North Shore Morning

As summer comes to a close, Steve heads out on a canoe trip with his kids in the BWCAW. In this edition of Gunflint Notebook, Steve catches up on the small things that we often overlook in the grind of everyday life.

City and county progress on the community center. WTIP’s Jay Andersen spoke with Commissioner Sue Hakes about recent developments.

Cindy and I were watching the Twins game last week, when she suddenly said, "Wait, pause, go back!  I think I see our friend Walter in the crowd behind the batter."  I quickly rewound a few seconds and she said, "No, I'm sorry, it's not Walter."  At which point I said, "That isn't Walter, but look on the other side of the batter and you'll see Kyle Nelson and Diane Blanchett."  Sure enough, there were the two West End residents, big as life, at the Twins game.  They looked like they were having a good time.  All I want to know is how did they get those great seats and can they get them for us!
 
John Groth, from the Lutsen Fire Department and the Lutsen post office, called the other day to remind me of the 17th Annual Lutsen Fire Department Pacake Breakfast Fundraiser.  This year, it is being held on Sunday, September 16th, from 8 to 11 am, at the Lutsen Fire Hall.  The Fire Hall is located on the corner of the Caribou Trail and Highway 61 in Lutsen.  This isn't just your ordinary pancake breakfast.  The pancake recipe is a famous secret, if that's not an oxymoron.  The syrup is donated by local maple syrup producers, and I'm not exaggerating when I say that it is the best in the world.  The syrup alone is worth the price of admission.  Also, the new fire truck will be on display and you can also observe the progress in the construction on the new fire hall, although only from a safe distance.  Again, that's Sunday, September 16th from 8 to 11 am.  Call John at 663-7702 if you have questions.
 
As always, there is a lot going on at Birch Grove.  The new playground equipment is being installed by volunteers.  More volunteers are needed.  There is a work session scheduled for Friday, September 14^th at  3 pm and Saturday, September 15^th at 9 am.
 
The Birch Grove Community lunch is back with the return of the school year.  It is held on the second Tuesday of every month.  It starts at 11:30 and there is a small charge.  Everyone is welcome and the food is delicious.
 
The new wood fired bread oven at Birch Grove should be done by the time you hear this.  It was built in cooperation with North House Folk School and should provide us all with yummy bread and pizza for many years to come.  Thanks to the students, volunteers and North House for making this happen.
 
Tim and Charles Petricek from Racine, Wisconsin are frequent campers in the area.  They are amateur photographers and have a real knack for finding interesting wildlife.  Over the years they have photographed just about every big animal that we have in the woods.  Last weekend, they were fishing on a local lake when they saw a cow moose swimming across the lake.  They were too far away to get a picture of that moose, but within minutes a giant bull moose entered the water in pursuit of the cow.  The bull, which has one of the biggest racks I’ve ever seen, swam right past Tim and Charles and they were able to get good pictures.  The really interesting part was that the bull had a small tree stuck in it’s antlers.  Some people have all the luck.

Sue Maijala has lived in Cook County for over 20 years. She grew up in rural northwestern Minnesota near the Red River Valley in a farming town of 300 people called Middle River. She started playing clarinet in school band, but soon fulfilled the band's need for a drummer. It wasn't long before her high school band director had other uses for her skills, and from there, Sue expanded her musical experience into a variety of polka bands across Minnesota. Learn more in this edition of The Local Music Project.

If silence is golden, then it’s going to be pretty quiet in these parts. Gold is the catchword as the forest is exploding through the Gunflint hillsides. By the time this scoop reaches you readers and listeners, our landscape will be one to behold.
 
With only a few spindly showers over the area since we last met over the airwaves, border country remains sadly dry. The mood is kind of eerie as residents are edgy with regard to the possibility of somebody being careless with fire, or an act of nature happening in the form of a lightning strike.
 
Luckily, thus far this section of the Superior National Forest has been spared while several patches to our west and north have been experiencing a number of small blazes. We on the Gunflint are thankful that people in proximity to these burns have not been adversely affected. Further, all can be grateful that the Forest Service has got right after these incidents, and at this writing, all are either out or contained.
 
One element of fall is the smell of burning leaves; however, if you live in the forest this is not a pleasant thought. A smell of autumn that is welcomed, though, is the aroma coming from fallen leaves when they’ve been spritzed with a bit of rain.
 
I got my first whiff of fall just a few days ago following one of our feeble showers. That marvelous indescribable scent would be worth a fortune if it could only be captured and put in a bottle. Ahhh, the essence of our changing times!
 
The last rose of summer has long since passed, but the last blooms of this fading season are hanging on in dazzling color. Large leaf asters are about the last vestige of bright color against the muted backdrop of other dying wilderness flora. They’re out in abundance this year, and as opposed to their usual white to pale blue color are the most vivid tint of lilac I’ve observed during my short time in the wilderness.
 
Speaking of roses, our extended dry spell seems to have spelled doom for this year’s rose hip crop. They are rapidly wilting on the stem and many will not be maturing as firm fruit when the first freeze usually sets them in readiness for harvesting.
 
Some friends who reside over on Loon Lake report that they had a bumper crop of mountain ash berries this year. Their three trees were loaded with the cheery, cherry red fruit until a flock of cedar waxwings invaded one day last week. There were an uncountable number of the hungry birds and in one days setting, they devoured the entire crop. I have since found that this is not an unusual happening.
 
We all know that loon pairs are forever. They love, honor and serve each other just as human unions can do. A local fellow tells of sitting on a dock recently when a loon popped up out of the water within a few feet from where he was perched.
 
To his surprise the handsome bird had been fishing and brought its catch out of the water. After a bit of shaking the finny and dunking it back underwater a couple times, the amiable bird swam off a short distance to where its mate had surfaced and “served” it the catch of the day.
 
How’s that for an affectionate gesture in our often-tough natural world? This avian love affair kind of goes hand in hand with the amorous snapping turtle story of last week.
 
Some 60 members of the Gunflint Trail Historical Society took part in a historic cabin tour last Saturday.  The event, which was open to members only, found the touring participants getting to step back in time as they journeyed to seven cabin/homes in the historic district on the shores of Hungry Jack Lake.
 
The GTHS is grateful to the property owners for opening up their celebrated dwellings while sharing hospitality and storied information about their wilderness havens. Raves were heard from the visitors, leaving many thirsting for more such opportunities. Hopefully, this might become an annual fund raising event for the historical society. Kudos to all the organizers and the gracious homeowners!
 
Keep on hangin’ on and savor gold in “them thar hills!”

Airdate: September 14, 2012

Deane Morrison is a science writer at the University of Minnesota, where she authors the Minnesota Starwatch column. In this edition of Northern Sky, Deane explains some of the great things to see in the morning sky this September: new & crescent moons, the autumnal equinox, and much more.

Read this month's Starwatch column.

Check out Deane's story on the U of M's role in exploring the Van Allen Belt.

‘Tis the season for kick-offs: another school year, football, etc. For yours truly, it’s a kick-off time too. It was 10 years ago with this scribing that I started this trek of bringing folks the Trail scoop each week. As I begin year 11, I want to thank everyone for the kind words of encouragement as well as sharing some of their north woods happenings on occasion. 
 
More north woods romance blossomed for us wilderness folk last week as the unusual second full moon of August burst over the horizon to greet chapter nine of 2012. What a showing this lunar experience turned out to be for those in lake country!           
 
Raves have been heard from up and down the Trail in regard to this once in a blue moon showing. Skies were crystal clear, setting the stage for a grand arrival, which happened just before 1950 hours on day 31.
 
Fortunately the Smiths and a swell friend were out on the Gunflint ripples cruising when the celestial body first peeked above our eastern shore line. We watched intently as the faint heavenly creation grew quickly to a stunning full size. Yes, the rising movement was discernable!
 
Then if that moon magic wasn’t enough, a turn of the craft 180 degrees found Sol doing his daily disappearance act. With the usual pre-sundown haze of late, our daytime luminary was piercing the northwestern sky like a molten spear complete with a blinding hot iron bar reflecting off the lake. The setting scenario extended beyond our scope of imagination and was lending a bridging hand toward the lunar visitor from the east.
 
The ambiance of being in the midst of this astronomical rhapsody was exhilarating, totally beyond adequate description! Hope all you readers and listeners got to share a moment of this enchantment.
 
A secondhand report came to me about two area fishermen that happened upon a gathering of loons while angling on North Lake. Not too unusual except that they counted 13 in the grouping. While counting, I am told that the bakers’ dozen broke out in a yodeling interlude. This choral call of the wild had to be something special, probably not often presented where humans could hear. There’s nothing like being in the right place at the right time!
 
Being in the right place at the right time recently meant another unusual natural experience for a couple living up on Gull Lake. The scene was set in the lake not far from their shore when two huge snapping turtles surfaced in a frenzy of thrashing water. The observation of the aquatic activity went on for some time before it became evident that the hard-shelled critters were not fighting, but more likely in some sort of amorous ritual.
 
They were tumbling over and over while hugging in a belly-to-belly position only interrupted for brief moments of heads above water to gasp a snort of air. Trying to find out whether this was just a late summer fling, or if it was a normal time for beginning the reproductive cycle, I turned to north woods naturalist, Chel Anderson.
 
I would have guessed that this natural occurrence might happen after coming out of hibernation in the spring, but Chel’s research found that snapping turtles can mate anytime from May thru the summer. So this surely could have been the beginning of this terrapin couple’s extending the reproductive cycle, more than just a summer romance.  
 
As golden birch leaves begin trickling ground-ward, autumn is picking up a little more momentum. Area roadsides are gathering the fallen tokens and with the breeze of passing vehicles, I see them blown into rows like soldiers lined up for inspection.       
The crimson of sugar maples sprinkled through the coniferous forest is in an accelerating mode and should be in full regalia in not too many more days. With the help of some morning frost, continuing warm afternoons and maybe some rain, foliage will be spectacular.
 
More signs of advancing times are being noted in a decline of hummingbird activity at area sweet stops, along with the bombing of rooftops as squirrels harvest cone provisions from the white pine treetops.
 
Thinking about critter survival, during the winter months a gal down the road shares of watching a major excavation by a chipmunk. I’m told that this one was trying to bury an entire ear of corn. Guess it was quite a digging exercise for the greedy striped rodent.
 
Lastly, the territory has taken on a sudden stillness with the passing of summer’s final fling. The Labor Day weekend was bustling as I have not seen in recent years but all has become quiet on the northern front. Now begins the time of waiting, waiting for arrival of the “northern express!”
 
Keep on hangin’ on, and savor the sensations of autumn!

Airdate: September 7, 2012

Brothers John and Patrick Pierre have served as Grand Portage Royalty for the last three and four years. WTIP producer Staci Drouillard  met with them on the Grand Portage Reservation at the annual Rendezvous and Pow Wow.  The day before the interview John and Patrick had passed along their banners to the new, incoming Royalty.

In this edition of Anishinaabe Way, Staci speaks with them about their responsibilities as Tiny Tot Brave and Jr. Brave, their travels and any advice they might have for the next young tribal representatives.
 

Grand Marais has always been a small town, but for many who grew up in the community, it feels much bigger and busier than it did in the past. Buck Benson and Rick Anderson were both brought up in the community. They still reside here today. Rick owns Sweetgrass Cove, a small inn and retreat in Grand Portage, and Buck owns the Hardware Hank in Grand Marais. They explain the slower times of Cook County life in this edition of Moments in Time.