Rain and bears and berries

A wonderful thing happened on Sunday: We got nearly two inches of rain on Gunflint Lake. Some guests from drier parts of the state said that it was great to hear and smell rain again. We're told that Seagull Lake got anywhere from 0.6 to 1.0 inches of rain. Although it was not as much as us, it still has made an impact on the fire. Initially, the crews said that it had slowed the fire, and of course, that in itself is a good thing. But in the last couple of days, they have seen improvement enough that when the information officers arrive, they are always smiling. The fire is 35% contained, and they have been able to do some direct suppression efforts. They also plan to do some fire line explosive work, to further contain the fire perimeter, particularly on the west side. I heard that there is very little active torching, instead more smoldering and smoking. Hot spots remain, and so it is not time to become complacent. Rather, it is a time to work on areas that can be safely reached, and get the containment line in place. Thank heavens for opportunities like this.

The rain also helped the raspberry crop a bit. I went picking on Thursday, and the harvest was adequate for a pan of my favorite raspberry bars. But things were looking sparse and dry at that point. The moisture that came down Sunday improved things. That afternoon, I scavenged the bush right outside our backdoor, and the size and plumpness had already improved. Today, Sharlene and Cousin Cheryl (currently visiting with her husband Joel, from Tucson, Arizona) got several more, and these berries were a nice size. There is hope on the horizon, and for the thimbleberries, too. We took the berries from today's pickings to make a delicious reduction sauce to put on top of bear roast. What a feast.....bear meat roasted with onions, carrots and beets, topped with a berry sauce, is an incredible Northwoods delicacy. We have had it with blueberry sauce in past times, but I really like the raspberry. Something about bears and berries....

Someone recently commented about needing a thimbleberry pie recipe. We haven't really used an official recipe, but I will try to come up with something on paper and post it here later in the week. I have a recipe for raspberry pie, and as I recall, I think that we modified that one. So stay tuned and I will post it shortly.

Greg went swimming tonight, and decided to find out what the water temperature really is. He got his special thermometer that he uses for brewing beer and brought it down to the lake. 72 degrees is what he reported. That's warm water! I saw that the air thermometer read 79 degrees at mid-afternoon, so there wasn't much difference. Addie has been swimming on a regular basis since she got back from Alaska. It is one of the things that she really missed while she was gone from here. Up in Eagle, the kids go swimming in a small creek, I am told, but the water is a lot colder.

Though Joel wouldn't necessarily agree, the mosquito crop is on the decline. I don't think anyone is sad about that.