Now It’s Winter: While several shores on Lake Superior already had a healthy amount of snowfall, the western tip of the Lake finally got its catch-up winter dose within 24 hours or less. Much of Duluth had sparse or no snow with grass still showing in many yards going into Wednesday. This morning, on the hill at least, good luck finding the driveway, much less any grass. At least 13 inches fell on the hill. In Finland, Minnesota, more than 18 inches was reported. According to the National Weather Service, the snowfall was expected to stop by 9 a.m. this morning (and seems to have done so in Duluth, at least). The amount of snow in a 24-hour period merited 22nd place on the most snow the city has ever gotten in a day, as you can see from this National Weather Service chart. Up the shore, Grand Marais (where this EverythingMN photo was taken by Emily Siefkes) got 17.5 inches in 24 hours, and farther up in Thunder Bay, as much as 35 centimetres (or about 13 inches) was expected to accumulate. Meanwhile, freighters on Lake Superior Thursday night were contending with gale-wind advisories. According to a report by Brady Slater for the Duluth News Tribune, the American Integrity tucked behind Sand Island in the Apostle Islands to avoid the predicted 70 mph mid-Lake gusts. The freighter was on its way to load at the Two Harbors ore dock. Brady interviewed Ron Williams, the port meteorological officer for the National Weather Service in Duluth, and noted that the center of the storm last night was expected to arrive roughly over Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan and Ontario, "with pinwheeling winds driving waves north across the Lake."
That is Memorable: SooToday has asked its reporters to pick their most memorable stories of 2018, and there have been some great ones. Some of the stories are sobering and touching, like the vigil for those lost to fatal opiod overdoses, but a few were just offbeat examples of northern living. For his 2018 best, James Hopkins chose his story of a Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, woman knocked out cold by a bear when she took her dog outside before bed. Her daughter called 911 while the bear was on top of her with the husky dog trying to bite the bear. When Chantal LeFleur came to, the bear had walked slightly off her, just enough for her to grab the dog’s leash and scramble back into the house. The bear did not leave even when emergency personnel arrived. Chantal was treated for cuts and scratches to her head and back and the dog, Jax, had emergency surgery, though the outcome is not detailed in the story. Another "best" story by Darren Taylor detailed how a Wawa resident got waylaid by two flying axes while driving his pickup on Highway 17. Kevin Byrnes wisely pulled over when the axe came through the passenger side of his windshield, only to discover another axe sticking out of the smashed headlight of the truck. Kevin, who could not identify the vehicle ahead of him from which the axes and a sheet of plywood flew, had solid advice for those with stuff exposed in the trunks or the back of their trucks: “Secure your load. This could’ve been a fatality.”
A Swirl of Siskins: In Ontario, members of the Thunder Bay Field Naturalists spent their Boxing Day (Dec. 26) counting birds and posting pics and videos, including a cool little interlude with a grouping of pine siskins, which have a nifty Latin name: Spinus pinus. The Spruce, by the by, has a delightful listing of group names for bird species. A gathering of finches, which is the pine siskin family, can be a "charm" or a "trembling."
A Merry Christmas Ending: Ein, a one-eyed husky mix, took off on his own adventure at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore near Munising, Michigan, and managed to lose his family visiting from Detroit. Sarah Cortez and Alex Beyer, both physicians, were at Pictured Rocks on Dec. 15, skiing back to their car after ice climbing near Miners Castle, when Ein left the trail for the woods and did not return when they called. They searched for two hours until dark, then returned several times the next day and also posted fliers in the library and at local businesses. But then they had to return to Detroit, anticipating a very sad and lonely Christmas, reports Tanda Gmiter for MLive.com. The couple made daily calls to the Munising animal shelter, the park rangers and sheriff's office, but got no word for a week, despite many local residents joining in the search. Alex and a friend even returned mid-week to look, but with no luck. Enter Mike Saunder and Becca Gabrys, visiting Pictured Rocks from Spring Lake. Mike, a U.P. native, wanted to show Miners Castle to Becca. They brought their dog, Finley, and on the trail spotted Ein, dragging his orange backpack which had slipped to one side. A few phone calls later, a very hungry, tired Ein was in the Munising shelter awaiting his family. Alex picked Ein up on Dec. 23, just in time for a very merry Christmas (as you can see in Sarah's photo of the family). Alex's medical residency colleagues also bought him the perfect gift – a GPS tracker for Ein that works without the need for cellphone service (a plus for finding lost pups in Pictured Rocks).
What's Open & What's Not: While the five U.S. national parks around Lake Superior have been affected by the federal government shutdown, the Lake Superior Maritime Visitor Center at the foot of the Aerial Lift Bridge in Duluth remains open on its winter hours because its portion of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ budget had already been approved. The marine museum, as it’s nicknamed, is open 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. And the marine museum store, which benefits the Lake Superior Marine Museum Association, also is open those hours. So if you’ve exchanged that won’t-fit-and-wouldn’t-wear-it-anyway sweater, you might find a nice little boatnerdy gift that you will enjoy. Some national parks allow access to the grounds, even if the park headquarters is not open. If you plan to visit Pictured Rocks in Michigan or the mainland portions of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore in Wisconsin, do check the websites for access info. Grand Portage National Monument in Minnesota is usually closed in the winter, though some parts of its grounds and the visitor center are open all year.
Holiday Cheer for Backyard Wildlife: Rather than sending your Christmas tree to the landfill this year, the Nature Conservancy of Canada suggests letting nature recycle that tree. But first, it can provide a winter home for birds. “Evergreens provide important shelter for birds on cold nights and during storms, and offer a safe place to rest while they visit your feeder,” says Dan Kraus, senior conservation biologist for the not-for-profit private land conservation group. “You can even use your old tree as a bird feeder by redecorating it with pine cones filled with peanut butter, strings of peanuts and suet.” Simply by letting nature take its course with the tree that brought joy during the holidays, you can create habitat, shelter wildflowers, hold moisture and enrich the soil, all of which happens with dead trees and branches in a forest, according to the Nature Conservancy of Canada.
Beyond Christmas: In honor of Marcia Hales' last year for her Holiday Spirit in the Lights, we have been linking to excerpts from the book Spirit of the Lights by Chuck Frederick, about Marcia and her now about 300,000-light walk-through display at 3739 S. Lake Ave. on Park Point in Duluth. Her display will continue through Jan. 5. This is a great weekend to visit, especially with all the new snow. This photo is from a Meyer family visit this year. This week, we share "Beyond Christmas," the story of how even when they are off, Marcia and her lights seem to attract new friends. Or as the story goes:
The Christmas lights weren’t even on – not in the middle of summer. Still, as the sun started to set on a windy, cool evening, a true Park Point evening, Marcia’s ears perked up at the familiar cruuuuunching sound of gravel under tires outside. Her eyes found the window and she realized a car – no, make that two cars – were approaching.
“I’m sitting here in my house,” she recalled, a hint of a grin forming at the corner of her mouth, “and I see these people pull up, and they get their picnic basket out and they walk through the arches.”
The arches that lead into her lighting display stay up year-round now. Dismantling and packing away the largest of the decorations wouldn’t be practical. And really, where would she store it all?
Marcia hurried outside. “Hello,” she called after the group.
“Hello. We hope you don’t mind if we have a picnic in your park here,” one of them responded, as friendly and as innocently as a dinner guest requesting just a bit more wine. Read the rest, and other excerpts online.
Photo & graphic credits: Emily Siefkes; Kevin Byrnes; Thunder Bay Field Naturalists; Sarah Cortez; Barb LeMasurier; Heidi "Swedberg" Meyer.