So what was I saying about not getting a good view of the warblers?  This Palm Warbler was hanging out on our wood pile just begging for a photo.  It was hopping from log to log and flicking his tail continually.  Sue McDonnell, an avid birder who happened to be here this afternoon, confirmed that behavior as one of the characteristics of the Palm Warbler.  It’s so great to get a good look and positive identification of a new (to me) bird.

NHS

Birds, birds, birds!  This photo may not seem impressive, but yesterday the sky was full of swallows darting about catching the early midges.  I’d say there were at leaset 50 of them. It’s hard to capture their energy in one still photo.

Swallows are not the only birds returning.  We’ve also had many warblers flitting through the trees at Hungry Jack.  We’ve had lots of yellow rumps and the black throated greens are singing.  I know there are many more, but my knowledge of the their songs is limited, as is my time to search them out and identify them by sight.

It’s a goal for the summer to add a few more to my repertoire!

NHS

 That line from "On Golden Pond" runs through my head every spring.  Katherine Hepburn’s quavering voice even sounds like a loon.

This guy (gal?) and his/her partner were fishing just off the shore.  I know it’s a bad picture.  Have you ever tried to get a good picture of a loon wthout a two foot, stabilized, telephoto lens?  One of our regulars has such a device and gets great loon shots.  I have the point and shoot.

These two loons (boys) were having a great time finishing off what was left of the ice on Hungry Jack.  I’ve heard that Duncan and Rose were still iced as of yesterday.  I’m willing to bet they will open today.

More bumper boats.  There’s a whole lake to paddle and they stay twenty feet apart.  But would they paddle in the same canoe?  Not a chance.

Hungry Jack Lake is ice free as of May 9, 2008.  It’s a good thing to wake up to.

DS

After dinner Will and I decided to have an evening paddle through the newly opened water.   There was still plenty of ice out there to crunch up.

It was a beautiful sunset over the partially frozen water.  The ice was all honeycombed and easy to break up.  There were still a few patches of solid ice we had to work around.   Each time the canoe slipped back into open water the silence was beautiful.  although the ice crunching was kinda fun too.

It would be tough to launch from the dock but I’ll bet the ice is mostly gone by morning.  Yeah!

Rosey didn’t quite make it onto the dock when it was time to get out.  She was shaking like a leaf for a while.  But she was also very excited about the first swim of the season.

The  ice is sinking on Hungry Jack Lake today.  There is a strong north wind and there was lots of sun this morning.  Some years the ice breaks, shifts and piles up along shore as it goes out.  Other years is just kind of disappears as the air bubbles escape.  Ours is usually one of the last lakes to go so I feel pretty safe in saying that most lakes will be ice free by Saturday morning for the opening of fishing season. 

We have some guests going in on Friday but otherwise it looks to be a pretty quiet weekend around here.  I may even get Nancy and the boys out for a few hours of fishing!

The Gunflint Green Up was a huge success this past weekend.  About 50,000 tree seedlings went into the ground and around 500 planters and volunteers worked together to make it all happen.  This was truly a community event and one that will be remembered for a long, long time.  The Forest Service, local residents, visitors who love this area and many other organizations and businesses came together for the purpose of celebrating life and the renewal of the forest.

The weather was not looking so good on Friday and we were worried things would not go so well.  Saturday morning we woke to about three inches of snow and slush!  Fortunately the end of the Trail did not get as much snow and the sun started to peak out around 9:00 AM. By noon we were getting warm and feeling the sun.

These are some of the Girl Scouts and Brownies from Cook county who came up to help plant trees.  They worked hard all day and will have the satisfaction of seeing these trees grow as they do.

The Forest Service had team leaders giving planting instructions and safety guidelines to all the planters.  You can see the white on all the trees in the background.  People found ways to take advantage of the snow.  You could see where others had been planting so it was easier to keep the seedlings spaced.  It was also cool enough that nobody was getting overheated.  Planting can be hard work so the cool weather was nice.

The extra moisture in the ground made for really easy planting and will help with the survival rate of the trees.

This is Nancy’s sister Judy, planting in a very burned area near Round Lake.  She was having a great time.  The Forest Service and DNR supplied tree bags and planting bars for people to use.

We had some guests drive all the way from Missouri to be part of the event.  Vernon and David said they wanted to give something back to the forest they have enjoyed for over 30 years.

After all the planting we had a nice dinner at  in a huge tent set up for the event at Gunflint Lodge.  There was some time for thank yous to key players in the organization of the event and a band after for dancing away any energy we had left.

There are lots of people to thank and many happy memeories were made.  Too many names, too many stories to do justice to here.  One person I do need to thank is Nancy (The Green Up Elf).  She nurtured this project from the moment the lightbulb went on a few days after the Ham Lake Fire was under control.  We’re still not sure who actually came up with the idea that planting trees would be a good thing to help our community heal from the fire.  All I can say is that it has been good and very rewarding for many many people.  While it was the efforts of many people who made this such a special weekend I can truly say that this would not have happened without her vision, caring, persistance and spunk.  I’m very proud of her efforts.  I’m also grateful to all the people who played roles  in making this healing celebration a reality.  You really can make the world a better place - a little bit at a time.

DS

The Gunflint Greenup is rapidly approaching and things are really buzzing around here.  Or should I say ringing.  The phone is almost always in use and the the emails keep rolling in.

The logistics of this thing are amazing. The BIG tent is going up at Gunflint Lodge and all the food/supplies are starting to arrive.  Seedlings have begun to arrive.  Friends, neighbors and relatives have started to arrive.

 So how many port-a-potties do we need for 500 people?  You want how many hard hats?  Is it going to be muddy where we are planting?  So how far apart should trees be if we want 253 per acre?  How many cases of water should be at each planting zone?  Which campground is closest to where I’ll be planting?

All good questions and we’re figguring them all out.  Whew!

The most common question is, "Will we be able to plant?"  The snow is gone where we will be planting.  There is snow in shaded areas and north facing slopes but we won’t need to plant there.  We will be planting.  The ground is thawed and the weather looks to be cool but hospitable enough for hard work.  The forecast changes every few hours but stays in the workable range.

The ice on Hungry Jack Lake is now 12" thick.  That’s down over 4" from the last drilling.  The weather is cool but there is enough sun getting through to still have some positive effect.  The forecast for next week is much warmer and sunnier so I am still confident there will be open water for fishing opener on May 10th.

In a way, we are holding on to the tradition of sweeping the dust out the back door while showing the guests in the front door of the newly remodeled cabin.  It just wouldn’t seem right any other way.

Rosey here.  This is a BIG crack that runs around the point by our house.  It’s what keeps the dock from getting destroyed when the ice starts shifting.  Dad drilled a new hole last night.  He measured 18 inches near where he had been measuring the past few days.  Another three inches gone!  A separate hole in the darker ice measured only 16 inches! I’m not sure how much longer Dad will be walking on the ice.

This is the view over the lake. 

Getting gray!

 A bit of open water on the south facing shore.  This morning Will’s duck returned to say hello and swim around in this tiny bit of open water.  We’re pretty sure it was Will’s duck.  You know it’s gotta hurt when you land on rough ice.

A few feet of open water is all you need to

go for a swim!  Brrrrrr. 

Rosey

We’ve had very warm weather over the past few days.  Good snow and ice melting weather!  That’s all fine and dandy till the flying monkeys arrive.  Here’s one of the Cook County version of fyling monkeys.  It’s a crater in our drive that’s 18 inches deep and two feet across.  That little brown thing is a leaf.  Fortunately, this one is at the edge of the road.

It’s just one of many such holes in the road right now so driving out to the Trail is an obstacle course.  You could fill this in, right?  Wrong.  In two weeks you’d have a bump in the road of equal proportion.  Best to leave well enough alone.

These things are caused by huge boulders below the road which seem to warm before the rest of the road surface.  The "ice lens" which forms under it melts before the rest of the frost in the road.  At least that’s the explanation I’ve been given by the road guys. 

But like so many things I learned about in early parenthood - this too will only last a few weeks.

This is the hole I drilled off the end of our dock April 18th.  The ice was 24"  thick  that day.  Two days ago it was 23" thick and this morning it was 20" thick.  At three inches a day we could be ice free pretty fast.  However I don’t think we’ll manage that as an avereage.

It is interesting that even with all the melting yesterday and rain last night there is no standing water on the lake,  like there was when I drilled the hole.  There must be lots of holes forming all over the surface and draining the runoff.

Yesterday as I was walking around camp I realized that all the canoes were poking out of the snow and waiting to be stacked

It’s here!

Hello, Hungry Jack Outfitters… 

Yeah, I was wondering… Is the ice out up there yet? 

Nope, still pretty solid.

Well, will it be off by (insert any date prior to July 4) so I can do my trip?

We can’t make promises for mother nature but it does look like a normal ice out - usually right about the first week of May.  But  some of the creeks are running already.

Ok, Thanks!  (click)

This conversation will take place many times in the weeks to come and it’s just part of the job of being an outfitter, or lodge owner or resident of the Gunflint Trail.  I thought I’d try to be proactive and give a running "Ice Out Play by Play"  With color commentary of course.

Yesterday afternoon I drilled a hole in the ice just off the end of our dock and measured the ice thickness at 24 inches.  It was all solid ice - no slushy layers or all water layers - but the ice itself was fairly soft and therefore difficult to drill.  Either that or my auger blades are dull.  In addition to the ice there are about 4-8 inches of slush/water on top of the ice.  It was interesting to note that the water went down the hole after I removed the slush.  This means the ice is starting to float up already.   On the south side of our point there are about six inches of open water along shore.  Not enough to float a canoe but it still feels good.   I’ll post an ice report every few days until it gets really close then it’ll be every day till it’s over. 

The snow is melting fast and brown earth and forest floor are appearing anyplace the sun gets a look at it.  The photo above is the north side of our point and doesn’t look all that springy but the south side is nearly snow free.

Think Spring!

DS