I love the weather in Northern Minnesota. We had T-shirt days last week and are blessed with a couple of inches of snow this week. After all, it is still April and we have seen this type of behavior in May, so I am not at all surprised—just a little disappointed.
Soon enough the snow will melt away and we certainly needed the precipitation. I prefer our recent snowfall to the nasty winds that have been rattling our house this week. We live high on a ridge near Loon Lake with a lot of exposure and the wind can be brutal. Our property was logged after the blow-down storm in 1999 and is beginning to look like a young forest. The aspen have been the most resilient. The birches are starting to mature with the hundreds of spruce and pine that we planted. The downfall to a young forest is that is does not block the wind. If I forget to put something away in the yard, it may never be seen again.
This morning I found our mailbox lying in the ditch. It was snapped off at the base by wind or plow—who knows? Or, maybe it was a disgruntled reader?
The snowfall was very wet and heavy, so it would make sense that it could not withstand the impact from the plow truck. No big deal, it was erected in less than 10 minutes with some construction scraps. I am impressed it lived as long as it did.
The snow we receive in April is typically too heavy to mess with. It breaks plow trucks, decks, and people for that matter. Shoveling it can cause the toughest people to fold. It sheds off of metal roofs like an avalanche wreaking havoc on anything in its way. I have seen it destroy hot tub covers, BBQ grills and railings. It seems like the inbetween seasons are the hardest to survive.
The forest critters have to be just as surprised at the recent change of climate as we are. The snowshoe hares are already sporting their brown summer attire, and the ermine living under our deck has a brown stripe down its snow-white body. When I had seen him this winter he was completely white with a black-tipped tail.
Our house has radiant infloor heat, so animals like to camp out under the deck near the slab. Maggie, our persistent dachshund, harasses them into moving away but the ermine usually comes back. A family of skunks gave us the most trouble, but she ran them off as well. Not until being sprayed a few times of course.
This morning’s temperature was a frigid 7 degrees before sunrise, which is cold enough to make some overnight ice. The swamps have been staying frozen throughout the day, but it sounds like we are going to warm up again real soon. I heard that a lot of people got out fishing on Saganaga for the last weekend of the walleye season, and they earned it. Cold and windy. Not for me.
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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