Ice Out Continues
/The ice is not out yet, but progress is being made. Today, the mass was once again black by mid-afternoon. Color is one thing we watch closely when it comes to ice. Grey means that it is decaying, and black usually means that it is honey-combing underneath. On Saturday, with the strong northwest wind, some of the ice pushed up on the beach, and we could see the honeycombs. When it piles up like this, the ice breaks into little shards that make a tinkling sound. Very fun to see and hear.
Of course, lack of open water meant that the fishing opener was a non-starter. It isn't often that this happens. While it doesn't make us happy, we know that there isn't much we can do about it. We just keep going about our chores, watching and waiting. This has been such an unusual spring, if I can even call it that. Will this be one of those years that we actually skip spring and go right to summer? With temps predicted near seventy this week, it certainly seems like a possibility. Still, I haven't put away my long-sleeve shirts yet, just in case. (I did stow the winter mukluks. The snow squalls that we saw on Saturday were typical for the opening weekend, so I still feel safe with those put away.)
The docks are perched on the shoreline, in anticipation. Once that magical moment arrives, we will have a flurry of activity, rolling them in, placing the ramps, and starting the process of putting our boats onto their ramps and into the water. Hopefully, we will have time for a quick jaunt out on to the lake. That first boat ride of the season is exciting--a moment to explore how everything fared over the long winter. The water looks like it will be at a usual level--nothing too high or extraordinary, but decent for getting into Little Gunflint and Little North. I imagine that Bridal Falls is running well, as the little creek up the road from us continues to pour down the hill.
If you are headed up the North Shore in the coming days, be sure to catch a glimpse of the Beaver River in Beaver Bay, and the Cross River in Schroeder. Both of these waterfalls have been spectacular in recent days, as the snowmelt rushes down to fill up Lake Superior.
Spring fever is definitely running high up here. I hope that we can soon replace that with fishing fever!