Lerbs Cabin
Big Sandy Lake MN

A big apology... sorry for so little updates.

We have had some bumps along the way this Spring.

First our Great Dane past away in March. Which took us by surprise.

I took it very hard. He was my baby. I belong to Midwest Animal rescue where you can foster or adopt rescued dogs/puppies. We adopted Livingston in April. He is a Basset Hound that was rescued from a puppy mill in Nebraska. He lived 6 yrs of his life in a cage but now he is enjoying the world.

As you can see..he has become a LAKEY!

My Husband knew I couldn't be without a Dane so

for my Birthday I received a GD puppy named Gus.

I have some new postcards I will be posting.

Some real cool ones.

Say I want to send out a big <HELLO> to all who

enjoy my website. It's so nice to hear from people who love

the lake to. I do read my guest book signings so if you have anything to

share about the lake drop a line.

We are heading to the lake this weekend

so see you @ the sandbar!

Diana

Hi everyone!

Spring is here!

Time to think lake!

Updates:

     Big Sandy Lodge Closed (foreclosure)  Rumer is someone has purchased it.

     Zorbaz opens @ the Pier 65 March 16th, 2009. Check website 

       look under location. http://www.zorbaz.com/ 

     Ice out average is April 18th.

     Met new friends on the lake due to website!

     Coming soon! A new bridge over the Praire River .

     Husband Jon & Jon S met new friends ice fishing..

     Horseshoe Lake Inn still has the best food around.

I've been reading in the Aitkin Independant Age about the local Sheriff

Scott Turner and the owners of the golf course are having some issues.

 See article http://aitkinage.1upsoftware.com/main.asp?SectionID=3&SubSectionID=75&ArticleID=30698.

What is going on?

We will have to wait to see how this plays out.

We are all so excited for the Paquette Family.

Jake & Allison are waiting for their arrival of their 1st child.

SPOILER!

It's a boy!

I'll fill you in on more soon!

Dodgegyrl

Hi Every One!!!!

So it is December 22nd 2008!

It's -22 wind (sh) below yahoo! We  Minnesotan's are tuff stuff! I've been watching

the weather around the USA and other states are complaining about the snow and the

weather? We don't seem to mind the cold!!!!!! Bring on the ice making!

So.. it's 2 day's before Christmas and Jon & Lydia are sleeping. If you

didn't know we put our Chesepeake Chappy down in July. It's our 1st X~ mas

without Chap! I miss him so. Not only that it's been 2 years since December 2006

since we lost

our best Friend Tom Maloney a  Lake veteran of  30 years.

Phone ranging be right back!

We had an awesome July 4th! The weather was great, Hot & Sunny! We brought Jon's mother Geri for the holiday weekend. She caught alot of fish off the end of the dock and so did Lydia & Jon. The fireworks are alway's wonderful. Thanks to Wayne Floe. For me, the best way to see the Fireworks is from a boat. See video on front page. Chappy our Chesepeak had a great time boating and swimming. We knew this was going to be his last time @ the lake. At 14yrs & a large dog his back legs just stopped working. We loved him so much and we will  miss him. Did you see that spider! YUK! I'm not afraid of insects or snakes but this spider was the one to put me over the edge! It was huge! Thank goodness we are spider free. That weekend we had a neighbor on the lake perform with his bagpipes. All of us sat on the porch and listened. What a treat.

Watch for updates!

Diana

Long time No Talk~!

For those people who know me ... This not like me!

Well the water level are down and we were able to get

the dock & boat in. We've had alot of projects this spring

due to the hail damage, high waters and a rough winter!

As you can see in the home page, the screened porch project.

What as nightmare for my husband! If you know

 Jon he is a very mellow and layed back person.

( He has to be..to put up with me)

I never seen Jon so mad. But he does love it now!

The moquitos are BAD! They are on the attack.

My dad who is on the Lake Assoc is going to a meeting

Friday.. So I'll inform you of any new new's.

Last weekend we took our cousin Larry to the lake

with us for his 50th Birthday. He spent most of his time on

the end of the dock fishing with his beer!

He caught alot of fish but his favorite are Bullheads. YUK!

Jon & Larry!

Lets hope June brings us some nice weather!

Diana

This is not funy! I don't know about you but I'm ready for some warmer weather! What a crummy April! We haven't been to the lake lately due to the weather so I don't have an update on the lake. I found this old photo in a Vintage MN Bouchure. I thought you might want to see it!

Check out the fish on his back! COOL!

Well, time to go~!

Diana

We are back from our Disney Caribbean Cruise ( 3/1/08) and "BOY" did I need the

warm weather. What a great experience! Weather in the 80's and sunny.

I tried to bring the weather back. Doesn't look like I succeeded. We went to the BS lake on the weekend of the 3/15/08. Jon and Ty went ice fishing on the North end and came home with a mess load of fish.

Sun Set over Webster Bay Big Sandy Lake 3/16/08

IT WAS A VERY NICE WEEKEND!

Average ice out is April 18th. I can't wait for summer!

I'll keep you updated on lake conditions.

Dodge Gyrl

We celebrated the New Year's 2008 at the cabin. When your the parents of a 3 1/2 year old, you just don't have the energy to stay far past midnight. The weather was very cold! The high was 6 above. We had some time to drive around and see new areas. We went to Lawler and the Wilkins lake area. It's fun seeing other lakes. My favorite is taking pictures of old cabins, barns and signs. We had a great evening at the Big Sandy Lodge. We enjoyed a nice dinner and Lydia went swimming with her Daddy. If your up in McGregor Area I suggest you stop by the Lodge. One thing we love is swimming there. There indoor pool is beautiful and it has a wonderful whirlpool with a panoramic view of the lake. The charge is only $5.00 a person. They also have locker rooms with showers. I forgot to mention there is a sauna. I know they have a work~out room but I'm not sure of the price to use that. The staff there is the best! Jon and Lydia did some snowmobiling while I got a chance to take some photo's. Hank ( Great~Dane) &  Wyatt (Lab) slept the 4 day's away on the sofa. Poor old Chappy (Chesapeak) is having a rough time with his back legs. Their very arthritic. We have to help him up the stairs to the bedrooms. But at 13 1/2 yrs for a big dog is a long life. I've added more links to my Lake life page so check them out! Jon did some ice fishing by Floe's island but C & R a small northern. Not a whole lot biting. Travel on the lake is best by snowmobile. ATV's are having a tough time of it. The lake must of froze and thawed a couple times leaving the lake with lots of ridges & frozen slush. Jon was telling me that it was easiest if you stay on the beaten path. We heard from a "GUY" that on portable fish houses you must have your name, address and drivers licenses posted on the outside of the house. Permanent fish houses have to display a reg tag.  This "GUY" found this out when stoppped by the DNR and was given a ticket for expired sled tabs...Just a reminder to all to check your registration on your sleds and ATV's. His ticket cost him $127.00. I can't tell you the name of the Guy, he might be embarrassed. He's a family member. Well, check out my photo's from the week on the link Jan 2008 on the home page. We will be heading up next weekend and hope to get to spend more time outside.                                               

Happy 2008!

Dodge Gyrl

It was a very busy weekend of the 28th. Friday night was fun. We had a bonfire @ Tom's. A goodbye to our friend. We sat on Tom's bucket collection around his fire pit. The only one with a resin lawn chair was Keller. The only resin chair to survive the hail storm but it too was showing it's battle wounds. Jon S worked like a mad man on his roof. He is so talented! But he had 2 side kicks hleping him, Becky & Lauren. On Satursay night the Stenhaugs, Schmid's and Lerbs went to dinner @ the big Sandy Lodge. Becky was really ready for a break and and a cocktail. All the kids sat at a booth and talked. Kids: Lauren, Lydia, Maggy, Chris, Connor & Ted. While the adults sat at another table. You could tell on all the adults faces they were exhausted from the hard work of the day. Food was good and Sheena our waitress was right on it. She's one of my favorites their.

Their were these loud, drunk young adults up @ the bar, singing and cus~in@#$%^&! Till the bar tender reminded them their were children in the bar so thank goodness they left! The kids and Jon L went swimming in the hotel pool. That pool is nice! It's a great release for the kids and it's only $5.00 a head. The food needed some help but it wasn't bad. It's a fun place to go. We ended the night @ 10pm and all wondered off to their cabins for a good night rest and I think a movie or 2.

The weekend went by so fast. On Sunday the skies filled with dark clouds and it started to rain. Jon and I wondered if we were going to be able to get the boat out of the lake. The sun broke through around noon. So off went Jon L , Jon S and my dad Pat. Getting the boat in the garage it's always tricky! Tight SQUEEZE!

The leaves were at the end of their Peak as you can see from the photos on the home page.Well, then it was time to pack up and head for the cities. What a drive home. Down pour rain, visability bad and alot of traffic not to mention the 5 deer we saw. Just waiting to jump infront of out truck. Home safe and can't wait to get back up there.

Dodge Gyrl

We have had alot of things going on @ the Cabin. Our grass is starting to grow where the new well was put in. Jon and I have replace the garden in front after excavating for the well. We had a pipe that burst last winter that needed to be repaired. The hole in the pipe was behind the tile wall in the shower. When the well crew hooked up the water and turned it on this cause the tiles in the shower to start popped off. So.... next project.. shower demolition. Jon spent 2 day's chipping the rest of the tile out, I on the other hand ripped out all the carpet on the main floor. The water from the leak ran down the pipe to the kitchen and flooded the floor! Thus, MOLD! BUT we have water with no shower .

The fun part now is picking out new flooring and a shower insert.

The weather has been beautiful around McGregor but we sure could use some rain. The Lake is low and I think Labor Day weekend we may have trouble getting the boat off the lift. We have decieded to bring the lift in for repairs and just tie the pontoon to the dock since we in such a private bay( low wakes). Some tree's are starting to turn. It's so sad to see the summer coming to the end. It was a hot summer and the lake has a lot of  submersed weeds. Our bay is bad and it takes a toll on the boat motors. At least we have our weedroller to help with the shoreline. The Humming Birds are enjoyng their new feeders and frequenting them often. We have a black squirrel that eats from the bird feeder. I sometimes have to take a double look.. it looks like a blk cat in the feeder. He has such a luxurious coat. Lydia and I are joining the relatives for a visit to the State Fair this week. Should be fun ! I'll post more pictures next week.               

Dodgegyrl