Can You Help Bring Back the Hubbard Prairie Sleigh Festival?

The Hubbard Sleigh Festival used to be an annual event, but has not been held for several years now.  Association member, Joanne Torfin, has passed along this announcement for all winter residents.

A new group is building on past festivals and incorporating such “pioneers” as Dick Schauer from The Working Horse, Marie from Hilltop Inn, etc.   Conversations over the past few months have indicated a strong interest in renewing the festival.

Hubbard Prairie Sleigh Festival - (first organizational meeting)
Monday, Jan. 2, 2012, 7PM
Hubbard Community Center
Bring recollections, ideas, and desire for fun!
All are welcome.  Call Jim at 413-464-1057 for more information.

Event is scheduled for Sun. Feb. 26

Please Take Notice

We have added a new page to our website.  It is called:  Plant Survey 2011. 

Check it out.  It tells you all about the results of the plant survey taken this summer by Freshwater Scientific Services.  It is really good news for Long Lake. 

Do remember to check out the LLAA Foundation's new website.  (Find in "Quick Links" box.)  I hear that we are doing well at donating the money necessary to help protect Long Lake.  Think we can reach our goal soon?

Merry Christmas Long Lake

Just a couple of items to keep in mind this week.
 
Minnesota Waters has its December newsletter posted on their web site (or will shortly).  There is a quick link to it on the right.

We now have a dusting of snow so it looks more like Christmas around here.

The lake has ice on it.. There are ice houses at the south end.  (If anyone knows of other ice houses, let us know)   But the weather has been cold, warm, cold, and warm again all month.  So as to the thicknesses of the ice: who knows?   be careful this week.  We had reports of the lake being iced over on Dec 7th, but then it thawed.  Now we have a report from  Donna Neumann, "the ice finally closed up just this past Sunday evening, December 18" in her part of the lake.   Really hard to get a firm date on Ice In.

Last item:  If a family member has a good "story" about Long Lake adventures or you find good pictures,  send them to us.  Look at the history page.  It has been reworked and I will be posting more of Gerry Budgett's history during the week to come.

AIS Legislative Summit in DL

Our Hubbard County COLA is one of the sponsors of an upcoming Aquatic Invasive Species Legislative Summit.  It is open to the public and free of charge.

When:  Saturday, January 14th 2012

Where:  M-State Conference Center in Detroit Lakes

Time:  8AM - exhibits and continental breakfast, 9AM to Noon - Summit

Invitation:  AIS Summit 2012

Press Release_Information:  AIS Legislative Summit 2012

2012 Update: Mandatory Actions for Lake Service Providers

The following email from Minnesota Waters was forwarded to us as a reminder for everyone about the permits required by our lake service providers.  We posted about this with extensive information back in August and some of the information there may be clearer.  This is the link to that post:  Your Lake Service Provider Needs a Permit.

New Post on History page

Steve Kinney has shared some photos and comments from his family's memories of Long Lake.  The link has been added to the bottom of the history page.  Always remember to scroll to the bottom to find new additions to the history page.

Long Lake Ladies Christmas dinner

The Long Lake Ladies who meet once a month for lunch and a good time, invited husbands to celebrate the season at North Point Lodge on Tuesday night.  About 30 people from all parts of the lake shared wonderful appetizers and drinks plus a wonderful dinner from the menu.  Nancy Baer was there with her camera.  She created this collage of the holiday fun.

Lake Frozen on December 6, 2011 (Updated)

Nearly everyone agreed yesterday that the lake was completely frozen over, which would put our "ice-in" date on December 6th this year; the result of one long night of sub-zero temperatures.  However, we have since learned of an open spot near Cedar Shores Resort, so we will announce a later "ice-in" date when we get word from people living up that way.  These pictures were taken this morning (December 7, 2011) on the West side of the lake.  The ice looks very smooth; if anyone is an ice skater, this may be their year.

Six photos of the newly formed ice:

Attention Fishing Fans

LLAA has a discussion scheduled with Doug Kingsley to help us better understand the opportunities and information found in the Long Lake 2011 Fisheries Lake Management Plan.  The discussion will be held on Monday, December 26th, at 3PM in the DNR Fisheries Office.

You can review the "DNR Fisheries Plan for Long Lake" by following the link on our "Protect Our Lake" page.  The address for the DNR Fisheries Office is also found there.  If you would like to attend the meeting or provide input to be considered, please email Sharon Natzel at sorgwweh@aol.com.

Long Lake a Stopover for Geese and Swans

This week we saw hundreds of geese, some ducks and a few swans who decided that Long Lake made a good stopping over place on their way South.   All week we have heard the sounds of honking especially around Breezy Point.  The flock was on the north side on days the wind was from the south and on the south side when the wind was from the north.  The best of all possible worlds for them.

If you want to hear the noise of all these geese click here:  Link to short video