Red Lake ice-out moves to May 1

 There's bluebird weather in the forecast the next two weeks and that makes me move my final ice-out prediction to May 1 or one week earlier than "normal."

We deserve a nice spring after some of the crappy ones in the last few years.

Finally, some snow to ease our drought

 

Today, April 1, 2024

We got about a foot of snow last week here in the Thunder Bay area. That was the first snowfall since early January. The ground was bare almost the entire winter. Red Lake did not get this dump but does have some snow, just less than this.

Missing the boat on electric outboards?

 I've been researching electric outboards this winter and, as usual, have found that most of my big ideas have already been put into practice by someone else.

My first idea was that while mono hull boats have little room for batteries and solar panels, pontoon boats have lots of space and weight-carrying ability. Pontoon craft are all the rage right now and I have been impressed at what they they can do.

Sure enough, a search for electric pontoon boats on YouTube brings up production models on the market in Florida. But the higher-performance ones seem to rely strictly on shore-power charging of batteries which can weigh 800 pounds. On a pontoon boat 800 pounds isn't much of a factor. 

Searches of solar-powered pontoon boats brings up boats with roofs covered from end to end with solar panels and then propelled with a low-powered electric motor. My little bit of experience with solar generation at the cabin makes me think both systems are missing the mark.

Nowhere is there as much sunlight as in a boat. That sunlight not only strikes from above but reflects off the water. So access to energy is not a problem. You just need to get it to the motor. The battery is slowing things down. You can only charge batteries so fast. That is why you have charge controllers on solar systems -- to keep from charging too fast and from overcharging. So why can't we have a system where the motor gets its energy right off the panels and bypasses the batteries? It could do both at the same time, of course.

And then there is the electric motor itself. I think it should be capable of at least two voltages, a higher voltage when the power is coming off the panels and then a lower voltage when running on the battery. Dual voltage electric motors exist right now, just not for boats.

The panels don't have to be on the roof either. They can be on the skirting below the rail. If the panels were the type that generate electricity from either side, a boat could get twice the electricity. 

Pontoon boats that charge their batteries from shore are just substituting batteries for fuel tanks. That's a waste when the boat is flooded with sun -- read that electricity -- while on the water.

I think solar boats should be able to go faster when there is lots of sun, just like a sailboat does with wind.

I'm telling you, the power coming off solar panels is incredible.

Ice-out on Red Lake will be May 8!

 How do I know this?

Well, April is just about here and using my system that says April's weather is the only month that matters when it comes to ice-out, I look at the Weather Network's 14-day forecast and see that the first two weeks of April are expected to have normal temperatures. Normal ice-out is May 8. So there you have it.

If the actual weather differs from the prediction or if the last two weeks of April are not normal, I will adjust my ice-out time.

I'm 'in the pink' with new wooden lures

 I'm looking forward to trying new wooden lures made by my neighbour, Dwayne Kotala. I'm lucky to get prototypes of what might become production models in the future.

Dwayne hand-carves these from native tree species like pine. Many are modeled on historic lures from 100 years ago. Some come right from Dwayne's imagination. 

I'm going to use these to fish for northern pike, my favourite species. I cast for these fish, mostly, and an advantage of wooden lures is they are heavier than plastic models; so, I can use my baitcasting rig which is ideal for handling big pike. The drag system on a baitcaster is so smooth compared to a spinning reel.

I surprised Dwayne, I think, years ago by telling him that pike like pink. As you can see he has painted many of these models just for me.

I replace the trebles on Dwayne's lures with single salmon or siwash hooks. The reason is the fish tend to take the entire bait into their mouths and the trebles are too difficult to extract quickly. 

I left the trebles on one of the lures in the photo to show how much larger a single hook needs to be to work effectively. 

Salmon lures almost always have single hooks. The reason, I'm told, is that when a fish is caught with a single hook it nearly always stays on.

If you are considering changing hooks as I have done you need to know that ordinary single hooks will not do the trick. You can't use a baitholder hook, for instance. It needs to be a salmon hook. These have long shanks, both on the standing part and the barb part. 

Siwash hooks are just salmon hooks with an open eye that you can close with pliers. You can only do this once. If you try to re-open it, it will likely break. 

Make sure your hooks on plugs face forward. That way you will pull them into the fish's mouth when you set the hook.

You might want to move to Thunder Bay

The Sleeping Giant as seen from Hillcrest Park. To its right are The Welcome Islands and in the distance, Isle Royale

 I would suggest that if you live in Canada. If you are from the United States, Duluth might be a better choice. 

Here is my reasoning: summers are going to get progressively hotter. Places where you could cool off in the shade or just by opening the windows in the house already demand air conditioning the entire summer. Eventually you are going to experience a power failure during a heat wave and that could be fatal in the sweltering heat.

Thunder Bay and Duluth are located on the shore of one of the world's coldest water bodies. When the wind blows from the lake onto shore it is like a refrigerator. It provides natural air conditioning. And if the heat is unbearable and the winds are not obliging, get in the lake itself. At this point it has a summer temperature of 4 C. 

Also, it has plenty of water to drink. That is going to be a factor in the future too. Lake Superior is more than 1,000 feet deep. It will take a long time for it to evaporate.

I had been thinking about this in the context of what we can do personally about climate change when I saw this article on Reuters News Service about people moving to Duluth. I love the slogan: Duluth -- Not as Cold as You Might Think.

Lake Superior could become a haven for climate migrants. 

Thunder Bay has a lot going for it. It is a city of 109,000 people. It is a major harbour, has light industry, a university and a college, a pulp and paper mill and other forest product mills. There is also an agriculture sector. At present this is mostly dairy, hay and potatoes but with longer growing seasons ahead we can expect diversification.

It has a thriving music and theater scene, probably a hundred restaurants and a couple dozen hotels and motels. Its Community Auditorium is a premier site for concerts.

Thunder Bay also has something that many people don't think about -- a large, bustling airport. It is the third-busiest airport in Ontario behind Toronto and Ottawa.

The average house here sells in the $300,000 + range. That is about one-third what houses cost in the Toronto region. Housing is in short supply, though. There is a move afoot to build 6,500 more homes in the decade ahead. Some of that will be to accommodate the thousands of mining jobs that are expected in the near future. These would come from new mines for minerals used in electric auto batteries. A few mines are nearing completion and more are likely on the way. 

Finally, Thunder Bay is known for its spectacular natural wonders. The Sleeping Giant land form is right across the bay from the city. There are square-topped mountains, deep canyons and waterfalls. Ski hills and cross-country ski trails, sailing, boating and fishing are right at your doorstep.

Kakabeka Falls, not far from our home in Nolalu, is the second highest falls in Ontario. The other is Niagara.

Thunder Bay has another thing that most people don't think about: it is surrounded primarily by hardwood forests. They are not as susceptible to forest fires. 

Food for thought.

Looking south you see the square top mountain of Pie Island and Mount McKay at the right

Whopper forest fire year could be ahead

 

Worldview satellite image shows snow cover

  

 

 

Windy App shows snow depth

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In all honesty, that could be the headline for any year from now on but there is something really alarming happening -- there is barely any snow in Northwestern Ontario. We're talking one inch for Thunder Bay and areas west along the U.S. border all the way to Manitoba. It isn't much better going north toward Red Lake. They have about four inches. Typically we would have two-to-four feet of snow at this point. There also is less than half the usual ice thickness on lakes.

None of this guarantees that the 2024 fire season is going to be a doozy but typically less snowfall indicates the ground will be really dry come spring. And the frost in that ground is only inches deep this year, not two feet like normal. 

Forest fire experts have been on radio and TV during the last couple of weeks saying there still is a chance disaster might be averted. We can still get some deep snow and more importantly, heavy rains next spring. Just like when it comes to predicting ice-out, it all depends on the weather in April.

The odds are, however, that April is going to follow the same weather pattern we have seen for about six months which is warm and dry. 

We should be prepared for a record-early ice-out, record-low lake levels and a record-bad fire year.

There still are 150 forest fires burning from last year in Northern British Columbia and Alberta but Northwestern Ontario mostly escaped last summer. There was a bit of a fire flap early in the season in the Lac Seul area but then we got enough rain to keep things quiet.

There are other worrisome factors at play too. We are heading into another spruce-budworm cycle this summer, something that happens every 40 years. That means large areas with balsam fir will begin a four-year countdown to death. Each year the tiny budworm caterpillars will eat the new growth off the trees which also continue shedding their needles from years earlier. After four years, the trees are barren and there will be large areas of Northwestern Ontario covered with dead balsam fir that burn explosively. That situation will get progressively worse for years and will move with the prevailing wind a little eastward each season. It starts in Northwestern Ontario and eventually ends up in the Maritimes.

An early ice-out would lead to a rapid heating of the ground by the sun and with little frost, trees will begin to grow, sucking out what little moisture there is in the soil. You get the picture.

I did hear one expert give a weather-related prediction today. Thunder Bay's entomologist says get ready for a "bumper tick year." Oh, boy.

Two creatures passed by this camera

 

My oh my, a Beautiful Day in Nolalu!

 

 When a guy can go for a walk with his best friend on the bush trails in February and not even wear a hat, that's heaven!

It's so glorious he didn't even think about his sore knees.

Incidentally, we were picking up camera cards and have a couple of interesting videos to post in a few days.

Time to know about wet-bulb temperature

 

I took this photo two years ago as I was building our cabin at Red Lake. It was June 19. I was finding it difficult to continue work. I kept getting dizzy, sick to my stomach and in a brain fog. This wasn't the hottest day in particular. There were many like it.

In the shade over by the dockhouse, it wasn't nearly so hot, probably 32 C or so. But I wasn't working in the shade nor could I. New home construction isn't done under a big tree. You can say the same about farm work, road work, fishing, tree planting or any other outdoor job. You have no choice but to be out in the sun. 

I don't remember the heat index for this particular day but frankly, it didn't matter. That is because the heat index is calculated for the shade. It is derived from the temperature on the thermometer in the shade combined with the relative humidity. The more humid it is, the higher the heat index.

We cool our bodies by sweating and this works best when the air is dry. You can't sweat at all in a bathtub.

By comparison, the wet-bulb temperature is calculated by the temperature on a thermometer (in the sun) wrapped in wet cloth and also takes into account the wind speed. The greater the wind, the better the evaporation that cools off the thermometer (and our bodies).

Research shows that humans will die in six hours with a wet-bulb temperature of 35 C. And that would be for a person laying naked, in the rain, with hurricane-force winds blowing over him. If you were standing up or moving around --activities that generate body heat -- the fatal temperature would be more like 32 C. 

At 37 C wet-bulb a person would die in minutes.

The wet-bulb method of calculating the temperature more accurately reflects the effect of hot weather on the human body.

I have just become aware of wet-bulb temperature from a book I'm reading: Five Times Faster by Simon Sharpe.

 I will undoubtedly have more to report about this book later but in essence, Sharpe says we have all under-estimated the dangers of climate change because we have been looking at it the wrong way. And by we I mean the scientists who study it and the governments they inform. And of course, us, the citizenry.

Our error comes from predicting what will happen rather than doing a risk assessment.  He offers examples of the difference between the two but I'm going to make up my own here.

Let's say I have loose lug nuts on the front wheel of my car and I drive it 50 km to Thunder Bay anyway. I can predict with near 100 per cent certainty that the front end is going to shake. There is about a 50 per cent chance that the wheel will wobble so badly that it enlarges the stud holes in the rim and ruins it. There is a bit less of a chance that this single trip will ruin the tire itself. Finally, there is a  chance that either the wheel falls off completely or the car just becomes unsteerable and leads to a crash. 

What's the worst that can happen? That's what a risk assessment is. Well, the worst is that the vehicle crashes and kills people either in my vehicle or in other vehicles or just standing along the road. Maybe they are kids waiting for the school bus. That is the worst case scenario.

Now that I have done the risk assessment I can figure how to avoid the worst. In this case, I could just tighten the lug nuts. The risk of killing someone isn't worth the probability that the wheel might stay on the whole trip.

We haven't done a risk assessment with climate change. We have been making predictions about what will happen, not what could be the worst. So let's just say it: the worst is that the world becomes too hot for humans to survive or to grow our food.

The wet-bulb temperature information above shows we aren't too far away from the worst.

We have already seen so-called heat waves that have killed people. More than 600 died in British Columbia a couple of years ago. This is Canada! It is one of the coldest-nations on Earth.

Coincidentally I just happened to see a realty company's listing for some property near ours on Red Lake where they inform buyers of the risk of climate change for this spot. They list it to be at Significant Risk. It currently experiences seven days of 29.1 C and that is expected to rise to 28 days of 32.6 C by 2050.

Insurance companies do risk assessments, especially for their own industry. What's the worst that can happen for them and their customers? They become insolvent. That is why they only take a 0.5 per cent chance.

And that is why they have stopped insuring buildings in Florida, California and many other places that are experiencing repeated weather-related catastrophes.

You can find real-time wet-bulb temperatures on the Windy.com website or app. I strongly advise everyone to get this app and learn how to use it. Your life may depend on it.

Another is Zoom Earth. You can set this to show you where the forest fires are, again, in near-real-time. This is the stuff we need to know to survive now.

Can you say Anthropomorphism?

 

Evening grosbeaks are all named Pete. Whenever a new one appears they all call out, "Pete!" Just like "Norm" in Cheers. It's always hilarious.

I knew you could.

Most people don't know many 16-letter words but this is one of them. Its usual definition is the act of giving animals human characteristics and it is most often said when trying to embarrass or belittle the human who is committing the said offence.

Let it be known that I anthropomorphize routinely, almost continuously, in fact. And I do it with no shame. No shame whatsoever. 

As Brenda once told a friend, "At our house, all the animals talk."

Another time Brenda said to me, "The animals, they speak to you."

The typical context of someone belittling people like me who anthropomorphize is "How ignorant and egotistical it is for you to think that animals must have human characteristics!"

My response, at least in my head, is "What an arrogant and ignorant ass you are!

"Are you such a dimwit that you don't know animals communicate, not only with each other, but to every other life form that is capable of receiving that communication?"

Have you ever sat in a deer blind and seen a doe whitetail swivel her head and perk up her ears toward the sound of a bluejay issuing an alarm call? 

Why do duck hunters sometimes put out a heron decoy near their spread? Because the presence of a heron communicates safety to the flock. Ducks trust herons.

The birds sitting on the tree near the house and looking into the window are saying, "Hello! The bird feeder is empty!"

A red fox eating sunflower seeds that have fallen on the snow at night is saying to himself, "I'm completely invisible to that guy standing in the brightly-lit sunroom." And then, "Crap, why didn't someone tell me he had a flashlight!"

Loons are the easiest creatures to communicate with. Loon books often interpret their calls. The so-called yodel is the loon on the water saying hello to another loon that is flying. That flying loon responds with a laugh. 

The mournful "howl" or wolf call sound is the loon saying, "Where are you?" to its mate. 

The "kook" call is, "Are you friendly?"

Loons are very social with humans. They will swim right up to you when you are playing the guitar on the dock or to see the dog. They can also put on water-dancing displays when you get too close to their nests. 

"Go someplace else!"

I have had so many personal moments with loons that it is hard to pick one to talk about but here is one from last summer. I was sitting on my chair casting from the dock after supper when I spotted one of the neighborhood loons way out on the bay. He immediately turned and headed my way,  just poking along.

When he was about 50 feet away he stopped swimming and seemed to say, "Catching anything?"

"Not a bite so far," I said aloud.

"Well, if you don't mind, I'm going to call it a day," I felt the loon said to me. And with that he put his head under his wing and went to sleep.

I made a few more casts in directions away from the loon but then picked up my tackle box and went back to the cabin so I didn't disturb him. It was the polite thing to do.

This trail intersection busy over 48 hours

 

Timber wolf

Whitetail deer

Canada lynx

Snowshoe hare

I had cut a narrow walking trail from one of my "road-size" paths down to our surveyed property line last fall and decided a couple days ago to place a trail camera there. It recorded these predator-prey combinations. The wolf is looking for a deer and the lynx is looking for a bunny.

For hundreds of years lynxes and snowshoe hares (we just call them rabbits) have been documented to follow an approximate 10-year population cycle. When the hare population reaches its max, so does the lynx. I believe that pattern has now stopped. There are lots of rabbits all the time now and also lynxes.

The old 10-year cycle (some say nine years, some 11), coincided with the solar activity cycle. Just about every 10 years there are more solar storms and this resulted in a tiny warming of the Earth. It was miniscule but enough to help rabbits survive and with them, the lynx. Now, with climate change the Earth is warming every year. More warmth -- more bunnies -- more lynx. At least that is how it seems to me.

Using our brains to make sense

This photo has nothing to do with today's blog posting but just thought it was a nice shot to share

 We live in the Information Age and that is a challenge. We have at our fingertips information about good things and bad things, positive things and negative things, truths and half-truths, propaganda and outright lies. There never has been a better time to use our brains. Does this information make sense? Does it require investigation? What are the sources?

Did you see the story about the electric car that caught fire? I know you did because it was everywhere -- on TV news, all over the internet, radio talk shows. There was video.

BOY DID THAT CAR BURN!!!  Cue the Psycho music -- REEP REEP REEP!!!

So there you have it, proof that electric cars are dangerous, too dangerous. There is no choice but to stick with gasoline-powered vehicles.

Well, says my brain, do gasoline vehicles catch fire as well? A few clicks of the keyboard and guess what? Just in Canada there are 10,000 gas-powered vehicle fires annually, reports Transport Canada.

No Psycho soundtrack with this info.

A week or so ago the big news was about a man with an old electric Nissan Leaf who couldn't get a new replacement battery for it. REEP REEP REEP!!!

Have you ever heard of a gasoline vehicle where you couldn't get a new replacement engine? Gee, I think I have heard that, when I think about it.

Then there was the Consumer Reports story that electric vehicles have far more problems than gasoline ones. (Psycho music again.) This got so much press I expected to see it written on the sky. There was a follow-up story. The problems were not with the electric propulsion part of the car but with all the gadgets they have. 

I didn't see this next story on TV, and I bet you didn't either. A 2023 survey by the Canadian Automobile Association of Canadian electric vehicle owners found that 97 per cent would purchase another EV. Talk about satisfied! 

I did a little exercise last year involving what we were paying for gasoline, the cost of electricity, and the borrowing cost of an EV. We really only drive one vehicle in the winter -- a 2016 Dodge Grand Caravan. We drive it to Thunder Bay about five days a week. It's 50 kilometers or 30 miles each direction. Our gas bill was $600 a month. Had we been using an electric vehicle that we charged at home as just about everybody does, our monthly vehicle energy costs would have been $100. 

The financing cost of an EV was $600 a month. So, for $100 a month more than we are currently paying just for fuel we could own a brand new vehicle. 

Of course, gas prices were high at the time I did this calculation but that brings up another point: gas prices are nothing if not volatile. When Putin attacked Ukraine the price of gas jumped 50 per cent almost overnight. Not the price of electricity. It is the epitome of stability. It increases, sure, but usually with the cost of inflation, not because oil barons are using any excuse to make you pay through the nose.

New Year's resolution: electric chainsaws

This battery pruning saw is incredible

Until a couple of years ago, I had only personally owned one chainsaw -- the Husqvarna 61. It was recommended to me by a saw dealer in Thunder Bay and I have used it to cut something like 400 cords of wood over the past 40 years. It has been very durable although I have needed to have the carburetor rebuilt probably four times. My saw mechanic informed me the last time that the saw has been obsolete for about two decades and he has been using "part saws" to do the job. Unfortunately, he has now run out of those as well.

Then, last year, I experienced Christmas in July. I was about to dump our recycling items at Red Lake's transfer station when to my astonishment, there was a Husqvarna 61 in the bin. I snapped it up. So I might be able to cannibalize it for parts for a few more years.

Meanwhile, I had bought a tiny one-hand battery-electric pruning saw made by Stihl, pictured to the right. Although it is intended for cutting branches only a few inches or less in diameter, I am astounded at what else I have done with it. Since it only weighs a few pounds I routinely carry it when out for walks on my trail network here in Nolalu and have cut many windfall trees that have blocked the paths. Sometimes it takes cutting from both sides of the fallen trunk since the bar is only six inches.

It is wonderful for cutting alders, willows and small trees that pop up on the survey lines around our property. It has a lithium battery that slides into the handle and this probably lasts for an hour of solid cutting. That means I can clear about a quarter mile of bushed-in trail before needing to recharge. 

Now that I am 71 I appreciate not lugging around a heavy saw. My Husqvarna 61 weighs something like 13 pounds. That gets to be a drag when I'm a half-mile from the house. This has got me looking at battery-electric chainsaws. There are some professional arborist saws now that cut as fast as gasoline-powered saws but they are pricey and they actually weigh about the same as my Husky.

My little six-inch saw has shown me I probably don't need a 16-inch or 20-inch bar saw any more. There are some 12-inch battery saws now that weigh about eight pounds, including the battery. From what I have seen, Husqvarna and Stihl might be the fastest rpm battery saws but they are on the high end of price. Tool brands like Ryobi, Dewalt, Milwaukee and yard machine companies like Greenworks and others also have chainsaws. These sell for about $350 which is nearer my price range. All of these are quiet which is another plus.

I am not quite in the market for a saw yet, but when the time comes I am certain to get an electric model.

We already have a battery-electric lawnmower at the cabin. It is a self-propelled model and has oodles of power for climbing hills while mowing.

What's missing in this Christmas photo?

 

Our house in Nolalu, near Thunder Bay, Ont., Dec. 24, 2023

This will be a first for us. No snow on Christmas. 

It is pretty much the same story across Canada. 

There is a drought taking place from Thunder Bay west to Kenora that could become problematic next summer. Check out the following screenshot from Windy.com that shows drought intensity. The darker the colour, the drier the soil is. 

The situation is less acute up at Red Lake but way up north, near Hudson Bay, it is terrible. 

Here in Nolalu and other Thunder Bay area rural townships most shallow wells have gone dry. We have already gotten one tanker truck delivery of water.

Temperatures are far warmer than normal and that is not all bad. Judging from our wood pile I would say we have used half the energy this winter to heat the house. 

There is still a lot of time left to get some snow. What has happened in recent years is we get about half our snowfall in the month of April. That is usually extremely wet stuff that takes down power lines and closes roads.

Positive things to say about climate change

Shot from today, just a trace of snow here in Nolalu

 "If you don't have something good to say, keep your mouth shut."

That was always my mom's admonition about talking. It seems especially relevant this year when it comes to talking about climate change. I have recently heard somewhat conflicting advice on the subject.

I believe it was on CBC radio's climate program What On Earth that host Laura Lynch wondered if all the talk about climate change was making things worse. The experts she interviewed said it actually was because it was virtually all about doom and gloom -- things are getting worse rapidly and we aren't moving fast enough to correct them. People can only take so many negative waves, said the psychologists. Making them feel helpless and depressed accomplishes nothing.

Then, last week, Bill Nye (the Science Guy), seemed at first glance to give opposite instructions in an interview on CNN. "What can we do personally about climate change?" he was asked. "1. Talk about it and 2. Vote," he said.

In reality, all the experts were on the same page. Keep talking about climate change, just focus on the solutions and positive steps that have already been made and which are added to each day.

So that is what I'm going to do from now on in this blog, starting with this link to a BBC article yesterday Nine Breakthroughs For Climate and Nature in 2023 You May Have Missed

 On a personal note, I would like to report on our first summer of using a solar system at our cabin that the power produced by just two photovoltaic (PV) panels is mind-blowing. I think you have to see it to believe it. As soon as the sun strikes these two 4x7-foot panels you have more electricity than you can possibly use at one time, plus it charges the big batteries that ran everything over night. Four hours after sunrise the batteries are charged and the system is just twiddling its thumbs until the next day.

And here's the kicker: once you have purchased the equipment, that electricity -- that clean energy -- is absolutely free. Even more positive news is the equipment costs about one-tenth what it cost a decade ago and gets cheaper every day.

Red Lake Marine had its first electric outboard for sale last summer.

"This is where everything's going," said Bob Uhrina, who has worked at the marina for about 60 years and has been its manager for at least 30. He is also a master mechanic.

That's pretty remarkable coming from a man who knows more about outboards and any other internal combustion engine than anyone I have ever met. 

I think I know what he means. It is just the evolution of energy. 

It reminds me of a statement I heard a few years ago by Sister Jean, the now-104-year-old nun who is the chaplain for the Loyola University men's NCAA basketball team. In the week before every game, Sister Jean scouts the opposing team on video and makes a report to the team about the best ways to beat them.

A reporter noted that she does all of her work on an iPad and thought it remarkable that such an old person embraced new technology.

"If you don't keep up, you're left behind," said Sister Jean.

The deer rut begins with first snow

 

Nice whitetail makes the first scrape on our property

We had escaped the first snowfalls of the season until last night when we got about an inch of the white stuff. That was enough to set off the whitetail rut. This nice eight-pointer made his scrape right in front of my trail camera.

The deer population took a shellacking in these parts from last spring's deep snowfalls, so much so that I wondered if any had survived. I couldn't find a track on our land for days when we returned to Nolalu from Red Lake. 

Today's tracking snow and the photo above showed there are still some around.

2023 dock fishing report

 I do 99 per cent of my fishing from our dock -- a few casts after breakfast, a few after lunch and finally, after supper. Here's what I caught last summer.

The big news is I caught seven smallmouth bass. In the past I have never caught any. On one occasion I was just pulling my Beetle Spin out of the water when the whole side of the dock erupted with a school of bass. There might have been 10 of them. I dropped my lure back in and instantly caught one which put up a whale of a fight. While it was pulling out drag, the entire school followed it around. All these fish seemed to be about three pounds.

I got nine walleye including one on a rubber mouse. This fish had previously followed in as I cast the mouse near the bank, looking for pike. I eventually pitched out to a spot I know is about 20 feet deep and the walleye, obviously just below the surface, grabbed it immediately. This fish was about 25 inches.

I got 12 northern pike but only a few of them eating size. The others were too small or too big. The largest fish was about 38 inches and was enormously muscular. My two large hands could not encircle its head when I went to release it. 

Low water at the start of the year resulted in excellent weed growth, something that benefits fish populations as it provides cover for minnows and other forage species. By fall the water level was back to normal. 

Solar system handled needs until October

 Our new solar system handled all of our electrical uses right until the beginning of October when we were hit with a string of dark, cloudy days as well as declining daylight hours.

We operated all of our electrical tools, including air compressor, radial saw, large electric drill, etc. just by plugging them into the wall. If the sun was shining while we were working a check on the solar system battery status showed we still had 100 per cent reserve. In other words, we were running everything on the current production from the two large panels.

In total, we used less than five gallons of gas in our generator since the system was installed July 1. By comparison, before the solar system we used about that much weekly. This year we saved $450 by not buying gasoline.

I was impressed that the solar panels still generated plenty of electricity on smoky days when we could look directly at the sun. There were plenty of those last summer.

There's a new house near our cabin

 

The beavers have made a large feedbed in front of their lodge

Actually, the house was there before, the new tenants just renovated it. 

All the winter feed seen in front of the beaver house against the bank came from the shoreline in front of our place. We don't begrudge sharing saplings and shrubs and even small hardwood trees like birch with the beavers as long as they leave the larger birches alone beside the buildings. What do you think are the chances that will happen?