Wildersmith on the Gunflint
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Wildersmith on the Gunflint - April 13, 2018
-Wildersmith on the Gunflint by Fred Smith April 13, 2018
The promised land of April reaches the halfway point this weekend. Some folks out Gunflint way have been waiting all winter for month four. They’ve been holding high hopes for the harbinger of spring. Yet as I initiate this weeks’ Trail scoop, the fourth segment of ’18 has been less than “vernal” like.
It’s the middle of April with the Walleye fishing opener just a month away, and the territory remains locked in ice and snow. Last week was bitter cold again, as this neighborhood experienced more zero and below mornings.
Just when I commented a while back we were likely done with the sub-zero stuff, “old man winter” delivered a curtain call for his long-running performance. In what should be his final act he left a subtle reminder of what it will be like again before we know it, “he will be back.”
In the interim, the moisture drought continues in border country. No pun intended, but “hope springs eternal” as this broadcast finds it somewhat warmer and precip in the forecast.
We’re in the month of the Ojibwe, “maple sugar moon”, and it makes me wonder if maple sugar makers around the county aren’t having a frustrated harvest in the absence of consistently warm days and light freezing nights. Then again, maybe they got it all done when it seemed spring-like in March.
Other than the winds in the pines, this is a time of stillness in the forest. Winter activities have ground to a halt. Notwithstanding the extended frostiness, we should be full bore into “mud season.” Nevertheless, not being in full-fledged slop, most up the Trail businesses are taking their annual pause from a hectic winter to catch their breath, and re-group for the coming of warmer times.
At the same time, numbers of upper Trail winter neighbors have been heading to places where they can thaw out, free their vehicles from the seasonal sludge and keep 'em that way. Meanwhile, north woods silence remains supreme for those of us choosing to see the “cool” of this six-month stint through to the end.
Challenges to maneuver in the upright position have not improved much around here. In fact, they may be worse than last week as the power of “Sol” seems to polish my icy driveway and the Mile O Pine daily. In spite of my “senior” character, taking life at a little slower pace, I’ve even slowed from that mode to “barely moving” in many slippery places. It seems ice grippers on my boots will be the order longer than anticipated, while bug netting on my head will have to wait.
Other than our regular visiting critters, I’m not seeing or hearing of any larger “wild neighborhood” animal episodes. Even the bears may have turned over for a few more zzzzz with our early April downtick in the thermometer.
Enthusiasm for an easy meal at the Wildersmith eatery never wanes regardless of the seasonal atmosphere. The Smith’s continue entertained by countless red squirrels, with up to as many as five or six at any one time on the various feeding nooks. It’s an on-going battle among the red rodents to maintain position until the Pine Marten arrives, when a mad squirrel scramble ensues, to avoid becoming a menu supplement.
While I log many wintertime facts, a startling trivia really pops out when I recount the sunflower seeds consumed to date. There may be other north woods folk who feed more, but to date, I have gone through a record seven, fifty-pound bags, yes, three hundred fifty pounds! It’s a wonder there aren’t some fifty-pound squirrels and blue jays. Wish I had a nickel for every shell lying on the snow below my deck!
For WTIP, this is Wildersmith, on the Gunflint Trail, where every day is great, while we look for first buds of the re-birth!
Wildersmith on the Gunflint
-Wildersmith on the Gunflint by Fred Smith April 6, 2018
As one might expect, “old man winter” was playing “April Fools” with us during March. Since right around the “Blue Moon” as month three gave way, spring hit a snag with a return to ice making conditions. In this neighborhood, the thermometer has even dipped below the zero mark a few mornings while daytime highs have hovered in the teens and twenties. It was cold, “no foolin’” as the Easter Bunny greeted April with a minus-four at Wildersmith along with a skiff of white.
While it’s been cold, the area continues to miss significant precipitation deliveries, leaving our snow in the woods having neither increased nor diminished to any extent.
My opinion of winter to date is it’s been fairly wimpy. Some Trail folks relate to the season being too long and terrible. While we’ve had snow on the ground in this neighborhood since October 27, the Wildersmith total stands at only 73 inches, some 30 inches below last years’ total.
Thinking of Gunflint neighbors’ notions on severity, perhaps theirs is based on the deep ice accumulation in area lakes. Yet my viewpoint lends itself to observing a good deal of winter burn on juvenile white pines along the Trail. I base this theory on the inconsistency of temps tricking the whites into not staying frozen in solidarity. So maybe both thoughts have some credibility. Guess wimpy or harsh is in the eyes of the beholder.
Regardless of what it’s like outside, gardening enthusiasts up the Trail have seeds germinating indoors in anticipation of getting their hands in outside dirt ASAP. I know of a couple serious “green thumbs” on Loon Lake that have their greenhouses at a summer setting.
On another hand, while many are thinking green, others are talking around the coffee table about when lake ice will go out. Conjecture is, it will easily take until May. However, there is open water at the confluence of one lake to another in some areas.
For the record, the latest ice out data, since 1982, on Gunflint Lake is May 19, 2014, while two years before, the earliest ice-out ever was March 25, 2012. So it’s anyone’s guess to this point. There are probably many dates from which to pick if one is in an ice out guessing pool.
Taking planting beyond the usual edible garden varieties, “2018 is the year of the bird.” This in mind, gardeners can do a lot of good if thought is given to planting species to improve healthy bird habitat. So as “Earth Day” approaches and many get fired up about growing things, why not explore sowing the right varieties around your yard to attract and sustain our winged folk. To learn what bird species and even butterflies need to thrive where you live, enter your zip code at audubon.org/native-plants.
In spite of the renewed cold, I’ve discovered a couple creepy crawlers emerging from winter quarters. Within the last week, two of those eight-legged web makers caught my attention while I was making woodshop sawdust. While this is a passing ritual of Arachnids, it also signals the inevitable, biting insect season is not far off.
And finally, it seems hard to believe, but it’s been ten years since volunteers gathered along the Trail to begin the process of helping the forest heal from the horrendous Ham Lake Fire. The “Gunflint Green-up” brought together hundreds of volunteers who in turn planted up to 75,000 coniferous seedlings in many ravaged areas near the end of the Trail. Those baby trees are now juveniles standing stately as a reminder of tragedy and triumph!
A Green-up reunion/celebration is being organized for May 5th up at the Seagull Lake Community Center. Look for more details as they become finalized.
For WTIP, this is Wildersmith, on the Gunflint Trail, where every day is great, regardless of a renewed nip in the air!
Wildersmith on the Gunflint - April 6, 2018
-Wildersmith on the Gunflint by Fred Smith April 6, 2018
As one might expect, “old man winter” was playing “April Fools” with us during March. Since right around the “Blue Moon” as month three gave way, spring hit a snag with a return to ice making conditions. In this neighborhood, the thermometer has even dipped below the zero mark a few mornings while daytime highs have hovered in the teens and twenties. It was cold, “no foolin’” as the Easter Bunny greeted April with a minus-four at Wildersmith along with a skiff of white.
While it’s been cold, the area continues to miss significant precipitation deliveries, leaving our snow in the woods having neither increased nor diminished to any extent.
My opinion of winter to date is it’s been fairly wimpy. Some Trail folks relate to the season being too long and terrible. While we’ve had snow on the ground in this neighborhood since October 27, the Wildersmith total stands at only 73 inches, some 30 inches below last years’ total.
Thinking of Gunflint neighbors’ notions of severity, perhaps theirs is based on the deep ice accumulation in area lakes. Yet my viewpoint lends itself to observing a good deal of winter burn on juvenile white pines along the Trail. I base this theory on the inconsistency of temps tricking the whites into not staying frozen in solidarity. So maybe both thoughts have some credibility. Guess wimpy or harsh is in the eyes of the beholder.
Regardless of what it’s like outside, gardening enthusiasts up the Trail have seeds germinating indoors in anticipation of getting their hands in outside dirt ASAP. I know of a couple serious “green thumbs” on Loon Lake that have their greenhouses at a summer setting.
On another hand, while many are thinking green, others are talking around the coffee table about when lake ice will go out. Conjecture is, it will easily take until May. However, there is open water at the confluence of one lake to another in some areas.
For the record, the latest ice out data, since 1982, on Gunflint Lake is May 19, 2014, while two years before, the earliest ice-out ever was March 25, 2012. So it’s anyone’s guess to this point. There are probably many dates from which to pick if one is in an ice out guessing pool.
Taking planting beyond the usual edible garden varieties, “2018 is the year of the bird.” This in mind, gardeners can do a lot of good if thought is given to planting species to improve healthy bird habitat. So as “Earth Day” approaches and many get fired up about growing things, why not explore sowing the right varieties around your yard to attract and sustain our winged folk. To learn what bird species and even butterflies need to thrive where you live, enter your zip code at audubon.org/native-plants.
In spite of the renewed cold, I’ve discovered a couple creepy crawlers emerging from winter quarters. Within the last week, two of those eight-legged web makers caught my attention while I was making woodshop sawdust. While this is a passing ritual of Arachnids, it also signals the inevitable, biting insect season is not far off.
And finally, it seems hard to believe, but it’s been ten years since volunteers gathered along the Trail to begin the process of helping the forest heal from the horrendous Ham Lake Fire. The “Gunflint Green-up” brought together hundreds of volunteers who in turn planted up to 75,000 coniferous seedlings in many ravaged areas near the end of the Trail. Those baby trees are now juveniles standing stately as a reminder of tragedy and triumph!
A Green-up reunion/celebration is being organized for May 5th up at the Seagull Lake Community Center. Look for more details as they become finalized.
For WTIP, this is Wildersmith, on the Gunflint Trail, where every day is great, regardless of a renewed nip in the air!
Wildersmith on the Gunflint - March 30, 2018
-Wildersmith on the Gunflint by Fred Smith March 30, 2018
Commencing with this weeks’ scoop last Sunday evening, winter and spring are pretty much at a stand-off. Spring tries to take over during daytime and winter digs in again after dark. Who knows what Gunflint conditions will be like as this report airs’.
Whatever the case, it will be what it will be, as March goes into the books... Remembering thirty days ago when we celebrated the “crust on the snow” full moon, it’s de ja vu “in blue” with “a big cheese #2” in our night sky
Un-organized territory ushers in April on the shirttail of a month that has been extremely dry at forty-eight degree north. Checking my daily weather journal, March had recorded only a skiff of snow going into its final days before a light couple inches closed down month three. We forest folks are in hope there will be some catching up with showers of any nature in the next thirty.
The landscape in most places up the Trail finds moving about on foot a dangerous endeavor. Several folks are reporting ice build-up in places they’ve never seen before. With our daytime winter oozing, and nightly refreezing, getting around while staying in the upright position has been challenging indeed on uncountable slippery slopes, and it looks to not be improving anytime soon. There are no easy answers to this unaccustomed hard water build-up.
To this point, yours truly has only counted one spin-out onto the ice. Luckily there’s no damage to report, other than my pride.
Taking our slip-sliding a step further, driveways and roads off the main county arteries offer little relief from this greasy character. So no matter whether one is on foot or behind the wheel, advancing from one place to another right now can be a “white knuckler” experience. Sand and ice grippers are words of the day, every day!
Having not seen a wolf in person for months, the scene changed during the past week when one was observed along the Trail. Although the local pack has been making candid appearances now and then for other Trail observers, I have only come across occasional tracks, scat, and territory marking along the Mile O Pine.
Not to shock anyone listening to or reading this Gunflint news, I report being privy to a murder in this neighborhood. My first account of the situation came in early twilight hours one morning recently.
To ease your concerns, I’m talking about a murder of crows, of course! Last week, I mentioned their rackety, yack conversation from afar, and now the ebony critters are gathering in mass most every morning just below our lakeside deck.
There has easily been a dozen or two scratching around in what must be at least a trillion sunflower seed remains for breakfast. While it’s a treat when one will actually land up on the deck side feeder, the unique part of their visit is when one is spooked all erupt like a black storm cloud swooping across the sky. Although some may find them less than pleasant among birds, they are spectacular up close in their glistening carbon plumage.
Speaking of other things shadowy, I just now read an informative article about night skies. Entitled, DARK MATTERS…IN SEARCH OF A STARRY NIGHT it’s authored by Heather Smith (no relation) in the March/April, SIERRA MAGAZINE. The feature is an illuminating (no pun intended) scribing about our dark night skies and/or the lack thereof.
I’m in awe of “seriously dark” northern night skies, free of the polluted glow from “Urbania.” I mean, it’s really dark out here, and often driving the Trail at night finds me thinking I could be driving off into a black hole.
Another view finds me astonished at visitors coming into border country saying “from where do all these stars come, we don’t have this many back home in suburbia.”
This reflection of how Euro-American invaders lit up America, thus suppressing the grandeur of the galaxy, reveals many taken for granted facts of light and life. Hope you can get a chance to review this great commentary.
By the way, our “full moon” will be doing a little celestial subduing of its own this weekend. Happening every twenty-eight days, blame for this override of dark night starry brilliance can only be pinned on the “Big Bang Theory.” Once a month, mankind is not in command of flipping the switch.
As a closing, note, the Gunflint Trail Community bids farewell to Don and Marilyn Kufal as they retire from Gunflint Lodge and head off to Florida for new opportunities. For many years, Don has been a pillar of service to the Community through his efforts with the GTVFD. He has touched many lives during this time and the Community is in-debited to him for his dedication to making this volunteer fire and rescue department the very best it could be. Thanks to the Kufals’, and we wish them the best of luck on their next journey!
For WTIP, this is Wildersmith, on the Gunflint Trail, where every day and night is great, featuring boundless, heaven to earth adventure!
Wildersmith on the Gunflint - March 23, 2018
-Wildersmith on the Gunflint by Fred Smith March 23, 2018
Spring has sprung across Gunflint territory, and March remains like a lamb. Question is will winter have a last gasp or has the “old man of the north” called it a season?
Signs of the past week show this neighborhood could be in for extended mud times if the lamb-like conditions continue. I remember though, a few short years ago, up to two feet of winter filled up the Mile O Pine in the last few days of April, while snow has fallen on the walleye fishing opener in May, so we “Gunflinters” should not get too hyped about spring just yet.
Currently, this neck of the woods has been void of measureable moisture in any form for over three weeks. Something has to give soon or we’ll be facing a dangerous situation with receding snow cover. As we know too well, the woods can get explosively dry in one day with high temps and gusty winds.
In spite of beaming sunny days during the past week, we are still making ice at night, but perhaps we are beyond the sub-zero stuff. To this point, it has been a slow melt up at this end of the Trail. Ice locked lakes have a good deal of snow cover with as much as one to two feet on top of frozen water.
As the close of trout season is but a week away, several ice fishing people tell of needing extensions on their auger units to access water. Guess there can be anywhere from two to four feet of hard water depending on the drilling site. This being said, we are likely a ways from ice out.
Foretelling what’s in store during this budding vernal transition is up in the air. Nevertheless, early indicators are readily perking up throughout the wilderness.
I’m noticing wells forming at the base of trees in the yard. This situation points to the fact our forest canopy is soaking up the powerful rays, stimulating juices of life to renew the run skyward.
Speaking further of the forest around us, during a trip down and then back up the Trail, it appears the coniferous characters are suddenly sparkling with a brighter shade of virescent (green) after bearing up under mounds of snow and a drab army green tone since late October..
With tree juices beginning to run, north land syrup makers are surely getting into the “tap a tree/or trees a day” routine. Although the upper Trail does not have a quantity of maples to provide a serious boiling effort, there’s a trio of sap tappers along Gunflint Lake who will likely be at it soon. They aptly call themselves the “three sap suckers”, and while their yield may not be measured in gallons, they have a swell time consuming a little ale and watching sap boil to sweetness.
Another sign of spring times was observed recently when I came across one of the first hibernators. In this case, it was one of those black and white aromatic dispensers. The “skunky” critter was found on the Trail as a casualty of not looking before crossing, therefore deceased, before it had much time to celebrate the season of re-birth.
As yet, I’ve not heard of any bear appearances. However, those mommas might be getting restless after a couple months cooped up with hungry cubs and getting a whiff of warmer air.
As we close in on the “fools’ day” of April, canine family babies are but days, to just a few weeks away from coming into this world. Neighbors down the road are hearing coyotes at night, with a trio of them making darkness hour visits to their bird feeding remains. In another “howling “ note, the Gunflint/ Loon Lake wolf pack has been spotted down at the east end of Gunflint Lake, eight members strong.
From southerly heavens, crows have returned to the area with a chorus of rackety, yack, while air traffic at the Wildersmith feeders has slowed as other avian kin have taken to nesting in preparation for continuing their species.
So the advance of cold to warm is on. It’s sad, the crystal beauty covering up “Mother Natures’ rough edge is giving way to this not too comely time of year. Biding our time, we beings of the northern universe anxiously look for the days of June to blossom with emerald camo.
For WTIP, this is Wildersmith, on the Gunflint Trail, where every day is great, as we trade mukluks for knee high galoshes.
Wildersmith on the Gunflint - March 17, 2018
-Wildersmith on the Gunflint by Fred Smith March 16, 2018
The northland reaches the mid-point of month three with winter on hold as the “old man of the north” has taken another week of spring vacation. At this scribing, the character of the season remains pretty much in evidence for most of unorganized territory. However, there’s a feeling its days are numbered.
Since our last meeting on the radio, with only a scant dose of snow, temps have been normal for March to this point. Here in the Wildersmith neighborhood, we’ve had a few nights below zero while mostly sunny skies have provided a rapid recovery into daytime comfort.
As the “vernal” season edges ever closer, the power of our “day star” is shrinking roadside snow banks away from the Trail in spite of deep freezing nights. For the time being, the Gunflint Byway is totally clear of winter driving conditions, the first time in many weeks. However, the bleached white beauty of a trek up the Trail is tainted with a grungy look of urban windrows exposing gray sludge and littering remains of human occupation.
Another sign of the times is being revealed as the innards of “mother earth” are moderating to release the frozen grip beneath our only paved access to civilization. This subterranean turmoil is magnifying those jaw-jarring dips in the Trail blacktop. For the traveler not knowing of these hidden locations, the bounce as your vehicle bottoms out and the head hits the roof can be a stunning roller coaster shock.
Meanwhile, on local unpaved roads, winter to spring driving conditions prevail. Users can expect anything from packed snow to glazed ice, to mud and even a few dry patches. I’m still observing any number of indentations in the ditch snow banks indicating several metropolis visitors have no idea of the need to slow down on our backcountry pathways.
If I wanted to work full time, it seems a towing business could be lucrative. I know of one fellow down the road who has already pulled seven vehicles from the white mire.
Speaking of littering along the Trail, it would seem appropriate that lake property owner groups might be organizing volunteer crews for a debris pick-up when the snow is gone. According to information from the Gunflint Trail Scenic Byway Committee, the days of May 14 through May 24th have been established for such policing. Collection bags are to be placed along the Trail for pick-up by the County. Of course, one does not have to wait if the opportunity to pick up some unsightly trash should appear before the organized dates.
Another issue has again gained the attention of area residents and businesses. After being discussed a few years ago, the proposal for construction of an ARMER communications tower in the upper Trail region is being re-examined.
ARMER (Allied Radio Matrix for Emergency Response) is Minnesota’s program to connect agencies and public safety departments. MnDot has been legislatively mandated to install towers throughout the state to connect agencies under one communication system.
While it may seem hard to argue issues of public safety agency connections, the sacredness of the adjoining BWCA or living in the area of such a tower (not in my backyard) has many in a contentious mood.
MnDOT, Cook County, and the GTVFD are collaborating to examine options to address filling in the current communication voids to the satisfaction of all concerned. Editorially speaking, though changes are never easy, “the process would seem more palatable if such a communication spire could be constructed to look like a tall white pine or a rock on a point of high elevation.” I’d bet it could be done.
A public informational meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, April 10th at the Schapp Community Center (mid-Trail). The gathering will begin at 6:00 pm. Everyone is encouraged to attend; become informed, ask questions and explore connecting communications alternatives.
For WTIP, this is Wildersmith, on the Gunflint Trail, where every day is great, while we contemplate more winter or early mud season.
Wildersmith on the Gunflint - March 02, 2018
-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!
Wildersmith on the Gunflint - February 16, 2018
-Wildersmith on the Gunflint by Fred Smith February 16, 2018
It’s incredible that February has eclipsed the halfway mark. The day of hearts and chocolates has even passed us by. Guess we Smith’s might consider taking down the last of our holiday decorations, although the outdoor wreath remains green as it was when it was hung up right after Thanksgiving.
The border country drought has extended into yet another week with no apparent relief on the weather service agenda. Here at this place, we’ve not had a significant snow since January 11, and the seasonal total to date is a pretty sad 45 and a fraction inches
In the meantime, our bitter cold has mellowed a bit. The Wildersmith thermometer finally reached the zero mark last Sunday afternoon. It’s been a long haul getting to the big “0” in the Wildersmith neighborhood. Checking back through my daily log, I find the last day where we had a high on the plus side was January 30th, yes, thirteen consecutive days of frigidity as of this past Monday.
In spite of minimal new snow over the past month, there is enough stacked up, along with plenty of deep ice to support this week -ends snow mobile drag races on Hungry Jack Lake. As I mentioned in my previous scoop, the racing will commence at 11:00am. Racers should be there by 10:00 to register an entry. Wishing everyone good luck and a safe race. It should be a howling good time!
Our north woods winter calendar lists another event the following week, February 24th. Resort owners along Gunflint Lake are putting on a “Cabin Fever Festival.” This is a joint effort by Gunflint Pines Resort, Gunflint Lodge and Hestons’ Lodge.
Everyone is invited to get out and enjoy a celebration of all things wintery. There’ll be outdoor games, feats of skill, sled racing, a fat trout fishing contest and a fat bike course across the border ice. There will a bonfire to keep you warm and marshmallow goodies to savor. The day will end with an evening social mixer in Justine’s Dining room at Gunflint Lodge. Look for start times of specific activities in next week’s edition, or call Gunflint Lodge for more info. (388-2294).
Outside of weekend events, it’s a slow news time in the neighborhood. Our “wild” neighbor critters have not performed anything extraordinary beyond their daily race to the trough in bone chilling conditions, and it’s quiet as a thirty below, starlit night in the cosmos.
Speaking of attraction to my deck side cafeteria, I have recently noted a peculiar happening with a pine marten/or martens during each mornings’ feeding chores. Prior to putting out my ration of vittles, I crank up my leaf blower to clean the deck of the previous days’ foraging. Boy, they leave a mess the likes of which easily would match a gathering of careless human litterers.
It seems the noise from this clean-up process must be signaling the marten/s to assume grub is served. After shutting down the blower and vacating the area, I can count with some regularity that one of the furry critters will show up within five minutes or so to secure a poultry breakfast treat.
Talk about causing un-intentional adaptive animal behavior, I’ve done it. Guess my predictable provisions practice could be considered objectionable by some. Nevertheless, it’s a “feel good thing” to offer some easy survival sustenance to the lush fur balls during these cold times.
For WTIP, this Wildersmith, on the Gunflint Trail, where every day is great, as winter starts “slip sliding” away.
Wildersmith on the Gunflint - February 9, 2018
-Wildersmith on the Gunflint by Fred Smith February 9, 2018
Spell the Gunflint weather for week one of February in capitals, COLD! As I reflect on the past week, several days at Wildersmith have failed to get above the zero mark. Fortunately on most days, the winds have not exaggerated the frostiness, so minus twenty-five to thirty is what it is.
Now at broadcast time, the territory seems to be emerging from relentless arctic fervor. So the woodstove can be allowed to cool down, but the snow shovel remains idle.
Such stretches of below nothing temps are not unusual at this mid-point of winter. However, the older I get, it seems harder to adjust to that first blast hitting you in the face when heading out for morning chores. Like the visiting neighborhood critters though, once I get going, the lowly mercury isn’t as bad as more southerly folks would think.
Winter character remains magical at most every turn of this Scenic Byway. Last week while traveling to Grand Marais and WTIP, for reporting this weekly news review, the breath of “old man winter” was huffing and puffing. With the wind kicking up its’ heels, a recent skiff of snow was being launched ahead of my path in eerie serpentine slithers.
I am forever charmed by these gauzy, snake-like tentacles as they scramble down the paving in search of a place to escape the icy bite of grizzly air. Bouncing from windrow to windrow, their fate is often terminated in a ghostly gathering, and a leap of fate into the calm of a roadside ditch. There, the phantom mass joins a “zillion” other crystal cousins in irregular contours to rest until “Mother Nature” calls them home come April or May.
The recently released Cinema, “THE SHAPE OF WATER” has set me to wondering what its’ really about. However, being one hundred fifty miles from the nearest theater, and not a television movie consumer, the likelihood I’ll get a chance to see the production is remote.
The title has summoned thoughts about the” shape of water” up north, recognizing our “shape of water” is currently frozen in time. Shaping our north-country water started months ago with those first crinkles on quiet area lakes, since then evolving into hard water wonders the likes of which we can barely imagine.
In warmer times of the year, the “shape of water” outside my back door is forever magnificent and always moving. Whereas ripples and rollers of summer have a distinct beauty of their own, they come and go in the blink of an eye, never again to be seen in duplication.
Things are different now as there are uncountable shapes of H2O seized in solidarity. Whether hanging as a stalactite from a roof edge, a wind drifted snowy mound or a lake surface ice heave, n this dead of winter, the sculpture of crystalline on area lakes and landscapes is a curiosity of nature… One can scrutinize in celebration and reverence, with time to actually ponder the how’s and why’s of solid water in all dimensions of accumulation.
During a recent trip along the Trail, while passing Swamper Lake, I became even more keenly aware of the “shape of water” in border country. Winds of the season had randomly amassed the prisms of frozen components into waves of winter. In essence, preserving the lake surface for moments in time while documenting, a white keepsake remembrance of a rough lake day from warmer times.
Energized as I am in regard to this frosty season, I have seldom given serious thought to the “shape of water”, much less, how frostiness casts the mold. But the charm is out there in icy flakes, jagged chards and mini-glacial masses. Take time to observe and enjoy our “shapes of water” and be forever mindful of these majestic “winter rituals” of the element which means “life” for all living things.
One week from tomorrow (Saturday), February 17, another big power sledding event will be held in the territory. What has become an annual event on Hungry Jack Lake is sponsored once again by the Cook County Ridge Riders Snow Mobile Club.
Drag races will be held for all classes of sleds beginning at 11:00 am. Entry fees and registration will commence at 10:00 am at Hungry Jack Lodge. For more race information, call HJL @ 218-388-2265. Refreshments and musical entertainment will occur through the day. Spectators are welcome!
For WTIP, this is Wildersmith on the Gunflint Trail, where every day is great, at forty-eight degrees north!
Wildersmith on the Gunflint - February 2, 2018
-Wildersmith on the Gunflint by Fred Smith February 2, 2018
Gunflint territory advances to month two with little fanfare from the atmosphere. We continue on the dry side, logging another week of scant to almost no new snow.
During the same segment more seasonal temperatures have returned including some below zero times, so the area hasn’t seen the remaining snow pack diminished much other than through evaporation.
The colder conditions returned just in time to serve the canines pulling through the John Beargrease Marathon with more tolerable temps than were the order of a week ago (those dogs love below zero working conditions).
It was a busy time in the mid-Trail neighborhood as the mid-distance race saw its first finisher in the wee hours of last Monday morning. While in the Marathon event, the leader swooshed through the Gunflint area and was at the Grand Portage layover by early afternoon on Monday.
What a great re-enactment for the namesake musher and his duties serving pioneers of yester-year along the Northshore. Congrats and thanks to all whom made this 34th historic celebration come to life.
As I mentioned last week, another popular winter event hits the Trail this weekend. Saturday the Ridge Riders Club puts on their traditional power sledding “fun run.” Area folks should be on the look-out for a colossal number of snowmobiles howling through the woods. Registrations begin at 9:00 am, at either the Ridge Riders building on Devil Track or at Hungry Jack Lodge up the Trail, with the day ending at the Groomers Building around 7:00pm. Wishing all a good ride, everyone be safe.
Activity in the “wild neighborhood” along the Mile O Pine has been busy as usual. Recently a brief fracas occurred at the Wildersmith feed trough as two pine martens squared off over munching rights. The scuffle was short lived as both rolled around in a tangle of legs, tails and fur. None the worse for wear, neither appeared to have inflicted any hurts on the other, and they scampered off. One apparently established rights for the afternoon as it returned later not to be bothered again.
Another of the visiting martens appears to have not been so lucky in previous survival episodes. This one was observed to have only one eye. How this injury occurred is unknown, but the wound seemed to be healed and the critter had adjusted to the handicap by acting no different than any other of its’ kin.
Our avian world is a blur of fluttering wings. In addition to the regular, chickadees, nuthatches and blue jays, we are being inundated with daily flocks of pine grosbeaks and red pols. An interesting thing about these two species is their apparent compatibility at the feed tray. Whereas the jays and the others come and go independently, the grosbeaks line the perimeter of the tray while the red pols feast simultaneously on the unit screen inside them.
One more winged critter has found the morsels here to be inviting. I’m talking about a hairy woodpecker. We don’t often have one visit with regularity, but this one has found Wildersmith to be of its liking with menu offerings beyond just insects.
Speaking of woodpeckers, some members of this Picidae family are in the process of adding a new real-estate development along the Mile O Pine. I’ve been watching construction all winter on a deceased Aspen.
The project started as a fast food eatery, specializing in gourmet bugs for a pileated wood pecking family. Now out of the food business, it’s being converted into multi-unit residential quarters that will no doubt provide housing opportunities for any number of treehouse dwellers. Nearly completed, a digital can be seen with my Wildersmith website posting at WTIP.org.
For WTIP, this is Wildersmith, on the Gunflint Trail, where every day is great, with fauna and flora marvels always just on the brink!