Rain! Rain!

Wednesday, the Gunflint Trail had their annual canoe races at Gunflint Lodge. In spite of the fact that the weather was chancy and there was a downpour in the early afternoon, the turnout was very good. The wind calmed down. There were a very few sprinkles of rain during the evening. Over $12,000.00 was deposited in the account of the Gunflint Trail Volunteer Fire Department. Not too bad for a one night event. Of course, the only thing that made it possible was the hundreds of hours of work put in by friends and neighbors up and down the Trail.


Everyone knows that we need a strong, well equipped fire department and ambulance. The guys and gals who run the department put in many hours of training and answering calls. The rest of us do our share by seeing to it that there is enough money to get the training and equipment. So Wednesday night was another successful night of doing a small part to fund this operation.

It was a good thing that the races were Wednesday and not Thursday. Yesterday was one of the rainiest days we have had in years. One of the neighbors on Loon Lake recorded 4” of rain. Throughout the day a series of squalls kept rolling in to drench us for a period of time. Then things would settle down until the next squall came in. Everything was accompanied by thunder and lightening. In fact, I was able to lie in my bed for the early part of the night and just listen to the thunder come in. Some of the lightening strikes seemed really close but by morning there was no evidence of them.

The biggest evidence of the rain is my garden. Everything is suddenly huge. That includes the weeds. After I am finished writing, it is time to get out and weed. The ground is still wet so weeds come out very easily. Of course, the dirt also adheres to my clothing very easily. I will be a mess by the time the job is done. But then, who said that weeding is ever done?

All this rain has been great for the berries. I understand that blueberries are starting to ripen in the sunny areas. Raspberries can’t be far behind. It is a good thing. My grandchildren are anxious to get jam. Three-year old Mae even called this winter. Her very small voice wanted to know when we picked raspberries. She will sit on the ground and eat the berries right off the bush. Bruce and I have our work cut out for us to keep the family in jam. After all why would you want to buy jam in a store when your grandparents can make it for you?