Cracks on Winter's Hold

It has been a long winter. Our lakes are still ice covered and plans for the fishing opener this weekend have been cancelled. The "Opener" is a serious event for anglers and there is a small group who are pushing to have it recognized as an official State Holiday. The only thing that we will have going for "Opener" this year is that you can fish through the ice with two lines.


We are starting to get phone calls from people who want to know if they should cancel their canoe trips scheduled for the Memorial Day weekend. Our wholesaler called and jokingly asked if we needed to place an order for bait. One of our local groups is even planning an ice boat regatta for this June.    

Actually, we are starting to see some signs that winter is over. The ice along the north shore of Poplar Lake is no longer tight to the shore. The bark on the younger aspens is starting to turn green. The Robins are back and we have even had a Red-Winged Blackbird at our feeder.  We'll have the water on to the bunkhouse next Thursday when the Border Route Trail crew will be staying with us.

                              

May 7th -- Open water on Poplar Lake

May 9th. -- Ice and Fog on Poplar Lake

I have gone to bed thinking that the lake will not open of another week only to have awakened to the sound of waves. Lake ice conditions can change fast once it starts to turn black and warmer water starts to drain into the lake. Our best advice for people who are planning an early May canoe trip is to call before you start heading north.  

Fishing Opener and Ice Out



August 24, 2013



In a normal year the ice is off Poplar Lake by May 10th. Last year the ice wasn't gone from Poplar Lake until May 18th. This was the latest ice off date that Lin and I have experienced since we moved up to Rockwood Lodge. We certainly had to cancel a lot of canoe trips and field numerious phone calls from people who wanted to know if the ice would be gone by the Memorial Day Weekend.   

The winter this year has been unusually harsh and long for many of our guests.  TV news stations down in the cities are already talking about lakes being iced over for fishing opener and some of the locals living along the Gunflint Trail are even wondering if our lakes will be open by June!

It always amazes us as to how quick people forget what constitutes a normal winter or how this years winter compares to what we experienced last year. The photos of our Lodge show how far this year's winter has retreated compared to last year at this time.  

The winter is almost over once we start seeing bare ground. We'll be surprised if the lake ice is gone by the Fishing Opener but we know that as the ground warms up any new snowfall will not stick around for very long.  That a good thing to remember as we look outside this morning to 9 inches of new snow.


April 25,2014
















The First Signs of Spring

The first sign of Spring for most people is when the daffodils and crocuses poke up through the snow along south facing walls. Lin and I get excited about Spring when our aluminum canoes are first seen after being buried by snow for nearly five months.

A less welcome sign of Spring showed up last Monday. Two feet of snow on the roof of the summer staff apartment decided to part ways with the north facing roof. The snow fell off the roof and piled up against the back wall of the building. The "long" building was covered nearly to the top of the window openings with melting snow. After two days of digging we managed to clear the snow off the wall. The trench is needed to keep the melting snow from seeping into the building.

Last year we didn't have "ice off" on Poplar Lake until May 18th. Lin and I are already starting to get phone calls from people asking if the ice will be gone earlier this year. The warm up that started this week should really be encouraging for paddlers and guests planning to visit us this May. Over the last four days we have seen our snow depth dropping by over a foot. This picture of Lin was taken last year in late April and can be compared to today's snow depth in this same area of less than twenty inches. Call me an optimist but the likelyhood of a more normal opening date is improving hourly.

  

English Springer, Minnows and a Lone Wolf

Last month we went to Wisconsin and brought home a rescued English Springer Spaniel named Chance. We have quickly adjusted to having a dog once again in our lives and Chance is happy to be free of pens and crates. He is quickly working on learning his obedience commands and should be ready to welcome visitors to our lodge this summer. However, we suspect that we may have a problem with keeping him out of Poplar Lake once the ice comes off.

Lat week we had a visit from another type of canine. We had a bucket of frozen minnows outside the shop that one of our guest gave us. When Chance and I when out to play fetch with a tennis ball the minnows and the bucket were gone! Lots of wolf tracks and a wild Chance. We followed the tracks out to the Gunflint Trail and saw here the wolf had decided to visit our neighbor.

Based on Facebook postings, there is a wolf that is actively looking for food at homes all along Poplar Lake. This photo has him eating from a bird feeder -- the date and time on the camera are not correct. Once our snow starts to melt the "wildlife" will retreat back into the wilderness. This winter's deep snow has everyone looking for easier places to walk like: plowed roads, snowmobile tracks and shoveled walkways. Meanwhile, everyone up here is advised to keep their pets close.  

Snow Removal Blues

We had over 14 inches of snow over the last weekend. This was after being hit by eight inches of snow earlier in the preceeding week. Clearing the snow from our driveway from the second enterance off the Gunlflint Trail down to the lakeside apartment is no easy job. I try to blow everything before the snow depth exceeds four to five inches. With my small 5.5 Hp. snowblower it takes a little under two hours to clear the driveway. If the snow depth is over five inches it can take twice as long to clear the driveway. 

When the temperature is around zero and the wind is gusting to 30 mph spending time outdoors following a showblower is not a winter sport that has anything over say ice fishing,cross country skiing or making snow angels.  Over a one week period I cleared the driveway 6 times. If you add in the time spent getting dressed to work outside I have lately spend way too much time blowing snow! It has been a long winter and I was really starting to feel sorry for myself.

Just when I was getting down on Winter and having to face another 6 weeks of "snow season" our neighbor came around and told me about his snow removal problem. He has a big diesel pickup with an expensive V plow. With all of this year's snow his driveways are down to a single lane lined by snowpiles from earlier plow passes. The cast off snow is higher than his V plow and he can no longer use the plow to clear the driveway. He had start clearing his driveway with a snowblower. His expensive truck and snowplow will be useless until the snow melts!

Meanwhile, our driveway looks great. The snow from the snowblower is cast over a large area and I don't have deep piles of snow along the driveway. This keeps wind blown snow from building up along the edges which makes it easier to clear the driveway the next time it snows. Best of all, I have been getting lots of exersise.  



Driveway between our home and our garage.

Forget the exersise, we're ready for Spring!