Wooo--hooo! Six and a half inches of snow...and suddenly it's winter! We rose early yesterday morning to make the drive down the Trail for the annual Northwoods Fiber Arts Holiday Sale. Addie and I were scheduled to run the project table, and we both had a few items that we wanted to put into the sale. It was snowing lightly when we left at 7:30, and about two inches were already on the ground. It continued to snow, and by the time we reached the Lullaby Creek area, things were getting pretty thick on the road. Two plows passed us, headed up the trail, so I knew that I would have better driving on the way home. It took us an hour and twenty-five minutes to make it in, and by then it was snowing really hard. I was bummed, because it looked like it must be lake effect snow, and I figured that we probably weren't getting the same at home.
The sale went well, despite the fact that it continued to snow all day. I saw a few trail folks, and Barb Young from Boundary Country Trekking told me that they had received several inches on Poplar Lake. My hopes rose a bit, and once we were finished with our errands, we headed up the big hill. It was just like driving into a snow globe. I told the kids that it felt like someone had shaken up our little globe, and plop, a bunch of snow kept falling (like way more than those globes can ever hold!). The driving was still soupy, as the plows were done and back to town before the snow quit. It continued to snow after we got home, and now everything is white and fresh, and the tree branches are laden. I love instant winter. I especially love instant winter when it isn't in the forecast, and even after we have three inches on the ground, they are still predicting flurries and one inch.
The temperature this morning was about 4 degrees when I got up. The lake was again steaming, as it had a few days ago. Magnetic Lake is frozen, and one of the bays at the west end of the lake is frozen, also. The cold temperatures that are predicted for the upcoming week should go a long way toward continuing the cool down process necessary for the lake to freeze. Both Greg and I could hear ice-making noises the other day, so it is coming along.
On Wednesday, Greg and I were gingerly driving in to Grand Marais to take care of errands. I say gingerly, because on Tuesday, we had had a spell of rain, with the temp hovering right around thirty-two. He was driving, and keeping a close eye on the road right in front of the car. I happened to look up from my knitting just at the right moment, and further ahead on the trail, I saw an animal cross the road that I couldn't immediately identify. But my mind quickly put the clues together---longer back legs than front legs, no tail---and I realized that it was a lynx. Greg slowed down when we got to the crossing spot, but the lynx must have blended in immediately, because we couldn't see any sign of it.
Now that winter is back, we hope to be hearing and seeing the wolves again soon. I saw one cross the road last week near Poplar Lake. That was exciting, but not nearly as much as seeing them here on Gunflint Lake. I'll be writing again about our encounters with them, so stay tuned.
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