Getting a Little Wild Around Here

While sitting quietly and enjoying my morning tea yesterday, I noticed a lot of bird activity out the windows. I got up to see the action, and a hawk was pursuing a raven. It was easy to tell by the flight pattern that he was mad. I am guessing that the neighborhood hawks that I mentioned a week or so ago might have eggs in a nest, and that the pesky raven thought about helping himself to some. No go, not with this hawk around.

Greg came in to the room, glanced out the same window, and said "Moose! Moose!" in a very loud whisper. I took a quick peek and then ran for my camera. The pair were right between the lodge and Tamarack, heading towards the parking area. I made my way to the backdoor and opened it before they got there. But they must have seen enough movement through the glass, as they started to move faster up the road. We watched as they strode up the hill, and then took a left towards the donkey pasture. Moose encounters in the past for the donkeys have resulted in indifference on Moses' part, and extreme concern from Jethro. While the moose never actually made it up there, we did see that Jethro was definitely on the job in regards to these intruders.

It looks like we have guard donkeys. Greg says that he could let them out at night, to keep an eye on the place. The only problem, and it's a big one, is that they would cause more trouble than protection. They love to eat the porch railings. And now with growing season upon us, they'll look for all sorts of green and edible treats. We won't be letting them roam free anytime soon.

Gone! Ice Out on Gunflint Lake

Officially, Greg says that the ice out was May 12th. It was too dark to see if it was out on the east end, but in the night, we surmised that it was. The waves were pushing in hard from that direction, and once again, we woke up to the sounds of open water. It turned out to be one of the less dramatic years, as ice-outs go....I see white lines of ice pushed up against the Canadian shore, so we missed out on that part of it. Still, it always feels great to see that open water again, so we don't mind.

I walked down to the landing to get another view of all that water.

Just a few residual little chunks of ice left, floating out there. The temperature is only 39 degrees, so it is good that I chose to wear long johns today. It will be a bit chilly down by the water as we put those docks in. But it's a welcome task.

We've been hearing good things about the trout fishing. The last few days, the water at the west end of the lake has been the busy spot. Good catching and nice sizes. Now we can see what folks find out about the walleye fishing, as they head towards the east end of the lake, and on into Little Gunflint, Little North, and North Lakes. The water level is high, so there shouldn't be many problems getting into the next lakes.

Now, as I like to do every spring, I can quote from one of my favorite childrens' books: "Let the wild rumpus begin!"

Going...Going....

Then, about seven-thirty, Greg glanced out the window and said, "Holy Cow!"

We looked out to see what he was exclaiming over, and saw lots of open water, about halfway across the lake. This photo was taken as a close-up of the north half of the lake.

And here is a shot of our bay:

I'm thinking that tomorrow morning we will be putting the docks in---Hooray!

P.S. It's still snowing, but it isn't sticking.

Nothing Fishy Goin' On Around Here

That title translates to "Yes, we still have ice." Each morning I wake up and hope that I will see open water out there. Before I actually get up to look, I listen (the window is open a crack), and really, I have my answer by the silence that greets my ears. But one of these days, it's bound to change. I remember one year when we returned from a road trip in late April. The ice was black that day, but it still looked solid--like it wasn't moving anywhere. Lo and behold, though, the next morning it was completely gone. It was the oddest ice-out I have ever seen, or in this case, slept through. Most years, we get to see the ice actively working, as it moves against the shore and breaks into large chunks. We've already seen a bit of that. Today the wind is blowing, so maybe it will start to push up on a shore somewhere...Truth be told, though, we did have snow showers this morning. It ain't warming up any too soon.

Because the ice didn't go out yesterday, we weren't putting our docks into the water. And also because the ice hasn't gone out, our fishing friends are waiting to come up. With no fishing activity, we decided to grab a rare opportunity. The Grand Marais Jazz Festival was happening in the county this weekend, and we realized that we were free to go to one of the concerts. We hopped into the car, and headed to town to hear the Erin Bode Group at the Arrowhead Center for the Arts. What an excellent concert! We have heard these very talented musicians before in Grand Marais, but not on the stage of the ACA. The venue was great for their music--vocals, stand-up bass, keyboard, guitar, and drums. Much of what they performed was original compositions. One song, in particular, hit close to home. I don't know the title for sure, but Erin sang the line, "I've seen a thousand mice," about the first home she and her husband shared. I really enjoy it when artists let the audience in on their steps through the creative process, which she shared on this, and some of the other songs. Afterward, we had a nice chance to visit with the band, and some members of Erin's family, who are longtime friends of the Heston clan. We appreciated the opportunity to get caught up on all of the happenings.

One of the best things about yesterday was the chance to make new memories on May 10th, for it was that day last year that we witnessed the Ham Lake Fire on the Canadian shores of Gunflint Lake. That scene will be forever etched into our memory bank, like a video waiting to replay. It is nice to have a good memory in the bank, waiting in line for its chance to hit the play button. After the concert, we went out to dinner at the Angry Trout, for a taste of the fish and chips we so enjoy. We had done that last year, too, when we first reached town after evacuating. Our friends John, Liz, and Lily were there for dinner, too, and we recalled that they also had been at the Trout that same smoky evening the year before. So a circle has been completed....one year since the fire, a wonderful concert and a relaxing time at the Angry Trout. Life is good.

And to all the moms who read my blog, I hope that you have a very Happy Mother's Day!