Quiet Times in the Woods

It was nice yesterday to wake up to a fresh dusting of snow on the rooftops, and once again covering the Canadian hills across from us. The previous days had been warmer, into the low forties, and had melted the little snow we'd had. As I drove to town, I also saw that the warm-up had re-opened the two lakes previously skimmed with ice. No longer were Little Iron and Swamper capped and smooth. It seemed strange to see the wind lapping small waves on them. It won't be long, however, until they have ice that will stay for the winter.

The snow, though it is less than a half-inch, helped put me in the mood for the day's task: More work on our annual Winter Tracks Festival. This is the fourth year of the festival, and we are busy planning for all of the activities and events that celebrate the fun of snow and cold. Last year's festival was a great mix of skiing, snowshoeing, ice-fishing, snowmobiling, and other traditional winter sports. We added to that lots of great snow sculptures, winter pizza at the bread oven, and some ice fishing and snowmobile opportunities. At the last minute, we had a wonderful snowstorm that brought us just what we needed---several inches of fresh, fluffy snow. Unfortunately, it also made travel poor for some folks, so they were not able to make it all the way up here. Still, it was a great weekend, and one that I would highly recommend. I am busy working on the brochure and the website changes. It should be updated within the next couple of weeks. When it is, I'll put a link here so you can check it out.

And here we are, less than a week away from Thanksgiving. The time flies for all of us, doesn't it? We will be celebrating here, with dinner at Sharlene's. Jim will be back from Alaska, and other family members will be joining us. On Friday we will again be dipping candles. That is our "Day after Thanksgiving" tradition, and it is always a wonderful time with friends joining in. The smell of beeswax will linger in the air, and I've come to associate that with this holiday.

The animals have been very quiet, at least in my realm. We saw a moose on the way to church last Sunday, but that's it for large animals. We've not seen any deer. The most of the activity remains around the bird feeder. Some pine grosbeaks have shown up, and their lovely rosy feathers add a nice touch to the other colors that I see among the birds. A goldfinch also came by recently. He hadn't yet lost his bright yellow summer colors, so I had to look twice to see what it was. Most of the time, we only see the goldfinches in their winter drab. In the summer, they find new places to be, so I miss out on the yellow stage. For years, I didn't really watch the birds much. I'm still amazed at all that I was missing, for it is an active and entertaining sight.

The Weather Then and the Weather Now

It's not often that I can remember the weather on a particular day several years ago. Some specific event needs to be tied to the day in order for this to happen. For example, many folks in these parts can remember the 32 inch snowfall on Halloween 1991. Hands down, the easiest to recall is the big windstorm on the Fourth of July 1999.

But on this day, back in 1988, I can remember that it was snowing. We already had some snow on the ground. It wasn't falling hard, but it was enough to cover the road, and the plow wasn't out yet, early on that Sunday morning. I had been up a large portion of the night, while Greg and little Robert slept upstairs. When I woke Greg up about 5:30, I said, "Greg, it's time to go now." And he said, "Time to go hunting?" I smiled and said, "No, it's time to go to the hospital."
I was in labor with Paul, who has turned 19 today---just about two hours ago, if we want to get technical about it, as Paul's little sister insists.

We got Robert up and into his carseat, and set off for the hospital in Grand Marais. Sometimes people will ask me if we were ever worried about getting to the hospital in time. I tell them that for the first one, we could have gone all the way to Chicago, so I knew that we would have time. I recall that the snowy road really helped me when I was having contractions, almost like a cushion against them. Nearer to town, the road had been plowed and was bumpier, and much less comfortable.

Gramma Sharlene met us in town to watch Robert. We labored through the morning, and Paul arrived shortly after noon. Interestingly, I had made the comment to Greg previously that if the baby were to come on that Sunday, he would be able to watch the Chicago Bears football game from the hospital. Sure enough, he got to watch the second half.

Paul mustn't have been paying too close attention to the game. The Bears Fan gene didn't get to him. Instead, to this day, he remains a loyal fan of the Green Bay Packers.

Today, the skies are overcast, and the wind is blowing from the south. That means that it is warm. When I went to check for the mail, I didn't even need a jacket. It is 48 degrees outside. What a difference. The weather is supposed to change tomorrow, and I hope that means that it cools off and snow comes our way. We won't be skiing for Thanksgiving, but it would be nice to have a little snow on the ground.

Paul is enjoying a day off, where he doesn't have to do any work if he chooses not to. Considering that during the seasons when we are open, and he can be asked to work up to sixteen-hour days, I'd say he deserves a bit of time off. Happy Birthday, Paul!

Tractors and Tires

When he went out a week ago to do his part of the trail system, he was only able to get halfway through. Then a tire blew out on the tractor, and that was it for that day. He hitchhiked back to his truck, and ordered a new tire. We picked it up in Duluth last week, and today he and Paul went to the trail to change it. I joined them to assist with transportation, and to take a few photos. It was a sunny day, and with our blaze orange, it was a colorful autumn scene.

Snow and Chickadees

While I don't know if it is here to stay, it sure looks good on the ground! The snow fell in big flakes, floating down from the sky, just like a storybook. The ground is cooling down, so that helps the snow hang around for a while. It's been a stretch since I can recall snow in early November, with the mixed up seasons we've had the last few years. Though some of us aren't quite ready, I am happy to see this.

It does mean that I need to be more diligent in keeping the bird feeder filled. Mostly we have been seeing our usual chickadee friends, and the rose-breasted nuthatches. I've also seen the white-breasted nuthatch almost daily. He comes swooping in so fast, I have to look twice to see if it really is him. Then he flies off right away, to go stash his seed somewhere.....I saw him stuff one into the big cedar tree by the workshop recently. I didn't realize that birds hid seeds away like that.

Yesterday, Greg rescued a chickadee that had hit the window. He fetched the little one and brought her in to the lodge where it was warm. He held her for a while, and then the bird started to flutter her wings, as though she was ready to take off. So Greg went out to the porch to release her, but the bird just sat in his hand. They came back inside, and then repeated this procedure a second time. This time, once outside, the bird quietly sat on Greg's hand and closed her eyes for a little nap. So he came back in and put the bird into a large empty flower pot, and give her a little hot Andouille sausage for a snack. Evidently, this was just the thing to wake the bird enough, as she started fluttering for freedom from the pot. Greg picked her up, once again stepped out on to the porch, and for another few moments, the bird still sat in his hand. Then she must have decided that she liked the menu outside better than the one posted inside, as she quickly took off.

Now that we have a bit of snow on the ground, we'll be able to see animal tracks more easily. One of the fellows who so diligently plows the roads up this way told me that he has seen many wolf tracks in the gravel pit by the Cross River. One day, he noticed tracks from a young moose, and then he saw tracks from a wolf. He didn't follow them to the ending, but he said that he expected that the moose probably didn't make it out of that one. I sure hope that we get to see wolves this year in the numbers that we did a couple of winters ago.