Gunflint Lodge

Spring Can Be Contrary!

I should never have bragged about spring rains. You already know what comes next. It snowed last night! It was just a dusting but it was also a reminder to me that it is much to soon to say the snow is over for this year. The snow is already melted but it did not look pretty late last night.

Another harbringer of spring has appeared. This morning at breakfast Bruce and I saw our first chipmunk. They have awakened from their winter nap. When my strawberries are ready to pick, I am not as happy to see chipmunks but right now this one looked pretty good.

When I drove to town on Friday, I noticed that holes have started to appear in the ice covering the North and South Brule rivers. The progress of the ice on those two rivers gives us a pretty good indication of when the ice will leave Gunflint.

The deer are still hanging around the house even though we have stopped feeding them long ago. Now they are interested in the remains of last year's lawn which appeared as the snow melted. They are also eating the bark on several bushes. I assume that spring sap may be making these stalks a little juicier. This afternoon I will be spraying all the bushes and small trees around the lodge with some miracle substance that is supposed to discourage the deer from eating them. We will see what happens.

Sue