunrise over Lake Hubert.
Click on the photo below to be taken to a large version of Joyce Libra's picture.

THANK YOU!
We wish to thank everyone who donated to the Lake Hubert Conservation Association in memory of Patricia Grace Pavelka and Janice Simmonds. The donations totaled two thousand four hundred and seventy five dollars and your generosity is greatly appreciated.

   VERY IMPORTANT
With dock, boat lift, and boat removal season upon us, please join in helping prevent the spread of zebra mussels and Eurasian watermilfoil.

If you hire someone to do any of this work for you, please ensure they do not unwittingly introduce one of these invasive aquatic species (AIS) into our lake.  Ask them if they have been in any of the following infested waters with their waders, trailers, floats, etc.  If they have, verify that their equipment (even waders) has been properly checked and cleaned before allowing them to enter our lake.  If they haven't taken the proper precautions, hire someone who has.

Crow Wing County waters infested with zebra mussels
Black Bear Lake
Boom Lake
Half Moon Lake
Little Rabbit Lake
Miller Lake
Mille Lacs
Ossawinnamakee Lake
Pelican Brook
Pickerel Lake
Pine River
Rice Lake

Crow Wing County waters infested with Eurasian watermilfoil
Bay Lake
Kimball Lake
Lower Mission Lake
Ossawinnamakee Lake
Ruth Lake
Upper Mission Lake

And now, one lake has the alien spiny water flea.
Mille Lacs

Another thing to do to help prevent the spread of zebra mussels or Eurasian watermilfoil into the lakes: If you rent a trailer to take your boat, boat lift, or pontoon out of the lake yourself, ask where that trailer has been.  If it has been in a lake or river infested with aquatic invasive species, don't rent it unless it can be verified that the trailer has been properly checked and cleaned.

Thank you for doing your part!
This information compiled from the Minnesota DNR and various newspaper articles. The Minnesota DNR should have the most up to date information at any point in time on all affected lakes. Contact them by phone if you need more detail (their website may not be up to date).



A True Bald Eagle Story
from Lake Hubert. CLICK HERE


Your Historic Lake Hubert Depot has a fresh coat of paint.
Click here to see the before and after pictures.

RECYCLING AND COMPOSTING
INFORMATION PAGE
Click Here
       PAY LOWER TAXES ON YOUR LAKE HUBERT PROPERTY
Yes, really!
Click Here for details
Where did Lake Hubert get its name?

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.


 IT'S ALWAYS A GREAT TIME FOR
TAX DEDUCTIBLE DONATIONS TO THE LHCA

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


Extend the life of your septic system.
CLOTHES WASHER LINT FILTERS
Click Here for information and a picture

Lakeshore Lighting
Can Be Useful AND Neighbor Friendly
You can install lakeshore lighting that intrudes on neighbors and light pollutes the night OR you can do the job right.
Click here for an excellent Univ. of Wisconsin booklet on shore lighting.

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