Another day, another dollar, another dip in the bucket!  Last year Allan said he'd be bringing his fishing pole and a minnow bucket on the boat so that as we cruise Lake Minnetonka he'd have something to do besides relax and enjoy the peace and quiet.
I thought the idea carried a little merit as long as I didn't have to put on my own bait and take off my own fish -- assuming there are fish in Lake Minnetonka. 
When we do spy a fishing boat here or there among the cabal of cruisers, the fishermen are sitting very still, hunched over, with their hats pulled down almost over their eyes, and they're not moving a muscle.  I understand that if you're hauling -- or should I say, "reeling" -- in a fish, one must use a little muscle in the forearm.  What I'm trying to tell you, in other words, is that we never see any fish coming out of Lake Minnetonka.
That's not to say we've got the correct story about fishing on Lake Minnetonka, but it does make the fishing poles more comfortable in their upright position in the garage next to the tackle box.
Yes, we've been out cruising a few times already.  It hasn't been hot, but it hasn't been cold.  There have been enough clouds to make elephants and alligators in the sky, and enough sun to put a little color in our cheeks.
It's a close getaway for us once or twice a week and, besides, I've heard that every hour one spends on the water adds four hours to a lifespan.  I think it's because blood pressure is turned into water pressure, crossed eyes are cleared in balmy breezes, and busy minds are drained into the deep.
The same thing happens in the mountains, you know, but those glaciers from the old days carved lakes into Minnesota and sculpted mountains on each side of us.  The Rockies are majestic.  The Ozarks are  rustic.  The Land of Ten Thousand Lakes is just right for us, and so are its fabulous flora and fauna.   Did I say flora?
When I dipped my hand into the minnow bucket of this month's entries into the Hook, Line and Sinker Contest, I pulled out a card that bears the name of Flora Burandt of Young America.  "Wrote Flora, "I enjoy your newspaper.  I found the fishhook on page 33 in the 'C' of the C.H. Carpenter ad.  It would be nice to win."
Congratulations, Flora.  You win.  The ten bucks will be on its way in short order.  Thanks for writing.
There's another fishhook hidden in this edition of the Gazette.  If you find it, do what you usually do.  The rest of you can drop a line to Box 387 in Victoria, MN 55386 and sinker in the mail before it gets away.
Happy Flora July.  Kill a few mosquitoes for me and for the rest of us who reside or recreate in this Land of 10,000 Lakes.