North Shore Morning

This time of the year is the beginning of the transition from winter to spring.  There's lots of activity starting up in the woods, but there's still cold weather and snow.  Naturalist Chel Anderson shares some of her recent observations in this edition of North Woods Naturalist.  

Wildersmith on the Gunflint     by     Fred Smith
March 6, 2020    
           
Another weekend warm-up ushered in month three along the Trail. March came in like a fuzzy spring bunny in the upper reaches of border country, far from the mythical “lion” lore. The way things have been happening in recent weeks, it would appear our spring like conditions could be here to stay.                                                                                                                                                          

While warming temps in the Wildersmith neighborhood did not get way out of hand, there was dripping off the roof top edges, and the sun took a bite out of snow piles. It’s anyone’s guess what it will be like as this report hits the air.                                                                         

Perhaps pussy willows will be displaying a little five o’clock shadow next week at this time. I did see a gangly young white pine was seeping sap while catching a few warm rays last Sunday afternoon. If that’s an example of what’s going on in the natural world, one can bet maple sweetness is going to be hitting the boiling pots pretty quick. With a week of March  chalked-up so soon, one would hope winter doesn’t deteriorate too fast for fear of being swamped in run-off and wash-outs.                                                                                                                                  

The territory has two cold season events this weekend. Reminder is given about the annual trout derby, Saturday, on West Bearskin Lake. Registration begins at 9:00am. There’s plenty of safe ice, but soft snow could make for sloppy trekking and angling.  More information is available on facebook.com/cookcountyridgeriders.                                                                                                                                                               

The other mid-Trail event is the annual Dog Days of Winter. Headquarters are at the Trail Center Restaurant. Activities commence on Poplar Lake at 8:00 am and run until 5:00 pm. The event is sponsored by Go Dog North Shore.                                                                                                

This is a day of family fun with events including cross country skiing, three classes of sled dogs racing (8, 6 and 4), two classes (2 and 5 miles) of skijoring, and more. If winter is truly about to give up the ghost, enthusiasts of fun in the snow had better get out to these events.                                                                                                                                                      

In the heavens, the Ojibwe, “crust on the snow moon” is waxing for the third time in 2020 and will be at its fullness on Monday. Meanwhile, on earth, we humans will be tinkering with time pieces this weekend as the nonsense of daylight savings time clouds our sense of realness once again. It becomes official at 2:00 am Sunday morning. So don’t forget to spring ahead before retiring Saturday evening. You may or may not get the hour of missed sleep back come November.                                                                                                                                                                         

A grouse has been hanging around the yard at Wildersmith, obviously unaware the friendly fox makes frequent visits. The little red gal was here just the other day apparently with a growling stomach. This time she dined on left-over pork chop bones and frozen poultry parts, but if that “Minnesota Chicken Bird” is not careful, Ms. Fox might have a fresh fowl dinner.                                  

My neighbor next door was up at his cabin last weekend and shared of discovering some unusually large foot prints coming on to his property from off the lake. With some broken underbrush branches nearby, it could be assumed the moose or more have been just a couple hundred feet from Wildersmith. It’s been years since we’ve had one of those big critters come this close to the place.                                                                                                                                                                              

The “leap into local radio” membership drive at WTIP is now into the books. The six day event was fun as ever with 48 NEW members joining the WTIP family. Thanks go out to those new friends of North Shore Community Radio and our long standing renewing patrons who stepped up to help surpass the $20,029 goal. Think about having that extra $29 in the challenge, pretty fitting for 2020 don’t you think?                                                                                                                                         

It goes without saying these all-important fund raising endeavors involve great organization and many hours of hard work by the staff and dozens of volunteers. An important trivia fact about the “leap” in 2020, 88 dedicated people gave of themselves to make it happen.                                                                                                                                                                              

For everyone who pledged, such support makes all the preparation very satisfying to those who shouldered the countless administrative tasks. The Board of Directors and staff are so proud of the wonderful contributors who jump in to keep this broadcast engine chugging along.                                                                                                                                                                                              

Although the official late winter drive is over, it’s never too late to join anew or re-up with a benefactor pledge. Every contribution matters, and a phone call or click on-line is all it takes!                                                                                                                                                                                 

For WTIP, this is Wildersmith, on the Gunflint Trail, where every day is great, as the slumbering stillness of winter, begins to awaken!
 

North Shore Morning host, Jean Grover talks with Andrea Orest, Statewide Health Improvement Partnership (SHIP) Coordinator about the "Safe Routes to School" program receiving an engineering grant to assess potential safety improvements.

North Shore Morning host, Bob Padzieski talks with Sawtooth Mt Clinic's Hartley Acero for the March "Topic of the Month".

“Money Matters” with Scott Oeth is a new monthly feature on WTIP's North Shore Morning and is intended to help us understand more about managing our finances.
Scott is a certified financial planner and Adjunct Professor. He’s taught hundreds of financial professionals retirement planning and wealth management strategies.
 

"Backpacking 101" with Michelle Schroeder
March 2020

Michelle owns Backpack the Trails LLC and has been an outdoor enthusiast for 40+ years.  She talks with WTIP each month to share her backpacking insight and experience with our listeners.
 

NORTHERN SKY – Deane Morrison
February 29 – March 13, 2020
 
In March, the action in the predawn sky really picks up. The month opens with Mars, Jupiter and Saturn forming a straight line, in that order from right to left, above the southeastern horizon. On the 4th, the three planets are spaced almost evenly apart.
    
But that neat arrangement soon gives way as the planets switch positions. Jupiter and Saturn are about to leapfrog past Mars, and all because Mars, being the closest to the sun, orbits the fastest. 
     
What’s happening is that Earth’s orbit is carrying us eastward and thus toward all these planets, making them move higher and westward. But Mars’s own orbit carries it much more rapidly eastward against the background of stars than the orbits of Jupiter and Saturn carry those planets.
     
As a result, Mars resists the westward movement imposed by Earth’s orbit and appears to sail eastward toward—and past—the two giant planets. Actually, though, Mars is mostly holding its own as Jupiter and Saturn sail past it on their westward journey. 
     
Have a look on the 18th, when Jupiter and Mars make a close pair while a crescent moon hangs right below them. The next morning, Jupiter and Mars will be closer yet and the moon will now appear below Saturn. On the 20th, Jupiter passes a mere 0.7 degrees—slightly more than a moon width—above Mars. On the 31st, the ringed planet passes about a degree above the red planet. In April the new lineup will be, from right to left, Jupiter, Saturn and Mars, with the gap between Mars and the other two planets rapidly widening.
     
In the evening sky, a young moon comes out below Venus on the 26th and 27th. And don’t miss the show as the brilliant planet and the Pleiades star cluster approach each other in the last week of March. Mark your calendars for April 2nd and 3rd, when Venus glides, spectacularly, in front of the Pleiades. Be sure to have binoculars handy.
     
March’s full moon shines the night of the 9th. It will be big and bright, though more than six hours past full when it rises that evening.
     
Spring arrives with the vernal equinox at 10:50 p.m. on the 19th. At that moment the sun crosses the equator into the northern sky and Earth will be lighted from pole to pole.

The University of Minnesota offers public viewings of the night sky at its Duluth and Twin Cities campuses. For more information and viewing schedules, see:
Duluth, Marshall W. Alworth Planetarium: www.d.umn.edu/planet
Twin Cities, Minnesota Institute for Astrophysics: www.astro.umn.edu/outreach/pubnight
Check out astronomy programs, free telescope events, and planetarium shows at the University of Minnesota's Bell Museum: www.bellmuseum.umn.edu/astronomy
Find U of M astronomers and links to the world of astronomy at http://www.astro.umn.edu
 

Superior National Forest Update by Steve Robertsen 
February 28, 2019

Wildersmith on the Gunflint     by     Fred Smith
February 28, 2020    
           
As February started to fade away, spring took a swipe at “old man winter” along the Gunflint Trail. For a few days, he went whimpering away as temperatures crept above the freezing mark. This is the first time in weeks where the mercury has seen a plus side of thirty-two in this neighborhood. March enters, likely in a sugaring mood if the territory has really turned the corner.                                                                                                                                                                                   
Under mostly clear skies, and where “Old Sol” pierced the forest canopy, snow banks saw a good bit of gnawing away. Nevertheless, in the shade of old growth pines at Wildersmith, melting could barely be noticed. The semi-melt-down didn’t even penetrate the ice on my steps which has been haunting my every trip up or down since before Christmas.                                                                          

Progress was made on the Trail black top as the warm sun cleared the Byway of winter driving conditions. It took just two days to do what the plow guy has been working diligently to accomplish since November. So it’s clear sailing for the time being, except for those Nature-Made speed bumps at select locations.                                                                                                                           

Following the recent melting spell, our border country canopy looks pretty drab. The marsh mellow puffs that have been decorating coniferous boughs, since I can’t remember when, have vanished into the atmosphere.                                                                                                               
 
Yet at ground level, out here deep in the woods, the pureness of this special white season remains. Obviously, it’s due to minimal intrusion of human kind.                                                                                      

It is unthinkable how the masses of us two legged beings can make such a mess of this magnificent natural world. As winter is rounding third base on the way toward spring, the trash of people presence is beginning to re-appear.                                                                                                             

During a recent trip into the village and then on to “urbanity”, I’m always taken aback by the ugliness of grungy man- manipulated snow and items of human disposal that have been hidden under this glorious crystal blanket. “Mother Nature” has a marvelous touch in making things beautiful, but “she” could sure use a hand from we folks on the ground.                                      

What is likely to be the last big, organized snow mobile activity of the season happens Saturday and Sunday?  The Cook County Ridge Riders Club and Poplar Haus Restaurant are hosting drag races on Poplar Lake. Registration begins at 11:00am, with racing until 4:00pm.                                                       

The “Club” turns to a calmer activity next weekend with the annual trout derby on Saturday, March 7^th.  Look for details on the Cook County Ridge Riders Snow Mobile Club Facebook page. Their trout through the ice is always a fun, family event!                                                            

Where animal, visuals have been scant over the past week, tell-tale evidence confirms they’re about when we’re not looking or awake. Of special note, I discovered moose tracks on the Mile O Pine during a daily mail run. Knowing moose can’t fly, the tracks were kind of a mystery as I could not find where they came out of the snowy woods and on to the road.                        

In other ghostly north woods happenings, I’ve observed a number of snow shoe hares recently. Tracks have shown their presence around here all winter without sightings, then again, white camo on white is sometimes blinding.                                                                                                                                                                       

As news from the Trail comes on the air this week, my hope is listeners and web-site readers have taken the “leap into local radio.” If not, you are certainly encouraged to pick-up the phone or get on-line, and “leap” into this important drive for support of WTIP, Community Radio in the Northland.                                                                                                                                                  

Support from everyone is critical in keeping operating strategies on budget. The staff and volunteers are at the mid-point of this six day journey, so please don’t wait until the last minute.                                                                                                                                                                                
Momentum is building as I speak!  To keep it going, give the station a call at 387-1070, or toll free at 1-800-473-WTIP (9847) or on-line at WTIP.org or stop in at 1712 West Highway 61, and pledge to the WTIP family! I thank you in advance!                                                                                            

For WTIP, this is Wildersmith on the Gunflint, where every day is great, and everything in nature has a purpose!                                                                                                               
 
 
 

Wildersmith on the Gunflint     by     Fred Smith
February 21, 2020    

The Gunflint Riviera heads into the last lap of month two this weekend. February has been no different than January with regard to its speedy advance.                                                                      

Many out this way don’t seem to mind though with an eye toward spring. A good sign of spring thoughts comes from the gal with the “green thumb” on Loon Lake who shares’ she has garden seeds sprouting already, indoors of course. There’s still a good three feet of snow covering her planting plot.                                                                                                                                                                       
It’s easy to get excited as the power of “Sol” grows with each passing day, and daylight minutes are keeping us lit up after five o’clock these days. However, it’s reasonable to expect “old man winter” could burst our bubble of spring anticipation over the next sixty days or so. Even if the “old guy” heads off for spring break, there’s still tons of snow and ice to melt, and the “mud season” to muck up the spirit until the green of re-birth buds out.                                                   

In the meantime, while a good share of border country winter has been milder than usual, the times since Valentine’s Day have been about the coldest of the season. A couple of mornings in the upper Trail territory found readings in the mid-thirty below zero range.  At Wildersmith, the mercury shrunk to minus 34 twice and with exception of a day or so stayed pretty much below zero to barely single digits above for a few days.                                                                        

While it’s warmer now, it just goes to show, the “old man of the North” cannot be fully dependable. In spite of the frigidity, the area has experienced some sparkling blue sky days in the past week, with only a smattering of lite snow during a couple night times and a light dose last Monday.                                                                                                                                                                      

Speaking of sparkling clear days, the snowmobile drag races on Hungry Jack Lake were blessed with one last Saturday. It was a great day for energized drivers and fans on the great white track. It’s kind of an up north likeness to Daytona Beach. Race results for each class of engine can be found on the Cook County Ridge Riders Facebook page. The next big sledding challenge will be held on Poplar Lake Saturday the 29^th.                                                                                                                                                                                            

A couple reports of moose activity came from the south shore of Gunflint and the North Shore of Loon Lake last week. There were no actual sightings, but plenty of tracks confirmed their presence. It’s unusual to have such activity along the Gunflint Lake shores, as they seem to favor other habitat areas of the Gunflint Forest. It is heartening to know they have been around because few have been reported much of anywhere thus far this winter.                                                                       

A gal who ski’s pretty much daily, in the Loon to Crab Lake area, tells of recent moose activity where the big clod hoppers have played havoc with her groomed tracks. Maybe it’s the same animal exploring in unexpected locations.                                                                                                         

The Smith’s experienced an array of visitors last Sunday. Both avian and fur bearing critters stopped in at one time or another. Of course if we had one blue Jay, we probably had a dozen, and Ms. Fox stopped by to sit on the deck awhile, longing for a chicken dinner, to which I obliged.                                                                                                                                                                     

After the foxy departure, a pair of Pine Martens frolicked around the feeding stations also receiving a poultry treat. Having two Martens around at the same time usually ends up in a territorial tussle.  It made me wonder if these two might have been close nesting partners, more than just genetic connections, since they spent cordial time together in the same feeder.                                                                                                                                                                                
Next week at this time, the community voice of the North Shore/ Arrowhead region will be in the midst of their spring membership renewal. This important fund raising drive kicks off with a “Leap into Local Radio” for 2020, next Wednesday morning, February 26^th.                                                                                                                                                 
Whereas one can leap into a snow bank out this way for only a few months each year, one can “leap into local radio” year around on this great station. But this must be secured periodically with on-going support from over thirteen hundred WTIP listener members.                        

So if you enjoy what this broadcast endeavor has been providing for over twenty years, now’s the time to take the “leap” anew or again, and join the WTIP family. The campaign runs until Monday noon, on March 2^nd, don’t wait, be ready to re-up at the opening bell with your pledge of love for WTIP radio.                                                                                                                                       

For WTIP, this is Wildersmith, on the Gunflint Trail, where every day is great, in a season of frozen wonders!