On the Road

Since my last post, I have been on the road some. Greg and I went to Duluth last Thursday, a trip that started at 6:30 in the morning. For the first time in several months, I was able to see the sunrise in the eastern sky. The lodge faces to the north, so our usual first glimpse of the sun in the winter is on the Canadian hills. The kitchen windows face south, and east to some extent. But the arc of the sun at this time of the year generally keeps the sunlight below the tree level, obscuring much of the eastern sky. As the month moves along and the days get longer, we can almost see the sunbeams raising up a little more each day. By the third week or so, the sun is clearing the trees enough to bring larger amounts of light back into our kitchen. We like to celebrate the return of this sunlight---the days are definitely getting longer and spring will eventually arrive. It never seems to matter what the groundhog has to say....winter will be as long as it wants to in these parts.

An advantage of driving so much is the opportunity to see moose. On that Thursday morning, we saw one moose in the usual stretch of the trail. Then as we passed the turn to the Pine Mountain Road, just past the south Brule River, I saw two moose. One was standing smack dab in the middle of the road, looking down at us as we whistled past. For whatever reason, I always picture these moose as though they are commuters, waiting for their bus to come! Yesterday, Addie and I went to town, and got an excellent look at a moose right on the roadside. This one was busy eating, and another car was pulled over watching it. Unfortunately, my passing by made the moose head into the woods....so we unexpectedly ended the showing. Sorry about that!
And last night as we came home, we saw six moose. The road was relatively dry, as we hadn't had fresh snow up to that point. Why they were out in such numbers is a bit of a wonder, with no salt to lick up.

We did get some snow after midnight, so that there is a fresh layer this morning. Greg says that it is about two inches, and he is out plowing as I write. Our temperatures are back into a normal range for this time of the year. We experienced the warm-up last Friday to the tune of 43 degrees--yikes! But fortunately, our snow held on farily well. Now with some fresh stuff, plus more predicted, perhaps we can get on to a more normal weather pattern. I'm not holding my breath though!

While on the road to Duluth, we saw many deer and ravens, and also some eagles. This is somewhat of an unexpected sight to me in the winter, though very welcome. With no leaves on the trees, it is easier to watch them for longer stretches as they soar through the sky.

Our road trip on Monday took us to Thunder Bay, to pick up some parts for a woodstove. We didn't see much in the way of wildlife. But I always enjoy the drive up through Grand Portage and north of there. The terrain to the northwest is rugged, high hills and to the southwest, Lake Superior with its islands. Very pretty. Robert commented that he could even see Michigan at one point---by having a quick view of Isle Royale. Once we crossed into Canada, the hills smoothed out, more like farmlands. Lots of snow up that way.

Our trip to Duluth included dropping some lumber off at Greg and Shele Hull's sawmill in Two Harbors. They will take the birch boards and finish them off, so that we can install them as new flooring in Cedar Point cabin this spring. Greg has a few other ideas for the cabin, too. He plans to start later this month, and we will post pictures here as we go.

The wolves were howling two nights ago. It started out with a bunch of whines and squeals, then suddenly burst forth as a full chorus. Next I heard a couple of barks, and then two or three long low howls. Just as quickly as it started, it was done. I like how they first warmed up their vocal chords, and then jumped right in to the song. We haven't spotted them lately, so I'm probably just not looking at the right time.

At the end of February, the Gunflint Trail is sponsoring its Winter Tracks Festival. I have been charged with writing out the registration flyer for this event. The list of activities for the weekend, February 22-25, is just amazing. You can read more about it at the website http://www.wintertracks.com . If you are wanting to come into the woods and have lots of options for things to do, this would certainly be a good weekend to consider. Most of the activities are free of charge, and they sound like plenty of fun.

Time to clean some cabins, then perhaps get out to ski. I'm still keeping my fingers crossed for snow in all of your parts of the state, too---that is, if you want it! If not, you can always send yours up to us.

Close Encounter

This post is from Greg----

"I was on my way home from plowing snow this morning. I rounded a bend on County Road 5o just as a large wolf was about to cross. He had jumped out into the road, saw my truck coming, and didn't like his chances. So he did an about-face and jumped back over the bank and into the woods. When I got to where his impressive footprints were, I shut off the truck's engine.

Often times when a wolf wants to go somewhere and has to turn back because of a truck or car, it will walk beyond the first row of shelter-giving trees and just wait you out. This was the case today, as I spied the wolf twenty feet away. Most of his body was visible through the trees and he looked like the same big dark guy I had seen last month. A piece of fur was hanging from the ear area, dangling past the base of his jaw, and jiggling every time the wolf turned his head. Perhaps it was the result of an enounter with a deer or of getting kicked out of the pack. Didn't seem to do much harm, though.

After four minutes of watching each other, the sound of a truck coming chased me out of there, allowing the wolf to continue on with its plans. "

More snow, more fun

It was a busy weekend, with lots of folks up for skiing and fishing. The sauna got a work out at night, and several brave folks jumped through the hole that Paul chopped out in the ice. I saw some photographs, and offered to put them on this blog, but that was declined. I'll try to find a photo of my nephew jumping in, to share. It is quite a thing to see!

We had some sledders heading down the hill this weekend, too. Several years ago, when the kids were still going to school in Grand Marais, they would get a week off in February. We would choose that week for our sledding Olympics. We got a stopwatch, and we would time each other coming down the hill. It was a blast! I can't recall now who won for the fastest time, but I do know that I went the farthest. I had started at the top of the hill, by the third power pole, and I was able to slide all the way to our back door. It was quite a run. We also figured out that five trips up the hill was equivalent to a mile. Now that is a good workout!

This evening, before it got dark, we had a buck come in. He was on the small side, but he still had both of his antlers. It looked like he had about eight points. Paul was hoping to get the deer to lose an antler right here, and tried to encourage that by running along side the deer. When he came back in, he reported that the deer had won, and still had both antlers on its head! Greg, Robert and Paul have all been out hiking on the deer trails, but so far have not come home with any antler finds. It is that time of the year, and sometimes it is as easy as walking on the right path or, as Greg has done, plowing down a driveway to find an antler in the middle. It is always an exciting treasure to discover.

New Snow

Fresh snow today! We got about 3 and a half inches, which is enough to send the groomer out on the trails. Thank you to Bob of Gunflint Pines resort, who groomed last night and this morning, to set fabuous tracks on all of our ski trails. The trees once again have snow on their branches. A picture perfect moment.

On Friday afternoon, we had to haul hay up to the barn, to stash it in the hayloft for Moses and Jethro. I didn't help with the first load, so I missed seeing Moses pull the sled up the hill. He hasn't been called upon to do much work yet, so this was a big step for him. We don 't have all the proper rigging, but Greg was able to use one of our tree saddles to make a harness for him. It took some time, but he had the muscle power to pull the black sled up the powerline and into the pasture. I'm sure that he was rewarded with a flake of the hay. I went out to help with the next two loads. Greg and I pulled, while Robert and Paul pushed on the sled. I'm told that we were faster than Moses! While the hay was being hoisted up into the loft, the donkeys were keeping busy eating their own piles of hay. We saw a fawn come into the pasture, having jumped the fence. This little one carefully stepped up to one of the hay piles and took a few tentative bites. It kept a eye on us, and seemed jumpy. Greg told the donkeys that someone was stealing their hay, but they paid no mind. We didn't see a doe around, so we surmised that this little one was an orphan. That happens when the wolves are able to isolate a doe from the rest of the herd, and take it down. If this is the case, the fawn will also be vulnerable to an attack. The best case scenario for it would be if it is able to hook up with another doe and her little ones. If not, we agreed that we wouldn't mind if it hung around in the pasture, under the watchful eyes of Moses and Jethro, and it grew up thinking that it, too, was a donkey.