My wife, Rachelle, and I have successfully adapted to parenthood while our lives have evolved into a world of cartoons and dirty diapers. I like Sponge Bob, but young Sophia still prefers her Baby Einstein videos. The female to male ratio in the household is currently three to one, including Maggie our wiener dog, and I am beginning to feel the effects.
Recently, I have caught myself adding fabric softener to the laundry and actually sat through an episode of Ellen while filing my nails. Yeah, it is that bad!
In a desperate attempt to “man up,” I managed to do some drywall and electrical repairs around the house. I also built a pretty fancy baby gate to keep young Sophia from climbing up the staircase that she has recently discovered.
Many of you already know that Rachelle and I are expecting baby number two sometime in May. We wanted our children to be close in age since there are very few youngsters to play with up here on the Trail. With any luck, the kids will actually enjoy each other’s company and play together. I come from a family of seven children, six boys and one girl. Many of my siblings have children, and they are all girls. Sophia currently has six female cousins and no male cousins. Christmas at the Christianson household is very pink, and pretty intense with all of the squeaky little girls running around.
Last week, Rachelle and I had an ultrasound done at the hospital and it appears that the laws of balance have prevailed. The radiologist told us that he cannot guarantee the sex of our baby, but he did guarantee us that it has a penis. Radiologist humor I guess. Everything looks healthy, and he estimated the baby to weigh about 1.3 pounds right now.
It’s a boy! We could not be happier, and this means that we no longer have to dress Sophia in camouflage. We didn’t know the sex of Sophia before she was born, so I told people that we were either having a boy, or a tomboy. I have been slowly losing that battle to her dolls and extravagant games of dress up with her mommy. Lately, it appears that I am the one being converted. All things considered, I am sure that both children will love growing up on the Gunflint Trail.
Enough about me. The Trail received about 6 inches of snow Monday night and the temperatures have been cold enough to continue making ice. The trails are getting better by the day and right now is a great time to get up here. The snowmobile trails still have some brush showing, but they are not that bad to ride on.
The Nordic Trails do not require as much snow and have been in good condition for a awhile.
Business is down and everyone could use a financial injection, so get up here and spend some money. The forecast is calling for more snowfall this week with the temperatures in the teens. We had a very slow start to the winter season this year, but things are finally getting back to normal.
Fishing has been unpredictable at best, but that is how ice fishing goes. One day they are biting fast and the next day they are not. Persistence usually pays and it sure beats sitting around watching Ellen. Canada trout will open on the first of February in Ontario, and that will create some more fishing options. I have not been up to Sag yet this season. The late ice has kept me on the smaller lakes but I am sure that will change soon and I will let you know how that goes.
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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