Spring Flowers

We have been getting some rain for several days. I can see on the main dock cribbing that the water now covers another log up. Bob Baker at Gunflint Pines keeps official track of the lake levels on Gunflint. As of several days ago, he says the water has come up 19 inches since the ice went out. That is good news. Our days are getting longer. One of my joys comes in the early morning before getting out of bed. As you may know, we bury our buildings up to the window level to provide good insulation. The same is true in our bedroom. I can look at all the animals running past the window from my bed. This morning is was a rabbit. A couple nights ago a mama bear and two cubs went by. Once or twice I have seen wolves. There are always squirrels and chipmunks. Deer come by all winter. There is something nice about watching them from your bed. The Gunflint Green Up people went up to Chik-Wauk to work this year. They cleaned up trails and planted about 3400 trees. The trees were spruce, white pine and red pine. They all look so little that it is hard to believe these seedlings will ever grow up. One of the most surprising things about our Saturday planting was to see just how many are growing up. Ever group saw trees that were 2-3 feet tall. My personal inspiration is the tall red pine by Chik-Wauk’s mail box. I know that it was planted by Ralph and Bea Griffis. The tree has got to be 25-30 feet tall. All it takes is a little time. Watching trees grow takes patience. Out my office window I am watching the iris grow. Every fall and spring they get a tablespoon of bone meal. The iris plants at Chik-Wauk were thinned last fall and I got what was taken out. Into the ground they went immediately. This spring I counted and there were 40 iris coming up. If they all bloom, I will try to remember to get a picture. My favorite iris bed is where Bruce goes minnow trapping. At the perfect time in June it is just filled with blooming iris plants. The first time I saw it, Bruce asked if I wanted to cut some to bring home. I just couldn’t do it because they looked so perfect in their natural setting. Speaking of flowers, Bruce saw lots and lots of blooming blueberry bushes while out on the green up. He is already tasting them. Just hope that we don’t get a late frost. Grandson Grant (age 4) called last night. They were having some blueberry jam for dinner. He wanted to make sure that I was going out to pick blueberries and make jam for them. I guess my work is cut out for me.