In the car on the way to church we were recalling Easters past. Never have we paddled in Minnesota on Easter. There’s a memory.
Author: Sue Ahrendt
Paddling Weather
All week we’ve been driving past a wide open Cross Bay calling us –and after a winter-full of no paddling, yesterday we couldn’t resist. 
We loaded up our curious black dog, and headed toward Ham Lake.
We loaded up our curious black dog, and headed toward Ham Lake.
I hate to keep pointing out how weird this is for us….but it’s only April 2nd….the paths are dry and it doesn’t even smell like spring. What is that? Maybe because we need rain. If I believed it would make a difference, I’d certainly be dancing for the rains. I’d even sing karaoke to “Raindrops keep falling on my head” or “I love a rainy night“, if it would help (even through Daniel’s horror). “Here comes that rainy day feeling again.”
I’d take requests even. Maybe I should just start singing all the time, just on the off hand chance that it would work. ,…Somewhere over the rainbow..way up high…there’s a song that I heard of, once in a lullaby.
When we got to Ham, we had plenty of room to paddle around the rotten ice. I included video from our regular little camera, even though I have no software to edit it, and apparently I can’t rotate it either. We floated in the ice while it was dissolving. The wind picked up—we back tracked, and the entire sheet closed up and crashed into the shore—-we just sort of kept navigating through the open water, as it all opened up on that lake. The lake was alive, changing, the ice was dying, and we were in it. 
It was really cool.
Later, on Round Lake after school, Shelby explained nature of ice-berging–you have to keep pushing and pushing your limits until you get wet. I think she was also describing the nature of Shelby.
It’s a good thing she did that yesterday, the wind picked up in the middle of the night and cleared off Round Lake. Andy and I both woke up to listen to it go. That was some kind of wind. But no rain. (Listen to the rhythm of the falling rain…telling me just what a fool I’ve been.)
I’ve got to tell you, it sure was nice to be in a boat again. The 2010 paddling season has begun! We’re here, (just Singing in the rain), ready to help you get out there. (Oooooo, I hear laughter in the rain….)
Round Lake Ice
11:ooam ice conditions
I don’t think it’s going out today. If you could feel the warm sun, you would know it can’t hold on long…we’ll be paddling soon…..
Spring Skating
It rained yesterday–flooding the ice.
Daniel couldn’t resist.
First thing in the morning, and already I’ve had my high point.
Not perfect ice,
but perfect early morning nonetheless.
"I love Canada Canada Canada"
Denali and I took a partly cloudy, 50 degree hike on the Centennial Hiking Trail (starting on Round Lake Road—) Any other March I would have had to take my snowshoes. Or at the very least expect mud. Hardly any snow left this time–it was pretty dry out there. Crunchy.
Our boreal forest doesn’t have so much topsoil. During the most recent ice age, the glaciers scoured away depressions on the big slab we live on that is the Canadian Shield. We can thank those glaciers for all of our favorite lakes, but they took most of the soil too, and dropped it in places like Illinois I think. It’s a great landscape, but it doesn’t hold moisture long. A rainy couple weeks down the road, and it could saturate quickly too (we’re hoping for that). Not much precipitation this March, lots of sun though, to keep our bird friends happy; yesterday, especially the white-throated sparrows. They were loud and cheerful, calling “I love Canada Canada Canada.”
My first summer in the BWCAW–1986….as a guide counselor for Wilderness Canoe Base. Early on a couple of my groups canceled, so I joined in-base staffers …doing the odd jobs. The best job (because we got to camp) we fondly referred to as “potty patrol.” I don’t even know what kind of deal Jim Wiinanen worked out with the Forest Service, but one week Pontoonist Drew and I were digging latrines on Alpine Lake. One campsite was occupied, and we were trying to be very invisible and polite, but we didn’t exactly correct this nice older couple who might have thought we were knowledgeable US Forest Rangers. And when the nice lady asked us what that bird call was, Drew very politely said (in a very deep and official voice) “That’d be the white-throated-sparrow ma’am.” He even faked me out! Lucky thing she asked about the only bird call he knew. It still cracks me up a little when I hear the sparrow call. “I love Canada Canada, Canada.” It makes me wish Drew would come to Tuscarora this summer….(ahem)….because he helps out sometimes, and then I can use a very deep and official voice to remind him “That’d be the white-throated sparrow, Drew”
I love Canada too (and these border woods especially). In my head, I know that the weather patterns are bound to vary. Last year, we had a very late spring. 
I KNOW about the tails in the curve of the normal distribution. So we’re currently living in one of the tails, rather than hanging around the mean temperatures/moisture levels. Sometimes I even prefer the tails. I’m pretty fond of the power of normal distributions, and I like it that the natural world patterns are so mathematically symmetrical. And since I can’t monitor or control normal anyway, I’m going with the birds. “I love Canada Canada Canada.”
We heard Kansas City got a foot of snow. Yikes! They’re living in a tail too. And Louisiana even had snow on the first day of spring….. an outlier?
But here’s the deal, almost always on that hike, even in the summer, my socks get wet. I usually have to tiptoe around the wet spots. This time, my boots were bone dry—I could avoid the handful of wet spots. And THAT tail of the normal curve gave me a few momentary prickles at the back of my neck. I suppose it’s an animal instinct to be wary of things that fall too far from ‘expected values.’ Maybe there will be time in a month to be cautious about this dryness, but for now, we may as well savor the sunshine. “I love Canada Canada Canada.”
I made Denali stop at our regular spot to pose for a picture (she’s so black, I’ll bet you can’t tell that she is actually rolling her eyes at me). The far right pond is the moose pond by our mailbox. It’s ice free, except early in the mornings. Round Lake isn’t breaking up yet. I couldn’t help but scour the topsoil for little green signs of spring. It really was a beautiful day. 
Those birds kept telling me not to worry. They were telling me that I may as well enjoy life as it is, because that’s what it is going to be anyway. “I love Canada Canada Canada”
