Christmas Snow Storm

The winter snow storm that got most of the midwest went just a little south of us. Over the past 36 hours we did not get the predicted 12 to 16 inches but more like 4 inches. That 4 inches added to our base still makes a nice snowfall to start out the winter!

Short Days

Lynn's Musings on December 19th:

With sunrise at 7:45 am and sunset at 4:10 pm you can tell we are nearing the the shortest day of the year. Winter begins officially on December 21st but it has been here with us for a month.

We are having a gentle snow fall today here at mid-trail and are watching the weather for potentially more snow by this weekend. After temperatures well below normal, we are have now been running about 5 degrees above normal - which is very enjoyable since I know the cold that is coming after the first of the year.

I decided this winter that it was time I got a bird feeder up. So I hung up my bird feeder and bought 50lbs of bird seed. The darn feeder has been up for a week and not one bird is showing any interest in it. I think I am going to have to find another spot for it, but it is rather hard to move a move birder to another tree when there is a foot of snow on the ground. If anyone has any suggestions on how to attract the birds to the feeder, I would appreciate hearing it.

I lost several of my satellite TV channels the other day (yes, I have TV here). I was really puzzled and I did all the trouble shooting with satellite service but could not recover the channels. I decided to try one last thing before getting a service call and that was to knock some ice cycles off the lodge that were in front of the satellite. That did it, the channels came back right away. Another thing to add to my winter list of things to watch out for.

Downy Wood Pecker

We have had some unusually cold weather the past two weeks. Something like 16 days in a row of temperatures 10 degrees lower than normal. We are back into the normal range today and it was bright and sunny out. I took the opportunity to go for a walk and enjoy the sunshine and birds.

This Downy Woodpecker was kind enough to pose for me while I tromped through some deep snow to get close enough for a picture.

Lynn

The lake

I took this picture a few days ago of the lake with a coating of snow. I haven't gotten out and tested the ice but it sure looks like we have a good layer forming.

We are having more snow now with a few more inches forecast over the next 24 hours.

Christmas Bird Count

The 2007 Audubon Christmas Bird Count will be held Saturday, Decmeber 15 for the Grand Marais area, which is a 7.5 mile radius circle from a point 3 miles sought of the middle of Devel Track Lake.

This is open to birders of all skill levels. Counters are asked to reports speicies of birds seen in the count circle during the 'count week', which includes 3 days prior and 3 days after the count day of December 15th.

If this sounds like fun to you, please contact Jeremy Ridbauer at sundew@boreal.org or call 218-370.0733 to participate.

What is a rod??

What is a rod? This is a question we are frequently asked when talking about various canoe routes. If you are new to the BWCA and review the maps, you will notice that portages between lakes are marked in rods. Well, what is a rod? In short, a rod is an archaic measurement of 16.5 feet or a the length of a canoe. Well certainly now canoes come in all lengths but at one time, 16.5 was it.

In researching the actual term a little further, I found this on Wikipedia: 'The rod is a unit of length, equal to 5.5 yards, 11 cubits, 5.0292 meters, 16.5 feet, or 1/320 of a statue mile. A Rod is the same length as a perch and a pole. The lengths of the perch (one rod) and chain (four rods) were standardized in 1607 by Edmond Gunter.

The length is equal to the standardized length of the ox goad used by medieval English ploughmen.
The rod is still in use as a unit of measure in certain specialized fields. In recreational canoeing, maps measure portages in rods. This is a thought to persist due to the rod approximately the length of a typical canoe'.

The rod was still in use as a common measurement when Henry David Thoreau used it in his work Walden in the mid 1800's. More recently, Grandpa on The Simpsons referred to his cars mileage in getting "forty rods to the hogshead".

Snowshoe sickness

I was talking to my nephew and told him I had finally ordered some snowshoes to try out. He told me to be careful of 'snowshoe sickness'. I had never heard of any such thing so had to research it on the Internet. Here is what I found out.........

When some people begin hiking on snowshoes, they develop what French-Canadian trappers called mal de racquette—snowshoe sickness. This involves a cramped contraction of muscles in the leg and instep that can disable a person for days. To avoid this malady, snowshoe only an hour or so the first time out. Lengthen the sessions gradually on successive outings.

As long as your straps are cinched tightly, walking in snowshoes is, well, a cinch. It is handy for snowshoers to carry a ski pole as an aid to forward progress, balance, going up and down hills and regrouping from spills. The
use of poles also gets the upper body moving in a manner similar to cross-country skiing, thus improving the quality of a workout. Going uphill and downhill requires some energy and careful stepping.

Moose Tracks

I had to go to town pretty early the other morning during what I was hoping was prime moose sighting time. Alas I saw no moose but I did see their tracks at the intersection of Clearwater Road and the Gunflint Trail. One thing about the fresh snow is you can see what has been wondering about when you are not looking! Photo to the right is a moose track.



Weather Note: You may have seen on the news the other day that Duluth MN got over a foot of snow due to a winter storm. That snow remained south of us but we are expecting another 4 inches today and tomorrow on top of 16 inches we already have on the ground.

Woodland Chic

During the lazy winter months I usually enjoy watching the Today show in the mornings as I am getting ready for the day and drinking my tea. Today the TV crew featured a decorating segment on the popularity of 'Woodland Chic'. Apparently it is the season's decorating craze and I realized just how stylish we were without trying. The segment featured little rustic Christmas ornaments in the shapes of bears and deer, table settings with antlers, carved deer heads for the walls, wood style fabrics and wooden 'root' furniture. I had to laugh because I could just imagine what the centerpieces and wall decorations cost and most of these things I can pick up on a walk in the woods for just the cost of lugging it home.

I am proud to say, our lodge is quite chic! I have antlers everywhere, bearskin rugs and authentic wooden furniture. My antler lights are real antlers, not resin copies. Christmas decorations we pick up from the yard in the fall and just hang in the tree. Our 'root' furniture is our dining room table, each complete with a tree trunk base. And believe me, these are real tree trunks, I have to move them around in the summer when we serve breakfast and they feel like you are lifting an entire tree.

I thought I would treat you to a photo of my very stylish, "woodland chic" living room. If the folks from the Today show had only visited here, we could have shown them the real thing.

Mid Trail Ski Conditions

New Snow Last 24 hours: 12.25 inches
New Snow Last 7 days: 20.75 in
Trail Base: 7 in average, snowmobile packed
Snow in Woods: 14in Low; 22in high
Groomed for skating: 67 km, soft base therefore not optimum skating yet
Groomed for classic: 67 km, packed only
Surface Conditions: Powder and packed powder
Snowshoe trail:
Total snowfall since Nov. 1: 26.4 inches

Comments:
The trails are all being packed. A lot of the stubble is covered up so that is a great start to the season. The lake trails are not usable yet

December 2nd Snow Fall

I felt like a kid getting up this morning jumping out of bed to see how much snow we had last night. I could see the white stuff weighing down tops of the trees from my bedroom window before I even got out of bed. From walking around outside to shovel the walkways and take some pics, I am guessing we had around 10 to 12 inches over the last 24 hours. I head from Grand Marais that there was 20 inches closer to town. It is a good day to settle in and enjoy the fireplace and a book.

Winter Storm

We are looking forward to 8 to 16 inches of snow in the next 24 hours. That will start off the winter sports with a blast!