North Shore Morning

National Forest Update – March 15, 2018.
 
Hi.  I’m Hayley Henderson, CCMI contractor with the Forest Service, with this week’s National Forest Update, a round-up of everything that for the next two weeks may affect your visit to the Superior.  We are on the edge of spring but don’t get too excited yet.  Remember that March is one of the heaviest snowfall months of the year and you never know what might happen.
What has happened so far though is some deterioration of our winter trails?  Right now, trails are mostly rated as good, with some icy conditions on south-facing slopes.  With about of warm weather ahead of us though, users should beware of more glazing of trails and possible bare spots.  Snowmobile trails are rated fair to good, with a couple of very goods, but still, watch for soft spots as melting is expected to continue.  But it is March, and we still may be in line for a good dumping of snow before winter is done, so don’t put away your snow toys yet.  Don’t forget that snowmobiles are not permitted on ski trails; we’ve had indications that a couple of people appear to have missed that message.

The roads are much like the trails.  They are still firmly frozen and good for travel, but just be aware that in the sun the layer of frozen snow may be turning to truck-eating mush in the near future.  If you are unsure, get out and check the road before you go down it.

We are coming close to March 19^th, the date ice houses must be removed from lakes in northern Minnesota.  Ice fishing will continue, but you cannot leave your house on the ice unoccupied overnight.  Every year, it seems someone pushes the season and ends up floating out into the lake, or having a vehicle drop into the water.  Don’t let it be your embarrassing picture that is in the news; check ice thickness and be careful.  After all, it could be a lot worse than just embarrassment.

There’s still too much snow on the ground to worry about fire danger, though we are sending some of our fire people to southern forests where the fire season has started already.  But, it’s never too early to start thinking about Firewise!  Firewise is the idea that you can help protect your property by managing it in a way that reduces the possibility of a structure fire.  Materials about Firewise are available online and at the Forest Service offices in Tofte and Grand Marais.

There isn’t a lot of timber activity right now on our eastern side of the Forest.  Hauling is taking place on the Greenwood Road, the Firebox Road, the Greenwood Lake Access Road, the Homestead Road in Lutsen, the Caribou Trail, Cook County 39, the Ward Lake Road, and Forest Road 333.  The Firebox Road and Forest Road 333 are also snowmobile trails, so be extra careful traveling on them.

Biologists have been conducting owl surveys at night recently.  This is the time of year when owls can be quite vocal, so they are easy to locate.  Hawks generally have to fly south in the winter because the snow covers the ground and the hawks can’t see the mice to catch them.  Owls, on the other hand, locate their prey by hearing and can hear the mice right through the snow.  This saves owls the work of migrating and also allows them to start nesting long before the hawks arrive to compete with them for nest space and food.  The facial disc that gives owls their distinctive face is actually part of their hearing mechanism.  The visible disc is the edge of a reflector made of harder feathers that works like a satellite dish to bring sound right to their ears. 

Enjoy the warmer weather, and maybe use it to take a walk outside at night and listen for owls.  After all, they are probably listening to you.  Until next time, this has been Hayley Henderson with the National Forest Update. 
 

Travels with Sarah  -  Part One
Minneapolis
 
I am walking a well-trodden path down to a sandy beach by the Mississippi River. The day is lovely, but Sarah, the black dog who should have been running in front of me, off-leash, as she generally was, stopping occasionally to look back and make sure I was still following her, was gone. She should have been scurrying from smell to smell, reading the wonders of the trail with her nose, and trotting off again, her feathery tail describing joyful spirals in the gentle autumn sunshine. She should have been there to enjoy this walk with me, as we had enjoyed countless walks over the past fifteen-and-a-half years, but she was newly dead, and my grief was a raw wound.
 
When I acquired a dog, I never imagined that I would grow to love her so much. For years I disliked dogs. When I was growing up my mother always had dogs, often several at a time. Sometimes one of them bit me, "You must have been teasing him, darling!" They were always undisciplined, accustomed to having the best seats, to begging at the table, barking for food, licking the dinner plates, jumping over passengers in order to get out as soon as the car door opened, scrabbling with sharp claws and emitting fetid breath. Dogs were a nuisance. My mother would often say “I much prefer dogs to people” and “I always wished I could have whelped pups instead of you lot.”
 
The dogs lived at home, while from the age of eight to seventeen I was packed off to boarding schools. This was the 1950s British way; thus we middle-class children acquired a stiff upper lip and the Received Pronunciation (RP) as linguists call it of the Queen’s English. At school, I slept on horsehair mattresses and sheets that the school matron cut and sewed “sides to middle” when they wore thin, so that at night the rough seam insinuated itself along the length of your body. At home, my mother’s dogs slept with her on the big bed in the master bedroom; my father, when he was home, was relegated to the spare room. Through her dogs, my mum expressed her bitterness and frustration with life in general. When the English Setter swept my grandmother’s antique Crown Derby coffee pot off a low table with a brush of his tail, shattering it, my mother’s first instinct was to laugh. Her dogs were her “Up yours” gesture against the world.
 
For years I thought I didn’t like children either. I was afraid of them. I never wanted any of my own. Children, like dogs, were undisciplined nuisances.
 
When I had my son I was nearly forty. Inevitably he was born a dog person, a gene no doubt inherited from my mother. As soon as he could walk he would toddle up to dogs and I would cower behind him for protection.
“Please can I have a dog!” he would plead as soon as he could talk. “I’ll take care of it! I’ll pick up after it! I’ll feed it!”
 
His father and I finally agreed to get him a dog for his eleventh birthday. A dog-loving friend advised me to get a Cockerpoo. “They are intelligent, sweet-natured, sturdy enough to play with a child without getting hurt, and they don’t shed.”
 
She loaned me a dog crate, and we were off looking at puppies. We visited puppies in their homes, and people brought carloads of puppies to us in parking lots. They were adorable, but none of them seemed to click with our son. And anyway, I thought, they would grow up to be dogs and there would be no sending them away to boarding school. I hoped our son was cooling on the idea.
 
One visit was to a couple in South Minneapolis who had advertised Cockerpoo pups in the local paper. The puppies' mother, a Cocker Spaniel, was a black shadow inseparable from one of the women. The father, a curly poodle, jumped around us with his son, the last of the male dogs to find a home. 
“That’s your dog,  ” I said to my son, watching the puppy leap about in a hyperactive way. “He reminds me of you.”
“No, I like this one,” he said. I turned to look at a puppy so far unnoticed in a corner of the dog crate. She was sitting watching us, her ears black ringlets framing brown eyes. “That’s my dog” he continued. “Her name is Sarah.”
“Are you sure? Don’t you want a male dog?”
 
I tried to dissuade him, but he had made up his mind. We wrote out a check for one Cockerpoo puppy and agreed to pick her up two weeks later as she was not quite ready to leave her mother. 
On the way home I asked my son, "Why Sarah?"
"Because she reminds me of Sarah Dagg. You know. Your friend with the ringlets." 
My friend said she felt honored, although she had spent much of her childhood being called Sarah Dog.
 
So it was that on a snowy evening, we collected Sarah-the-dog, then two months old, and took her home with us. I carried her out to the car under my coat, against my heart. 
 
I carried her around her new home, much as my husband had carried our newborn son around our first apartment. I showed her the bedrooms, the bathroom, the sunroom, the living room and the dining room. I showed her the dog crate under the kitchen table, and I lay down on the kitchen floor and touched my nose to hers. Knowing my long-held antipathy to dogs, in general, my husband muttered, “I never thought I’d live to see the day”.
 
The first night in her crate, Sarah cried. I got up and took her outside, after failing in my efforts to wake my son. “I’ll take care of her, I promise!” drifted away on the night air. I watched as she skipped out into the snow and squatted, her tail a graceful arc. Her mother, Rose, had house trained her litter, leading them outside to squat behind her, an ellipsis of black dots in the snow. Back inside, I placed Sarah in her crate with her blanket and went back to bed. As the males in the house slept, I listened to Sarah cry. Unable to bear it, I got up and cuddled her. I took her into my son’s room. “Your dog is lonely. She wants to sleep with you.” I placed her on the foot of his bed and covered her with one of his old baby blankets. After a minute or two, she began to cry again, insistently. Soon, my son stumbled into our room with his dog. “I can’t sleep. She’s keeping me awake.” And so it was that over the objections of my husband, Sarah trained me to sleep with her.
 

The annual St. Urho's Day Celebration is this weekend, March 16th - 18th, in Finland, MN.
Honor Schauland talked with WTIP's Jana Berka about the many activities.

In this interview, WTIP's CJ Heithoff talks with Chris Stromberg, an interior park warden at Quetico Provincial Park, as well as a coordinator with the Heart of the Continent Partnership.

Stromberg is the organizer of the Cross Quetico Lakes - Ski Tour which takes place March 17, 2018

The event is an old-time ski tour across the ungroomed lakes and portages of Quetico Provincial Park.

More information is available at the Travel the Heart website.

Wildwoods Wildlife Rehabilitation Center Care Coordinator Tara Smith speaks with WTIP Volunteer Brian Neil about the Northland's only Rehab Center for injured or displaced wildlife... of all kinds.

West End News 3/8/18
 
March is here and with it some of the best skiing weather. Longer hours of sunlight, temperatures in the positive twenties instead of the negative twenties, and dedicated groomers all make for primetime ski time. Whether it’s downhill or uphill, this is the time to get out there. The sugarbush cross-country ski trails have a great packed base between 6 and 12 inches, and all the groomed trails are open and in good condition. The downhill scene is just as good. Lusten Mountains has at least 30 inches, and as much as 60 inches of snow base on all their primary runs.

Another good reason to visit Lutsen is another Family Fun Night, coming up on March 31^st. Families get to take a ride on the Summit Express Gondola up to the top of Moose Mountain where they can enjoy a delicious dinner and all sorts of entertainment. There will be a magician, art projects, kids music with koo koo kanga roo, all culminating in some fireworks. Call Lutsen Mountains or hop on their website for tickets.

You can head right back to Lutsen the following morning for Lutsen Resort’s annual Easter brunch buffet. An early Easter year, on April 1^st the Resort has seatings at 11 a.m. or 1 p.m.

Birch Grove’s monthly community lunch will be happening on Tuesday, March 13^th at Noon. Everyone is invited to come, it’s 5 dollars for adults and 3 for kids. This is a great opportunity to have lunch with your neighbors and kiddos.

While we’re talking food, start planning ahead to attend Bluefin Bay’s 2018 Spring Food and Wine Lover’s Weekend. This year, on May 4^th through the 5^th the resort is partnering with Guest Chef Steven Schulz from the Toasted Frog in Fargo. Friday night is a four-course dinner with wine pairings, and Saturday features an afternoon wine tasting and a five-course dinner with wine pairings. Reservations can be made by calling the Bluefin Grille at 218-663-6200.

If you’re more of a beer than wine person, do check out Caste Danger Brewery’s season spring IPA. Dubbed the White Pine project IPA, this is a beer with a purpose, so you can feel good about drinking it. White pines were once a staple in the landscape of the North Shore, Castle Danger Brewery is working to help reinstate the white pine population here in our own backyard. Proceeds from the sales of this beer will go directly to planting targeted areas along the North Shore. The hope is that these stands will thrive for future generations to enjoy. So do the earth and the North Shore a favor and stock up on some beer.
                 
For WTIP, I’m Clare Shirley, with the West End News.
 

Magnetic North 2/18/18
Snow Follies and Pratfalls
 
Welcome back to Magnetic North where we who refuse to fly away in winter have many a tale to tell of how we dealt with, or were laid low by, the recent snowfall. Some say as much as two feet. Others three. There may have been those who had more, but methinks they are still tunneling out and may not be heard from for a while. If ever.
 
I shovel by hand to the coop and back yard where I throw hay for the goats. Snowplowing is not for this girl, so my big bully boy blower sits in the woodshed and my lightweight girlie girl worthless rig adorns the front deck. I hate them both. The firs one t because it is as hard to push through snow as a dead buffalo, and the second one because it makes a path barely big enough for a garter snake to wiggle through. 
 
Thankfully, not all paths need to be made by me on the farm. After the big snow last week the little herd of five goats had quite a time pushing their way through the several feet of new snow covering the 300-foot path between their barn hay feeding area.. I used to take the hay to them. Then I got hurt doing that and got smart. Goats can make paths as well or better than I can. And they don’t snap tendons in their ankles doing it either.
 
After about 20 minutes of standing about like statues, goat by goat, they came. First, Brownie pushed a few feet, then stopped. Then Poppy edged around her and took up the lead, adding a few more feet to the effort. My big strong wether, Bosco, much to his shame, hung back and was the fourth one to do the heavy pushing and plodding, but eventually all five were snarfing down sweet hay, having left a serpentine path behind them that no snowblower could match.
 
As for the chickens and ducks and geese, most are either in a chicken coop or in a part of the garage where I store hay bales. Two banty hens are in the house with the angora rabbits - don’t judge! - I have good, solid reasons for this outwardly bat crazy move, beyond the obvious one which is I can feed and tend to them without hoisting a shovel.
 
But that last snow was more than I could manage when it came to shoveling a path from the driveway to the coop. The sheer depth of the drifted snow brought back memories of Paul’s and my first winter with chickens, I tried snowshoeing to the coop, assuring him that he needn’t both with making a path because I would do it “the old fashion” way. 
 
The first time I fell --the snow was over two feet deep - was the dogs; fault, Our twin Labs, Ollie and Jubilee, were excited to see mom wearing what looked to them like big dog toys on her feet and so naturally enough bounded up behinds me and jumped on the tails of my snowshoes. After spitting out at least a cup of snow, I began the near impossible task of righting myself and finally took off both gloves and one snowshoe to do it. My shrieks and screams alerted Paul to take the dogs inside and I stamped on to the coop, triumphant in my swift progress. This is when I realized the value of thinking a plan through. I got in the ante room door alright, but upon sticking one snowshoe into the coop, all hell broke loose.
 
Chickens do not like surprises, and the sight of the webbed wooden monster on my foot sent them into a panic of flying and squawking, which was only heightened by the appearance of my other snowshoe. After a few minutes of standing still and removing feathers from my face and mouth, I figured it was safe to move again. I could not. My snowshoes were simply too big to allow me to turn around. So much for the old fashion way. Bless Paul’s heart, he never said a word when I asked him to snowblow the path later that day
. 
Nowadays, when I have a treacherous or physically taxing task staring at me, I apply a simple test, something akin to thinking it through. This test applies to getting on ladders, making extra trips up and down the stairs, etc.
In the case of the path to the coop, I simply asked myself, should I shovel and risk injury thus spending months in physical therapy? or should I call for help, even if I have to pay for it?
In winter, or anytime really, erring on the side of caution is of more use than the finest parka, mukluk or machine. If I hurt myself, my critters will be in worse shape than if they have to wait a while for grub. And I will be out more than a few bucks.
 
That said, I still manage to burn a few calories on chores, especially when things go wrong. Frozen shut doors require salt and a crowbar. Doors that open, but not all the way because frozen goose poop is blocking it, call for the half-moon hoe judiciously and furiously applied. And a few words to the thoughtless goose as I swing the tool. Wood needs splitting, feed bags need hauling and buckets of frozen water need schlepping inside to thaw. 
 
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not complaining. These are the things I choose to do in winter, rather than sit on a beach or in an RV park in a warm place. As for why I would make such a choice,, one might just as well ask why I have chicken s and rabbits in my old furnace room. So I’ll just trot out the favorite spousal reply that has driven, mostly husbands, mad since time began, “If you have to ask, you simply wouldn’t understand.”
 
For WTIP, this is Vicki Biggs-Anderson with Magnetic North
 

Hovland-based musher Frank Moe was racing in the CopperDog Trail Sled Dog Race in Michigan on March 4 when he came upon Anny Melo's team. Melo was bending over a dog that had gone into respiratory arrest. 

Moe tells CJ Heithoff about how he gave the dog CPR, which led to a happy ending.

Wildersmith on the Gunflint     by    Fred Smith       March 2, 2018 
 
February’s last few days saw winter finally assert itself. So if March is going to roar in like a lion, month three is going to have to go some to upstart the ending of its’ predecessor.
Speaking of March, it’s another of those “blue moon” months, so the northland will be blessed twice by “his lunar highness.” Interestingly, by months end, we will have experienced four full moons in just three months.                                                                                                                                                       
For the second weekend in a row, the liquid component of the season, which had been lacking for most of the time, came down by the scoop full. Another thirteen inches of white buried the Wildersmith neighborhood, and decorated the evergreen forest with mounds of marshmallow puffs.                                                                                                                                                                   
This brought our two week accumulation here to twenty-five inches, and our seasonal total to a more respectable seventy and one-quarter.  Although there can never be enough snow in these parts for yours truly, it has put my old body to the test. Moving the stuff was complicated by a snow plowing equipment failure. Luckily, my back-up snow thrower saved the day, or should I say two days. Even at that the snow shovel barely had time to cool down between the two storms fury.                                                                                                                                                           
Since this inland area of the Gunflint is usually on the short end of such heavy snows, I assume the usual snow zone places back down the Trail got even more. The new powder should be a thrill for folks in the snow removal business as well as CC skiers and power sledders. I visited with a neighborhood couple who indicated a snowmobile trip down the Gunflint Lake ice was a spectacular ride on waves of soft snow.                                                                                                   
With the trout derby coming on Sunday, clearing the ice roadways onto Gunflint Lake for contestant vehicular access would seem to be more difficult than in recent years. However, those Ridge Riders are experts in managing snow, so there should be no fear about things being ready. For folks planning on drilling the ice, remember, entry registration happens between nine and eleven Sunday morning. Snow or shine, it’ll be a fun day, catching or not, fishing is always great!                                                                                                                                                                       
Notice is given for another event to be held over the Gunflint Lake ice next weekend. Saturday, March 10, Gunflint Lodge is sponsoring a “Fat Bike, International Run for the Border.” The biking trek will extend through forest trails and then across the border ice into Canada and back. A Remote Area Border Crossing Permit is required, so bring yours along. Also bring your own bike or rentals are available. A short loop on the U.S. side will be available for youngsters. The event will run from 10:00am until 2:00pm. For more details, contact Gunflint Lodge at 218-388-2294.                                                                                                                                                                
Activity around WTIP is now at fever pitch. Going into this weekend, studios will be jumping as the spring fund raising campaign enters days two and three. The theme, “still the one” couldn’t be more fitting, as our family of listeners are “still the ones” who have made north shore radio what its’ become.                                                                                                                        
As the station approaches twenty years of community programming excellence,                                                                                                             the need for resources is forever, in order to sustain our broadcasting distinction. WTIP needs your continued supporting commitments more than ever before. So if you are new to our listening audience or a long-time family member now is the ,oment to step-up. Give operators a call; stop by and see us; or click and join, in the fun.                                                                                                                                                      
It’s a long ways to our goal, but as the old Orleans song lyrics remind us, “we’ve been together since way back when, and we’re still havin’ fun, you’re still the one.” WTIP is counting on all to keep great radio alive and well.                                                                                                                                                        
For WTIP, this is Wildersmith, on the Gunflint Trail, where every day is great, in our winter wonderland!
 

National Forest Update – March 2, 2018.

Hi.  I’m Renee Frahm, Visitor Information Specialist, with this week’s National Forest Update, a round-up of everything that for the next two weeks may affect your visit to the Superior.

Thanks to Mother Nature, it’s a different world out there.  Is it too early to say if March will come in like a Lion or a Lamb?  We know February sure went out with a bang. In the past week and a half we have gotten anywhere from 8 to 30 inches of fresh snow from Silver Bay to the top of the Arrowhead and up the Gunflint Trail and more is expected early next week.  If you haven’t made time yet, it’s time to get those snowshoes or cross country skis out and hit the trails and enjoy what has been given to us.  My suggestion would be to stay on the trail, because it’s deep!  If you are one that likes to compete in a good old fashioned cross country ski and you missed signing up for the Birkebeiner last week, this Saturday, they are having the Sugar Tour ski challenge on the Sugarbush Ski trail system out of Tofte.  Meet at the Oberg Parking lot and they will take registration starting early Saturday morning.  The event begins at 10:00 and goes until 2:00 p.m.  They are offering a 5k, 8k, and 18k distance skis along with some other events for the whole family.  If you are one that prefers the motorized approach to winter recreation, the snowmobile trails are groomed perfectly for a nice, smooth ride.  With the warmer temperatures, you will be in for some great snowmobile trail riding.  The different trail groomers have been extra busy this last week keeping all of our trails in tip top shape.  Thank you so much!
 
If you are planning a winter camping trip, travel across lakes by ski’s or snowshoes is becoming more difficult with the amount of snow we have.  Being that the weather is warmer, overnight winter camping is picking up.  If you go, make sure you pay attention to leave no-trace camping techniques or stop in a Forest Service office or check out the BWCAW trip planner on the Forest Service website and get a refresher on what to do if you go.   

This week, the Forest was visited by a film crew that was taking footage of outdoor recreation sports on the Superior National Forest.  One of your friends or relatives may be highlighted in a National Forest commercial within the next year that spotlights the beautiful Superior National Forest.  A big thank you goes out to the Cook County Visitors Bureau for their help with this.   
For those of you traveling back roads, remember, reports from the locals on the Gunflint trail are that the moose are still hanging around the roadside and licking salt off the roads, so please travel with care.   There are probably more critters than the moose hanging out on the road.  If you have stepped off the beaten path, it’s tough moving around out there, and even tougher for them to jump over the big road banks to get back where they belong.  There is no need to race where you are going, take your time, drive slowly and enjoy the beauty of your surroundings.   People have reported seeing boreal owls and great gray owls in the Forest and even in their yards.  This new snow will make dinnertime a challenge for them, so you may see more owls hanging around your bird feeders looking for an easy meal of mice.
 
Travel in the Forest should be pretty good, though as Minnesotans we all know that depends on the weather.  In years past, the road restrictions have gone on as early as mid-March, but as late as into the month of April.  Warmer temperatures will determine when restrictions are put in place.  At this time we have no idea how soon or how late they will occur, it will all depend on that big yellow thing in the sky.  We will also be springing our clocks ahead on March 11^th so it won’t get dark so early. 

As for now, the roads are in good shape.   On the Tofte District there are no active timber sales, so there is no log truck traffic. There are a few places on the Gunflint where you may find logging activity and trucks.  Watch for hauling in the same places as the last few weeks on the Greenwood Road, Firebox Road, and Greenwood Lake Boat Access Road.  Also, for the next couple of weeks, there will also be hauling on the Homestead Road off of the Caribou Trail, and on the Caribou Trail itself.  The Homestead Road has a ski, bike, and snowmobile trail parking lot, so people accessing that facility should be cautious.  As always, be careful on the roads that are also snowmobile trails, like the Firebox Road.

Enjoy the winter, it sure looks like we will have it around at little while longer.  Until next time, this has been Renee Frahm with the National Forest Update.