Finally Winter

View out our window this morning

Our first real winter storm arrived this morning.  I couldn't help myself but go out for a nice long ski.  

Birch along the trail

View up the trail

After a good climb through knee deep snow I arrived to the meadows in a white out.  

At the meadows with my "trail breaker"

Spruce in Blizzard

View back down the trail

The snow had little glide but the trail was relatively packed.  It made for a nice and controlled descent through the meandering forest trail.  The trees were starting to take on weight with snow and creaking in the wind.  Best ski of the year!  

It's odd how a place will beat you down only to pick you right back up.  Within just a few days I burned my hand on the wood stove and blew out a tire in the morning on the way to work.  To build me up about four inches of much needed snow fell; making the ski trail much better.  Northern Lights pierced the dark sky displaying rich ribbons of green and blue.  Then, to top it all off, I saw a bobcat on the side of Highway 61!

Interior Modifications

With the imminent arrival of lil' sprout we have been making room (or rather building a room) for the baby.

First we framed up the wall

Then we sheetrocked

Happy with the results so far...

We don't want the little one crawling on cement so we got to flooring

Flooring around the newly arranged closets

Flooring complete

New pantry

Baby's room (minus door)

Starting to put it all together.  Here's the changing table.

Winds from the back edge of a massive high pressure system that has pushed east drive waves across the lake and crash on Superior's cobbled shores.  Winds gusting in excess of 50 miles per hour tore through the woods for two consecutive nights.  Tonight the howling winds gave way to crystal clear northern skies.

Today we cut an acre's worth of balsam fir.  Clearing for the house has begun...

I'm confused, is the recent warm weather a normal midwinter thaw or is it already mud season?  South facing gravel roads have melted and are left exposed.  There are even reports of open water on some of the lakes along the Gunflint.  Oh wait, now it's back below zero!  I guess that you have to have the extremes to find an average, right?

We woke up this morning to a deer standing in our living room window.  It appeared to be waking up after sleeping under the spruce in front of the cabin. 

I was fortunate enough to see a cow moose in the daylight near East Bearskin (typically I spot moose while driving at night).  Also saw two otter sunning themselves on the lake while running a dog team this weekend.  The dogs just kind of sniffed the air and decided that they were busy enough already.  A Bald Eagle soared above our road and led us home yesterday afternoon.

The moon is getting brighter and the wolves are howling.  The sun is getting higher and days longer...

Warm, highs in the thirties with a chance of freezing rain.  About three inches of snow fell yesterday.  Saw a moose on the Gunflint Trail last night.  The sun is now high enough to melt snow despite the air temperatures being below zero.

On the Lee Side

Minus 20 outside.  When you step outside, heat billows out and condenses the second it hits the frigid air.  Thankfully it's 70 in front of the wood stove.

This kind of cold makes you earn your keep. Pumping water, hauling wood: any chore becomes little more intense in this weather.

It's a day when temperatures won't get above zero.  In the morning there is a steeping fog over Lake Superior.  A cold arctic high pressure system pushed south into the upper Midwest last night.  Winds howled and sent wind chills dangerously into the minus 30-40 degree range.  Although a few inches of snow fell when the front moved through, the relentless winds swept it all away and deposited drifts on the lee side of any obstacle.

We finally tracked our first ski up to the meadows this afternoon.  It feels good to leave your door on skis and wind your way through the spruce and birch forest of the Superior Highland.  Gentle rolling terrain greets you as you ascend the hill.   Once on top at the meadow, a fresh wolf kill was marked by dozens of crows and Bald Eagles.  The descent takes less than half the time and is full of great views of Lake Superior as well as the Sawtooth Mountains.  The pleasure doesn't end until you reach your front door where you take off the skis and walk inside to a warm wood stove and cup of tea!

Snow is in the forecast.  Plans for a new pantry and baby room are on the table.  Material for these projects are slowly amassing.  Snow drifts are on the lee side of the cabin.  It's hard to imagine that we are also already on the lee side of winter...

Barely Winter

Winter has barely showed it's face so far this season although we are at the climatological half way point of winter.  The temperatures and snow fall are near record highs and lows, respectfully.  The Beargrease Sled Dog Race, which runs up the length of the North Shore from Duluth to the Gunflint Trail and back, has been canceled due to the lack of snow.

Here we are fortunate enough to have about six inches of snow on the ground.  All thing considered, conditions on the ski and dog trails have been alright.  Ice conditions on the lakes of the Gunflint Trail are safe.  The winter trout season opened this weekend.

On the homestead we have barely burned a cord of wood.  This is only about half of what we were expecting to have burned by this time.  Honestly, I won't complain that we haven't been hit with any true sub zero arctic air masses.  However, according to the forecast one is on the way!

Inside we are putting together a materials list to complete the baby's room and building a bigger pantry to accommodate the utilities for our plumbing project this spring.

The other night deer bedded down within feet of our house and ravaged their way through the taller grasses that protruded through the snow along the driveway.  Huge wolf prints are on the road.

Mushing the team across the linear lakes of the Gunflint Trail

Wolves billow out howls on the hill

Life is kind of strange for the weeks surrounding the shortest day of the year.  Daily chores and recreation become more difficult.  You get used to performing tasks by headlamp.  Your whole body has to adjust to a more dark and relatively sedentary existence.  My mind is lifted when winter solstice comes around and the days start getting longer.

This time of the year one's pursuits tend to follow the moon.  Walks down the hill to the lake are guided by the brilliance of a moon dog around the full moon.  Atmospheric ice crystals are illuminated through rays of reflected lunar light.

Burst of light over the lake after a winter storm

A recent deer kill a little ways into the woods attracted a dozen or so bald eagles and countless other birds and scavengers to the area.  Turns out they found the gut pile of the hunted deer hanging in my neighbor's yard.  Luna, our six year old mutt, found her way over there and ate the face off of the dangling deer.  Brains were slopped on her head by the time she was fully gorged and decided to come home!

A solid base of snow now blankets the North Shore.   Out on the ski trail the tracks are getting better.  But the other night thirty mile an hour wind gusts swept the previous day's snow accumulation off and left subtle dunes on the trails.

View from the home site

Tonight is setting up to be the coldest, windiest and therefore harshest night that we have lived out here.  Outside temperatures are well below zero with wind chills in deadly territory.  Inside, however, the stove is hot and tea water is awaiting us.

Winter storage

Wolves billow out howls on the hill above the well.  It reminds you where you are.  These predators play a vital top tier level of the regional food chain.  First the deer then the wolf.  

The crows are getting drunk on the fermented Mountain Ash Berries.