The Catch of the Day

Despite the cold and the wind, our dedicated fisher-men and women arrived on Gunflint Lake last weekend ready to hit the water. Every year seems to bring us the same weather forecast, so these folks always come prepared. Those who go for walleye often fish at night, which means even more layers of clothing to wear. Some folks used to bring snowmobile suits to go out there for the late night forays. Fortunately, the excellent fabrics we have available now mean that it is easier to stay warm and comfortable while pursuing our favorite pastimes.

I only heard a few boats go by at 10:30 p.m. before the midnight opener. The wind was strong, so that probably kept some boats at home. Sharlene used to tell me about what a sight it was to see, down in Little Gunflint Lake, with all of the lighted bobbers floating on the surface, each one waiting for the hungry walleye to come along and pop the bait into its mouth. I still haven't made it there to witness this, some twenty years later. But I have gone fishing at the Cross River at night, and seen the lighted bobbers there. I wonder what the fish think of those?

Early reports were spotty, but by the end of the weekend, we did have some stories to tell. The walleye were biting fairly well, and not just during the night. One couple went home with close to their limit, while others generally had at least some in their coolers. The trout were a bit slower, with reports of both 20 feet and 72 feet for their hang-outs. The water temp in the big lake started out at 41 degrees on Friday, but had warmed to 47 by Tuesday.

My favorite story is about our friend Remy, who is five years old. Remy went out fishing on Saturday night with her mom and her grandpa. She is the fourth generation in this family to fish on Gunflint Lake for opener. Some of my favorite stories about spring fishing are from her grandpa. They went out to try their luck, and sure enough, her mom caught a walleye big enough to be kept. Then Remy had her turn. She got a big bite, and started to reel in. It wasn't long before she was worn out and had to hand the rod over to mom. Her grandpa got the net ready, and then had a chance to see the fish. It was a nice one, and he quickly netted it, and brought it in to the boat. A six-pound walleye---definitely a keeper! Remy watched as her grandpa put the fish on the stringer. She hollered with dismay when he tossed it back overboard---"Papa, don't throw my fish back in to the water!" He explained that it was still there, just tied to the side of the boat to keep it cold. They started back for the cabin, and every few minutes she would give out a direction. "Papa, check that line, make sure my fish is still there!" When they pulled up on shore, Remy took the stringer and ran up to the cabin. She burst inside, dragging the fish behind her, to show her dad, her grandma, and her little sister Morgan. (They tell me that the floor needs washing after that! It's worth it, just for the picture of it in my mind.) It always makes my day when young kids catch nice fish like that. On Sunday morning, Remy let us weigh the fish and take some photos. Nice work, Remy!

Spring Chores

It's the week of opener, and we are busy polishing, shining, and pounding, depending on the task at hand. I am stealing some moments from my cleaning to catch up on things at the desk. Addie is out washing windows--she even volunteered for this! Too cool--what a good kid. When it isn't raining, Robert is working on some new parts for the docks. Greg continues to put in the flooring at Cedar Point. The birch looks so good, I can't imagine that it will actually be better with a finish on it. And the oak in the bedrooms is full of character. It's always exciting to see changes like this.

It has been raining, that is for certain. I checked the rain guage yesterday, and we had received one inch. Today, the guage is at one and a quarter, and it is still raining. Wow! That is good news for the forest, of course, but also for the lake. It is coming up to the level that we usually like to see in the springtime. When the ice went out on April 18th, Addie asked how soon we would be putting in the docks. Repair work aside, I said that it would be shortly before opener. Experience has taught me that if we put the docks in too early, and then the lake level rises, we have to pull them closer to shore. The downside of that is that someone (and it has been me before) has to actually get in to the cold, cold waters to attach the chain to the dock frame. Not a pleasant time of the year to be dunking in the lake!

With the rain comes cooler temperatures, but that doesn't seem to be hindering the wave of green that continues to blanket the landscape. I enjoy seeing the growth in pine trees in various places on the Gunflint Trail. Even before the blowdown in 1999, there were tree-planting gatherings on the Trail. Hedstrom's Lumber Mill in Grand Marais kindly gives away seedlings each May, to homeowners and organizations to plant. We have picked up trees from them for several years. I remember when Addie was about four, the Gunflint Trail Association had a service project of tree planting in the vicinity of the Northern Light Lake overlook and lake access, in the highway right-of-way. We brought all three kids along to plant trees with us. That was ten years ago, and those trees look to be anywhere from six to ten feet tall. Since the blowdown, many areas on the Trail have been re-planted, and it is so gratifying to see these young trees each year, growing taller and stronger. We may not see as many magnificently tall pines as in the years past, but fortunately the trees do continue to grow in our forest. This Friday, Greg will again pick up his seedlings, and we will be planting more little trees on our land. Many thanks to Hedstrom's for this gift.

Spring Rain

The spring rains have finally arrived, which pleases many of us. After the snow melted and the ice went out, it was feeling very dry in these parts of the woods. Until the leaves are fully out, also known as spring green-up, the forest is drier and more vulnerable to fires. That is why there is a spring burning ban and we are not allowed to burn brush.

It started on Sunday, but was only a gentle rainfall. The good thing with that is that most of it was soaking right into the ground. On Monday, we had several hours of grey clouds, but no moisture. Now that is just plain frustrating to me, as I want to see productivity if it's not going to be sunny! It did finally start raining, and at that, it was a harder rain than the previous day. Tuesday we had more, and it has been raining on and off today already. I also know that it rained in the night, as I can hear it on the metal porch roof, right outside my window. The only bad thing is that my rain guage still isn't out there, to measure this. Each year I have to put it in a spot that Moses, the donkey, won't find it. He likes to knock things over, just to be a troublemaker. The measuring tube of my guage is glass, and is not easy to replace. So for now, I am content to just know that the rains have started, though I can't say how much we have received.

The rain has been assisting green-up nicely, as the leaves are really popping now. The aspens are sporting the chartreuse green I am so fond of this time of the year. I can see swaths of it on the Canadian shore, and it looks wonderful. It does feel like we are about two weeks ahead in our spring happenings.

I got organized and put lettuce seeds in the ground recently. Thanks to the rain, these are starting to sprout. Usually any garden around here has to survive without me......Unlike my children, the plants don't remind me that it is time to be fed! I had better improve on that this year, though, as Greg has built the first of two raised beds. Where the chicken run used to be, a new cedar raised bed garden now stands. Imagine the good soil we had to put in there. I have more lettuce seeds and some kale started in there, with plans to try some other vegetables as soon as we are past the frost season. In Duluth, my grandmother always said to wait until Memorial Day, which at that time was May 31. It isn't easy to wait, when the weather is as beautiful as it has been this past April.

As Paul wrote, we had a wonderful picnic at the End of the Trail campground recently. Something that he didn't mention is that while play Boules, I lost my ball. If you are up in that area, and happen to come across a chrome ball about the size of a baseball, somewhere around campsite one and the landing, I'd love to have it back.....I'll even trade it for a loaf of ciabatta from the bread oven!

Speaking of the bread oven, this past weekend, we hosted the annual retreat for the Northwoods Fiber Guild out of Grand Marais. On Saturday, we fired up the oven for our dinner. After baking and feasting on ciabatta, we pulled out the pizza ingredients. Imagine the colorful---and tasty---creations that these ladies came up with! It truly was a feast for the senses. With the warm weather, it is pizza season once again, and we are certainly glad of it.

One last important note: We have yet to go for a boat ride, but our friend Harvey did recently. He told us that the beaver dam in Little Gunflint is pretty much gone at this time. That is very good news for anyone wishing to travel by boat into that lake, and beyond. Those busy beavers often work hard enough to shut down the channel into Little Gunflint, so that even in a canoe you might have to climb partway out to pull your craft over the dam. In those times, it is impossible for a boat to get through. It's a good start to the season to be able to motor right on through.

April Sentiments

This is Paul taking over the blogging reins for a single post. I'll try to follow the excellent example my mom has set thus far in weblog posting.

The spring season just doesn't feel complete without a bus trip. When April comes and goes, and the big green bus is quiet and unmoved something seems to be missing. We have felt that way for the majority of the month, enjoying the cool spring air of Gunflint Lake instead of Montana or New Mexico. Although it is beautiful here-very few mosquitoes, sunny days, cool nights-a restlessness has uprooted our thoughts. This April Bus Trip is so ingrained in our lifestyles that we just don't feel satisfied without one. That is why we started the bus up this past Sunday, after packing a picnic dinner.

We didn't go far. Instead of turning left on the Gunflint Trail we turned right and proceeded onto the End Of The Trail campground. It was a sunny afternoon and the Trail was green and beautiful, and on the way there we saw some kind of hawk soaring in the sky.

The End of the Trail means pavement, so we brought along some bikes and took those around the looped highway. There were many things to see while biking; looming trees, placid water, and glimpses of the nesting eagles are some of the things we observed while pedalling.

After our short bike ride we stopped back at the campsite to explore some. We were situated on a hill overlooking Seagull Lake, and at times during our stay we looked out to see frolicking otters. It was too bad we didn't have the binoculars at the time. After a good amount of exploring we went to a Walleye spawning area and looked around for fish. At first it was difficult to see because of the glare, but it didn't take long to spot the patient walleyes, waiting for their turn to attempt climbing the river. At places there were at least ten fish together, and some were quite large.

Soon it was picnic time, so again we went back to the camp and enjoyed a very good picnic meal. When everyone was finished eating we pulled out the Boules, a lawn game in the style of bocce, although the balls are smaller and made of chrome. Our style of playing however is slightly more extreme than your normal lawn game, going into as treacherous territory as we could find.

Finally we packed up to go home. Even though it wasn't Montana, it was still a very enjoyable and beautiful evening; complete with wildlife, good food, and boules!