May Has Jumped Out on Us

We’re in a waiting mode.  Waiting for the ice to go out.  Waiting for the snow to stop.  Waiting for the fishing season to open.

The ice out seems to be the easiest.  After a revision, my date is now May 15^th.  Last Thursday, May 1^st, Bruce and I went to Duluth.  Both coming and going we agreed that the water on the North Brule River was flowing freely.  This is crucial to predicting when the ice will go out.

Years ago we had a mailman named Don Brazell.  He started out running a bus route from Duluth to the resorts on the Gunflint Trail.  It was during the days of gas rationing for World War II.  Then Don moved into being our mailman.  He was a very observant person who kept track of everything and even wrote it down.  After several years Don noticed that one week after the North Brule ran freely, the ice on the small lakes when out.  And one week later the ice on the large lakes went out.  For those of us living here, Don’s predictions have generally proved true.  We will see in a couple of weeks.

Summer staff is starting to come in.  It is a good thing.  Spring projects have piled up almost as fast as the staff arrives.  I am in my usual fix of trying to remember everyone’s name.  Thank goodness for name tags.

Wednesday the grain arrived for the horses.  Then Thursday the horses arrived.  Today a load of hay arrived.  Mandy is starting to take the horses out on the trails.  They are not very happy because of the snow all over.  Nonetheless, we are back in the stable business.

The deer are basically gone for the summer.  Now all the corn will be used to feed ducks.  We have a few ducks but they are not very happy.  What looks like open water is just standing water on top of the ice.  You can almost see the shock on their faces when they come in for a landing.

The snow is off almost all of the dirt roads.  In its place we have pot holes, mud and overflowing water.  We got a new car this winter but I haven’t even tried to keep it washed.  One trip up the Tucker Lake Road and it is covered with dirt.  I would like to drive a bit in the rain as that will clean off some of the mess.

I have a table set up in front of our south-facing living room window.  Bruce and I are trying to get a jump on the growing season.  We planted tomatoes, green beans and zucchini.  So far the green beans are really doing well.  The other two have not appeared yet.  Of course, weeds have come up all over.  I have been weeding to keep everything clean.  We will see how it all goes.

Our wooden pathway to the lake is almost clear.  Maybe tomorrow I will walk down to see how the ice on Tucker Lake is doing.