The Season for Getting Ready

'Tis the season--can you feel it in the air? Everyone is getting ready.....for winter (even when it has already arrived!), for the holidays, for the new guests to arrive, for the latest big snowfall predicted....It's been a busy time here on Gunflint Lake since we last met. The days are filled to the brim, and beyond it seems. It is good.

So where are we at on the list of Get Readys? Well, the cabins are mostly set for the winter season that started two days ago. I say mostly, because Greg is finishing some details in Spruce, as he winds up the remodeling of the bathroom. It looks grand! As soon as I have the go-ahead, I will take some photos of it. Once again, he's done a magnificent job. I'm always delighted to see his vision grow and become reality. From the start, he will describe to me what he intends to do, but since I can't see the same pictures in my head that he sees in his, it is still a surprise for me. He gathers inspiration and ideas from many sources, and sometimes I believe it starts as simply as the color of a piece of tile he has encountered. There remain a few more cabin bathrooms that will need his touch in the coming years, so stay tuned.

It seems like we've been getting ready for winter for a long time now. In reality, we've been ready on several fronts for a long time---the wood is stacked, the kindling is split, the propane tanks are full. We've got the heat covered. I have a tiny bit of winterizing yet to do at one cabin, but that will go fast. And we can now say that the trails are ready, too. Greg has been too involved in his project to assist yet, but thanks to the hard work of Gunflint Pines and Gunflint Lodge, the ski trails have been packed, groomed, and tracked. With the new snow in the air, it will only get better.

Ready for Christmas? Well, considering that it is December 23rd, I'd say that we are about on schedule. This is the day that we go out to cut trees, with dear friends who are staying with us. It has become a most excellent tradition, and sometimes we mix in a bit of sledding with the search. We have even sledded down the big hill, holding our trees aloft. Once home, we all get busy with the task of decorating, so that by the time the big day arrives, the trims are in place and all is festive. We still have cookies to bake, but if those get done too soon, they all get eaten--as was the case with the first batch.

Now, the snowstorm that is predicted....The times each winter that I recapture that feeling of excitement and anticipation of a childhood Christmas are most strongly represented in the weather. Specifically, when the weather forecast is for a blizzard (or such) to arrive in the night, I go to bed with eager anticipation of morning. I love to get up and go right to the window to see if it really did materialize. Today was a bit of a disappointment, but the situation is improving. We got a bit of snow overnight, but not enough to send the Plow Guy out. It was snowing by the time full daylight arrived, and continues to do so. All of our guests are here, so I say it can snow for the next four days, steady. I doubt I'll be that lucky, but I'll settle for several inches. For some reason, I don't think that I can negotiate this one. Here again, I'll keep you posted on the outcome.

Addie had a conversation with Robert yesterday. He arrived safely in Eagle, Alaska, to spend the holidays with friends. I had sent out two Christmas boxes to him a week or so ago. One I mailed to his home in Fairbanks, and the other to the post office in Eagle. After he got in to town, he and his friend Amanda harnessed up her dogs and dog-sledded to the post office to retrieve it. How's that for holiday package delivery?! He was eager to open it, not for the presents, but rather for the cookies inside. That's where most of the first batch went to.

The next few days will be just as busy as the last few. After all of the Christmas celebrations, we will be starting on our activities for New Year's. The menu this year will feature foods of the Eastern Mediterranean, and I just got two orders of exotic spices in the mail. We'll be smelling and tasting some unusual foodstuffs. The kids have been practicing some music for New Year's Eve, so we'll be sounding good. There will be lots of hugs going around. And of course, the beauty of the Northwoods at Christmas is always a feast for the eyes.

Merry Christmas to everyone--I hope that all of your wishes come true.

Ice At Last

The good news? We have ice! Last night, the temps were predicted to drop below zero, but the wind was roaring outside of our window. Earlier in the evening, I had been out hanging some Christmas lights, and listening to the clatter. Little chunks of broken ice were rattling against each other, and bumping up on the shore. No way did it sound like the lake would calm enough to freeze.

But sometime in the wee hours, the wind did die down, so that when we got up, there it was....A nice covering of ice. It squeaked in just under the wire of my "first two weeks in December" time frame, given that today is the 14th. I opened the window to listen to the complete silence that I so enjoy when we first freeze. It's good.

The temp was about nine below, warmer than the predicted lows of minus twenties. It will likely be colder in the mornings now. I have noticed a bit of a lake effect for us here on the south shore, when we still have open water. It does seem to keep us a few degrees warmer. That will even out now.

I made sure to refill the bird feeder last evening, as I knew the chickadees and nuthatches would be fast and furious for food in the early morning cold. I also knew that I would not want to be as fast as they are, in getting out there to fill it up. It's much too cozy by the fire in the early light, to even consider going outside at nine below!

All Steamed Up

One of the hardest things to predict in recent years is when the lake might freeze. In the late 80's and much of the 90's, it would usually go by about the middle of December. When asked, we would tell folks either the first or second week of the month was a good bet. This year, it looked like we were on track for that, with snow on the ground, and some decent cold blasts that took us below zero. But as I mentioned the other day, the wind is the last variable to make a difference. It's still making waves, so we are still waiting for ice. And that's what's got us all steamed up....Not that we are mad about this, but rather that the moving waters keep on kicking up clouds of steam, as the lake releases its warmth. On our way to church last Sunday, the skies were clear and the trees full of crystals as we passed by Loon Lake. But looking over the ridge (the north side of the South Rim) we could see huge clouds of steam rising. Last night, the wind was blowing so hard, it sounded more like a fall storm out there than the usual ultra-quiet of winter. We'll keep on waiting....

A bit of fresh snow is falling, and most of the trees still have snow on their branches, so we are frosted up for the upcoming holidays. The ski trails have been packed--including the South Rim! It's early for that to have happened. Once we get a decent amount of fresh snow, it will be time to track the trails. Yahoo for early snow.

Greg is working beyond sundown these days (which of course is easy to do, given that the sunset is about 4:10 in the afternoon) as he puts the bathroom at Spruce cabin back together. The shower is tiled, and soon the floor will be. The boards are painted and ready to go back up on the walls, and the fixtures are ready to be set into place. We found a neat little sink when we were in Bozeman last spring, so we ordered it up for the cabin. I'm sure that store will become a regular stop on our western treks, as Greg searches out new ideas for future remodeling projects. He wishes that there were more hours in the day, as the ideas and opportunities abound when you maintain so many buildings.

Holiday preparations continue here at the lodge. Addie and I did get some cookies made. Most of those have been packed up and are Alaska-bound. Robert appreciates it when we send goodies his way. Once again, he will spend Christmas in the town of Eagle. He must fly in from Fairbanks, and that is weather-dependent. He has several days off from school, so a delay isn't as crucial. He is fortunate to have many good friends there who will make the holiday just as wonderful as if he were back home.

Lately, with Greg so busy, the rest of us have been taking turns going up to feed the donkeys, Moses and Jethro. Those boys have grown some nice wooly coats for the winter. Is that an indication of how the weather is to be? Over the weekend, they displayed their resourcefulness: When Greg went up there one morning, they were not at the gate, nor in the barn. He looked around, and they were standing at the far edge of the pasture, in the spot where the first rays of sunshine would hit when the sun came up. Of course, when they saw Greg open the hay shed gate, they came running over for breakfast. Greg put hay in their usual places, and they started to eat. Then he put some where the sun was spotting the ground. When Moses noticed that, he ran right over, before Jethro could steal the hot spot. Such antics we get to observe in these guys--and their intelligence, too.

The snow is falling a bit harder now. How wonderful it would be to sit here and knit all day, watching those flakes fall from the sky! I did get that chance, last March when I was laid-up with my achilles injury. It's good to be able-bodied again. I'll just keep an eye on those snowflakes as I go about my tasks today, and that will be good, too.

Postcards on the Trail

In the early mornings at this time of year, we are treated to beautiful colors in the sky. Today it reflected in the water as well. For a brief time, the sky was this shade of pink, and then a bit of orange. It's a good thing that Greg noticed it and told me to look out the window--just a few minutes later, it was gone.

In case you hadn't noticed, this is my new favorite way to take a photo: I hold my camera out the window of our room upstairs, to take a shot that overlooks the lake. From that vantage point, I can get a good overview of the landscape. Being a shorter person, I just can't do it justice from the ground!

Yesterday when I drove towards the trail, I realized that Hollywood films have nothing on us when it comes to flocking trees and creating a wintery scene. The conifer trees were mostly laden with the fresh snow, while the deciduous trees had little coats of frost, thanks to the moisture that is still being released from our (mostly) open lake. It is difficult to take a picture that adequately reflects all of this. Suffice it to say that it was as pretty as a postcard.

The lake is starting to freeze up around the bays and edges. I don't see as much steam rising from it, so it must be nearing the point of cooldown necessary to freeze over. The other important factor that must fall in to place is the wind. Tomorrow night, the lows in our area are predicted to be 21 to 26 degrees below zero. But the wind is supposed to be out of the west at ten to fifteen miles per hour. It's not likely that the lake will freeze if both of those conditions happen. Last year, it seemed to be taking a long time for the lake to freeze. We were all anxious, and it happened that one evening we were having friends over for dinner, and I suggested that afterwards, we go down and see how the lake was doing. It was quite cold, and it seemed that the wind had died down. We bundled up, and headed out into the stillness. When we got to the landing, we could actually hear the ice forming. First there was a trickling sound of water, and then suddenly it stopped. It was almost like a switch had been flipped off. And there in front of us was ice where moments before it was water. We started to pitch small snow chunks on to the new ice, and watched them trail until they reached the edge a little further out, where they fell into the lake. It was such a rare moment. When we headed in, we were happy that finally the lake had frozen over. But in the morning, it was not to be, as the wind had come up, and pushed around all the new ice, broken it up, and re-opened the lake. It was several more days before it really settled down enough to freeze completely and firmly.

With all of the white surrounding us, we've been able to spot critters more easily. Several neighbors have reported seeing moose on the trail again. We got our chance last Saturday, as we headed to Grand Marais early in the morning. Along a straightaway, two bull moose were conversing up ahead. It had been a while since I've seen bulls with racks, and these two looked great. They scrambled to take there meeting off-road, and one nearly slipped as he headed in to the woods. I was happy that he didn't actually fall, because I have seen that, and it looks painful. I've been watching tracks, hoping to see some wolf, but so far it has been just the fox. Those little fellows and gals are a frequent sight on the trail.

More snow is falling today, and it is great to know that so much of the state has been blessed with early December snow. That means we all can dust off the skis and snowshoes sooner to get out there and find our "ski legs" again. The muscles will be sore for a bit, but then we'll be gliding along.