Early Snows

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Methinks that October fell off the calendar this year. Could it really have been October when it often looked like November instead? Around the tenth of the month, just in time for a planned trip to Duluth, the prediction for our first snow "event", as they called it, came over the wires. Not only was it the first snowstorm, it was also possibly going to drop eight to eleven inches on us! Way too early for that, and certainly not what I want to hear as I am about to drive for three hours. Despite the dismal weather outlook, we proceeded to the big city, and plowed our way through several hours of errands and appointments. We left for home early the next morning, while snow flakes swirled around us. Fortunately, the driving was fine, with mostly wet pavement. On the way, we took a photo of the North Brule River, as it was looking so serene in the early snows.

It continued to snow for the next three days. How odd it seemed to me to see this much snow falling so early in the fall. I believe that if the ground had been cold enough, we would have ended up with between six and eight inches. But most of it melted, with only about three inches to show for it. Since then, we have had many days of flurries, and some warmer days. As a result, there are only patches of snow left here and there. Until yesterday, that is, when the afternoon was filled with large white flakes drifting down, sometimes fast and sometimes slow. At times, we couldn't see Canada, and that is a sure sign that it is snowing hard. The wind has been blowing strong for about two days now, and the lake is cooling off, too. My guess is that we are in for an early winter, but what do I know! I hope that we are, and that we don't have a November thaw that takes us in the opposite direction.


Sharlene had some excitement at her bird feeder a week ago. She spotted a cardinal helping himself to some of the black sunflower seeds. She called us to let us know, but he didn't fly this way until about two days later. Some of the neighbors saw him at their feeders as well. Sharlene called our local birding experts, Ken and Molly Hoffman, to see if anyone else had reported a cardinal this far north. Ken told her that she was the first to confirm a sighting up here on the Gunflint Trail. For a few years, the cardinals have been coming to Grand Marais, and recently they have begun nesting there. But until this sighting, no one had officially reported cardinals up here. While it was exciting to see this, it is a bit disheartening, too. We all were in agreement that it is another sign of our warming climate that these birds can now be a part of our neighborhood.


On our trips to town in recent weeks, we have been seeing deer activity on the Trail. They are in more places than ever seen before. We had one the other night that seemed determined to run right in to the car, but fortunately we were spared. The widespread sightings lead us to believe that the deer population is not only thriving, but increasing. The bad side of this is that we don't see as many moose now. The two can't co-exist very well, so as the deer become more prevalent, the moose find other areas to inhabit. The months that we spot the most moose are now beginning---November and December traditionally are the times when I frequently encounter them all over the road. We'll see as these weeks progress how many we come upon---and we will keep our fingers crossed that they move steadily and quickly out of the road!


We have a resident fox in the neighborhood lately, too. Yesterday, Paul and I were outside and we saw him at the base of the cedar tree near the workshop, looking up. High above him, a squirrel was certainly vocal in expressing his disapproval. If that fox could climb trees the way the squirrels can, I think that we would have seen quite a chase. Greg and I had seen the fox two days earlier, sitting near another tree, hoping the squirrel would come back down. And someone told me over the weekend that they saw the fox with a squirrel in its mouth---they have to eat, too. You win some, you lose some.


Speaking of squirrels, in September, some of our guests got to see an albino squirrel----too cool! He regularly came up to the porch railing at White Pine cabin to feed. Janelle was kind enough to share some pictures with me. Here is a view of the little guy--


Fall Colors and Clouds Abound

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For a season that started out looking like it would fly by quickly, this fall really has proven to be a colorful one. With the dry weather, it appeared that the leaves would turn early and fall quickly, but not so. We are seeing our peak color right now, and the landscape is a variety of yellows, oranges, changing greens, and some browns and reds. It is a visual treat. Despite the cloudy days, it is very bright out there.

Cloudy days seem to be the norm, ever since the day of the evacuation, two weeks ago. Those fires didn't stand a chance against Mother Nature's way of recent days. It has been cloudy, rainy, and much cooler than I remember last September to be. The forecast changes on a daily basis, and it seems that this period is so unsettled that it is hard to pinpoint and predict anything with hope of it even being close to reality. Despite the cooler temps, the lake trout haven't been cooperating enough to come in to shallower waters. Today is the end of the season for them, so they can all swim safely off to their spawning season. But watch out come this winter---there will be holes in the ice, and lines dropped ready for the trout to come along hungry!

It is officially moose hunting season, which happens in early October when the moose rut is on. I have only seen one moose lately myself. He was standing on the Trail, near the Poplar Lake Fire Hall. It happened that there was a large sandwich board sign on the road, indicating that the fire hall was the location for current fire information. The moose was standing right near it, calmly looking in both directions at the traffic (did his mother teach him that?), waiting to cross the road. Of course we didn't have our cameras with, but it was a fun sight to remember.

The other day, Paul was up collecting mail at our mailbox, when he heard an unusual snort. A few years ago, when we had a bear hanging around regularly, we learned that donkeys can make a rolling snort to scare away intruders. But this was a new sound, and it turned out to be Jethro. He was standing tall, with his ears pointed straight up. He was looking south of the pasture, which is uphill towards the ridge behind us. Paul looked, and sure enough, there was a moose standing at the edge of the septic field. He didn't see any antlers, so he figured that it must have been a cow. He came down to get us, and when we got up there, Jethro was still standing guard, and occasionally snorting. The moose was already gone, though, so we didn't get to see her. Moses was thrilled to see us all, and thought that we must have brought treats. He was oblivious to the moose, it seems. I guess since he has scared away bears, he doesn't think too much about moose.

We've been seeing several deer in the neighborhood as well as all along the trail. I brought Addie up to the end of the trail this morning, and there were a few sprinkled out along the trail, and then on the return trip, I saw two fork-horn bucks on the side road. It seems early for them to be hanging around, but I am guessing that that is who ate the last of my broccoli plants sometime in the past day. I'm really glad that they didn't find it any sooner this summer. Surprisingly, I was mostly pest-free in my gardening attempts.

One day last week, I went for a drive up to Thunder Bay with my good friend, Gerrie. It was a beautiful ride, and the leaves were in excellent form. The high hills around Grand Portage were a wonderful blend of yellows, oranges and deep greens from the coniferous trees. There are several rock outcroppings, views of some islands, and of course, the big lake, too. If you have not been up that way before, it is a good drive to take, no matter what the season. I find it to be yet another of the many faces of Minnesota, a state that has an incredible range of landscapes.


The word lately from Alaska is that there has been some snow falling in Fairbanks already. Robert was headed out today to get a couple of heaters for his truck, so that it will start for him in the cold and snowy months ahead. I'm glad that we still have fall to go through, because I am not yet ready to face snow. At least, not until the firewood is cut, split and stacked. That is next week's job---it's that time of the year.

A Look at our Fire Truck

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Good Monday Morning! After a wonderful birthday party last night, I have the morning update on the Famine and Red Eye fires. The forest service reported that they have several new crews on the fire, from Wyoming, Texas, Michigan and Minnesota, of course. They will be able to do some air suppression, and they have crews on the ground who are starting to dig fire line around the perimeter of the fire. Someone asked if everything is under control. The reply was that the steps toward control are such: initial attack, containment, control, and finally, mop-up until it is out. Currently, the fire fighters are in the second phase, and they hope to have some numbers later today as to how much containment has been achieved. I think it is fair to say that while the fire itself is not under control, the response and work effort are definitely under control. Things are moving forward, the weather is cooperating, and life is moving along mostly as usual. That means that Paul and Addie Will have to continue their schoolwork today, unlike on Friday afternoon after the evacuation order was called!

Friday afternoon was a little strange. We had been having a wonderful time on an absolutely beautiful day, making pizza in the oven outside, when a Gunflint Lodge employee informed us that the evacuation had been called. We were puzzled, and turned on the radio, to hear the official order. You know that radio test of the emergency broadcast system? Well, we heard that, and then a recorded voice verified what Adam had already told us. I went to Birch cabin to let the folks know, and while we talked, I told them that I really didn't know what else to say, since I had never been evacuated before. They began to pack up, and I went back to the lodge to answer the phone and keep out of trouble, as my dad always says. Greg and Paul sprung into action, and immediately fired up our fire truck. They brought it down to the dock, and soon the pumps were running and Paul was spraying water on the trees and sauna. Addie was helping me in the store. When the sheriff came by, we had our first indication of exactly where the fire was burning, and it was then that I knew that we would be okay staying for the night. It was also at that point that we learned it was a cautionary, rather than a mandatory, evacuation. As our other guests came in off of the lake, we told them all that we had learned. Some of them decided to stay for the night, and others chose to leave. The largest factor we were dealing with then was the smoke, and most of those who left did so because of that.

By five, the evacuation/fire truck prep had quieted down. We gathered at the bread oven and started to make pizza in the oven again, for ourselves and guests for dinner. It was a great evening, too, as the smoke wasn't too thick, and the pizzas tasted great. One of the oddest parts, though, was the total quiet. We could hear the airplanes in the distant south, but there were no boats on the lake, and almost no road noise. When we heard a truck coming down the road, we were surprised. Turned out to be the Forest Service. Then our neighbors Tim and Mo came to bring us the produce cooler, and to join us for dinner. We sat out as the darkness fell, and it was a nice evening.
Greg is shown here testing the spray from the fire hose.

Well, now it is Monday evening, and I am finally getting back to finish this post. I can give you the evening update for the fire, too. The day was cool and drizzly, and many planes flew over our lodge. Each time I ran out with the camera, they went by too quickly. I'll try again tomorrow. The report tonight put the acreage for the Famine fire at 4044 acres, and the Red Eye fire at 1792 acres. The Famine fire is considered 5% contained. The good news continues. This week sounds like we will continue with cooler, wetter weather, but there may be a warm-up after that. We continue to be vigilant with our use of campfires and the bread oven, and we hope that everyone else out there is cautious, too.

I'm working towards answering my emails--thanks for writing to us! I should be able to answer in the next day or so.