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The Shirt Lake Almanac

May 14, 2008


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198952 Site Visitors

March 21, 2007
8:00 PM

Overcast
Yesterday's High: 36, Last night's Low: 235, Current: 44
Wind: Calm
Ice thickness: 32
Precipitation: 0; Total for the Winter: 32 inches

Since our last writing another storm hit the area, again dropping about nine inches of snow. For about two weeks we had deep snow on the ground. Winter snow lovers were ecstatic. Around here the snowmobilers were pressed to find ways to cram a season of riding into two weeks. They rode enough to wear out two feet of snow on the trails. About a week ago we thawed most of the snow, leaving the lake ice covered with several inches of water. This past week, very cold nights turned that into ice. On Monday, several snowmobiles were spotted on Shirt Lake. From the news stories and reaction of Minnesotans it was obvious that few wanted a warm winter without snow. Global warming will certainly cause many problems, but for the Up Nort people, going without real winters will loom as one of the largest.

I am writing the day after the Spring Solstice. The beginning of what is promised as a warming transition to spring came in right on schedule. As of Sunday, our larger rivers were not open yet, probably because of the drought and light flow, which permitted more ice to form. On a trip to Southern Minnesota I found water flowing and the rivers and streams filled with waterfowl waiting to move northward.

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This is how we started! Visit the Wayback Machine! See this site how it looked in the year 2000!

The rain we should have gotten in April and early May is coming now. In a little more than two weeks we have received nearly six inches of rain and this week will bring us, apparently, much more. Shirt Lake was just receding from all time high water and now is rising again. This spring during leaf out, I discovered that the previous high water had killed about ten trees along my shoreline. Included in that kill was a moderate sized white oak on Blueberry Point that had withstood the assaults of beavers for decades. Next winter, after freeze over, it will be downed and put in the woodshed to dry. I've been tracking the amount of sunshine available here and find that we are receiving, these days, about 25% of full sun. Plants in my garden already knew that and I didn't have to tell them. Growing things react to the presence or lack of sun in a variety of ways. Some flowers turn their heads to the sun and "follow" its course. Others, like the goats beard face the sun until noon and then close down until the next day. If there is no sun, they don't open.