Each year I revel at the notion of becoming more efficient at the skills required to accomplish the seemingly endless list of chores for winter preparations. This season I am happy as a clam that 12 cords of firewood have been cut and stacked in the wood shed before the snow has covered the pile—and it isn’t even November yet.
Having the birch logs stacked within 30 feet of the wood shed has proven very beneficial to the amount of labor required to get the wood into the shed. The benefits of the proximity of the woodpile to the woodshed is not a revelation, but this is the first year that I have had enough room for the semi-trailer to get close enough to off-load within spitting distance of the woodshed. In the past I have tested the limits of a two-up snowmobile trailer in order to transfer the firewood from the woodpile (which was 100 yards away) to the woodshed, creating a lot more labor and costing me a new trailer axle. Wet birch is heavy!
Now that the wood has been cut and covered I can focus my energy on things like winterizing the boats and motors, or finishing the garage. We have been awful lucky so far with excellent fall weather but it cannot last much longer. My guide schedule is clear and it is time to put the summer toys away and blow the dust off of the winter ones. I always leave one boat ready until the bitter end since a bad day in the fall is still a little better than a nice day in the winter, but I suspect the open water season will slip away before I wet another line.
I love fall fishing but Rachelle and I are building a heated garage that should be finished by the end of November, if everything stays on schedule. My inspiration comes from knowing that I will no longer be forced to chisel ice from our windshields at 7 a.m. in the dark, or put my power auger in the shower to melt overnight. No longer will I have to climb under the chassis of my plow truck and hammer out the ice chunks like a Bering Sea crab fisherman, and no longer will I have to jump start our 4-stroke snowmobiles every time it gets below 20 degrees. It should be a great winter.
This is the time to shut down sprinkler systems and drain cabins if you have not already. We have been wet enough these past few weeks to suppress any deep freezes, but history has proven that it can change with a snap of the finger. We are predicted to have a big winter, much like last year, and it is never too early to get ready for what is to come.
Cory Christianson has worked as a fishing guide on the Gunflint Trail since 2000. If you have any fishing or wildlife reports or stories to share, send an email to: christiansoncory@hotmail.com or call 218-388-0315. You can also visit Cory’s website at Gunflintfishingguide.com.
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