Winter in a Nutshell

Wow.  I think I picked the right winter to be a single mom.  With Aaron in Arkansas, and me taking care of B-man 24/7 (well, some hours I get a break!), taking care of the winter too sounded a bit daunting.  Luckily, when the snow was pummeling us for days in a row, Grammy and Grampy had my little guy in Wisconsin, so I could shovel every day and go to Mount Bohemia to shred some fresh pow.  Ow ow!

And bring in wood.  

I really should have put on my helmet cam this one time I had to bring in wood.  I mean, no time is easy, but some days are horrendous.  Like the one time I had to shovel off a three foot drift on my back porch just so I could get the wood-hauling sled off the porch.  But then, I had to pull it approximately 40 yards over undulating drifts (one as high as the top of the wood pile!) with my legs post-holing up to my thigh in spots and me swearing like a drunken sailor.  Then to dig out the flapping tarp and secure it up, so I could get to the wood, fill up that otter sled and haul the loaded sled like a scorn donkey back over the humps and finally up the steps to the porch where I could fill up my wood rack next to the wood stove.  Three times in a row to fill up the rack.

Yeah, that would have made a funny video.  Perhaps my neighbor John took one.  Hopefully he at least noticed my efforts.  Anyway, we stayed warm!

But back to my first point that this was a good winter to do all these burly chores myself.  This was certainly the mildest winter I can remember in my ten years here.  The harbor never even froze over!  Maybe a little sheet, but not for the walking!  Here are several pans of the Harbor with different ice statuses that I took throughout February.

Looking through "The Gap" early February

On the shore by the Fanny Hooe Creek exit mid February

Near the Harbor Haus later in February

So many times this winter I would look out and think, This it is!  She's gonna freeze for good this time!  But, nope.  Ain't gonna happen this winter, folks.  

And that is fine, I guess.  It's already March, so bring on the spring!

As the sun shines on my chair as I type now, I think spring is on the way.  Yes, it was a short, mild winter indeed.  But B and I made the best of it.  We got out for XC skiing, snowshoeing, pulling in the sled, shoveling, and walks along the ever-changing shore.  Oh, and here is a super fun one: ice volcanoes!

Me celebrating climbing the biggest one!

B erupting from one just his size!

I pan of the shore that day -- see which ones we were in?

No ice skating this year.  And no death-defying descents down Brockway Mountain.  Not this year.  Wink.

Nope.  B and I are headed to Arkansas to visit our hard-working man in some snowless weather.  For two weeks!  So we'll be gone for most of March and then lots of April to Portland, OR.  Spring is a good time to get out of here because there's often not a lot of do-fun-stuff opportunities while everything is melting, mushy and muddy.  Except see waterfalls...

So who knows where I'll be when I see you next?  Enjoy your life til then!

Adventures Resume

Let me start this one out by saying that I have a wonderful husband.  He makes sure that he is home at some point in the day to watch the Wee Man, so I can go out and enjoy some beauty and fresh air.  "More than just a walk," he says. "Do something fun."

Well, you don't have to twist my arm!

One day, when I only had time for "just a walk," I saw that the harbor was frozen over.  Then I saw ice volcanoes in the gap.  That little spark that is Amanda lit up inside me and I nearly ran across the ice.  I have to go to the gap, I murmured hypnotically.  I carefully crawled onto the ice to check it out.  Shore slush and slight seiching sounds assured me that was not the day.

Here is what it looked like.

The icy harbor 4 days ago

I'll give it a couple days, I told myself.  Ooh, I couldn't wait.  Ice volcanoes are high on my exploration list.

But a couple days later proved that I was smart in not crossing right away.  The south wind took the ice out a day later, and westerly gusts stirred up some waves the next.

The wavy harbor today!

So I'll just wait.  That trek from the Marina doesn't seem as exciting, but at least it's an option...

A couple days ago Duce and I crossed Fanny Hooe.  Oh, the sun was shining and lighting up my spirit.  Here's what it looked like on that lake.

On Fanny Hooe looking East

I wasn't really sure where I wanted to go once I crossed the lake.  However, "up the ridge" was definitely on my mind.  I turned into Paul's Plunge and started climbing.  I saw some "snowcicles" along the way.  I don't know if I've ever seen those before!

Snowcicles on a rock

As I hiked, I just let my curiosity do the talking.  Then I saw it: this open ridge slope.  My first thought was, I want to go up there!  But my second, and more logical thought was, I want to go down that!!!

So I followed the trail up while keeping my senses on that ridge.  It was so quiet in there.  When I stopped walking, the only sound was my pulse thumping through my body.  So peaceful.  Ahhh.

At the top, I just trusted my instincts to get me to that open ridge.  When I found the peak of it, we had a pretty nice view of sunlit Superior through the trees.

Lake Superior in the distance

Then I did what any full-grown kid would do: I skied down that slope on my snowshoes, woo-hooing the whole way.  Yes, I will do that again.  Let me know if you want to go with me.

At the bottom, Duce and I found the lake, and started across.  We did hit one slushy spot right about where it was on the way there.  Well, if we fall in, there are some ice fishermen over there.  Hopefully they will save us!  Luckily, their services were not needed.

So these were just a couple of my journeys.  But let me tell you, when I strap on those snowshoes, I feel like I can go anywhere -- especially if I had a cup of coffee. :)

Keep the good thought going.  I'll find you again, down the snow-covered road!

Shanty Rides and Ice Volcanoes

I guess sensible is a relative term.  

Aaron and his friend Allan have been working on building an ice shanty for the last year.  It's mobile, fully enclosed, has trap floor boards for jigging and has a wood stove.  I was home the day they decided to take it out onto Lake Fanny Hooe, so I went with them.

Here is a video of our journey.

They didn't catch any fish, but they sure had fun!

Since then I've gotten to go for my first snowshoe of the winter!  Finally!  I would say that, although the snowshoes weren't necessary for the snow, the cleats on them helped with the ice!  My adventurer friend Steve and I went out on the Double Lakeshore Loop.  But instead of taking the trail, we hiked the Superior shore from the Harbor Haus.

What did we see forming along the way?  Ice volcanoes!  These babies form as ice builds up along the shore.  As the waves get rougher, the splashes start to hollow them out in a swirling fashion.  Soon the ice chunk has a twisted cylinder inside for the wave to splash into, up and out of the top.  A fascinating phenomenon that I hope to capture for you... if they are still there!

But I really have to be brave to get out there.  Here is the forecast for today and into the week for 49918.

Brrrrrrr!  Hopefully we'll at least get some of the predicted snow out of the deal.

It sure keeps snowing!  I never realized how in tune snowmobilers stay with snow reports.  This last weekend was CrAzY with snowmobilers!  Every place from here, at least to Lac La Belle was booked for the weekend.  Awesome for the businesses, and terrific for my tip jar!

Hmm, now you've got me curious.  I'm going to check on those ice volcanoes.