Spring Happenin

It is a gray windy day today. My barometer seems to indicate that we could have rain which is not all bad. It rained yesterday and last night some. The rain combined with the wind will help the ice go out soon. In fact right now we are probably just waiting for the northwest wind that starts to push the ice down Gunflint to the east. The wind today is south so that helps melt the ice but not take it out.

From my window at the house this morning I noticed a new deer kill on the ice. Here is a picture I tried to take after walking down to the shore.

All the birds flew away when I came but some eventually came back. I think you can see the two eagles. There were also sea gulls, crows, and ravens. By the end of today it will all be gone. You can see from the picture how black the ice is.

While walking down I noticed that the pussy willows we popping out. I also noticed (and picked up) a couple of plastic bags that had blown done sometime in the winter. It is always amazing what appears when the snow goes. Bruce and I try to get everything put away in the fall but something always appears next spring.

Spots of open water are appearing all over. Jon Schei, one of our fishing guides, just couldn’t wait to get his boat in the water. He went over to the west end of the lake where the Cross River is flowing in and cutting a large hole in the ice. Sheryl took a short video of this which I hope to be able to attach to this blog. Turn your speakers on because the sound of the water and the fishing boats sounds pretty good after all the frozen months. If not, you will have to be satisfied with me standing in front of the rapids at Campsite #18 in the Trails End Campground.

This weekend is the 2nd Annual Gunflint Green Up. About 300-400 people are scheduled in to plant trees and to release trees that were planted last year. A huge tent has been erected in the parking lot behind the outfitters for Friday and Saturday nights’ dinners. On Friday there will be exhibits in the conference center about green living. It is a great way to kick off the summer. I’ll let you know how it goes next week.

We are getting ready to start fishing. All the guides are working on their boats and equipment. I, of course, think that fresh fish would taste really good. Don’t suppose that either Bruce or I will get out to fish a little but you never know.

In addition to this blog, I have been asked to write a blog the Minneapolis Star Tribune. It is going to appear in the new Club Outdoors section online. They have about 18 bloggers from all over the state to help provide that little bit of extra local knowledge about outdoor sports in Minnesota. They are trying to get the blogs going tomorrow. I wrote my piece. I will figure out the address and let you know where to find me. The idea is to write on Monday and Thursday. So now I will be coming up with three different blogs each week. This will test my abilities as a writer.

For reason I don't necessarily understand, this video is at the end of the blog. I try next time to get it in the proper place.