Minnesota Ice Fishing Season Is Here!
Yep – that was our temperature yesterday morning: a balmy 3 degrees with a wind chill of -17. Yikes! As I took the dog out for a walk today I was unpleasantly surprised by the burn-your-face-off cold wind that was blowing in from the northwest. It doesn’t seem that long ago that we were pulling docks out in our t-shirts! But thinking like that will only make us crabby so I’ve decided to look on the bright side. It has taken concentrated effort to come up with list but here it is:
The Top 10 Reasons to be Happy About Winter
10) This one is obvious – no mosquitoes! There’s no need to cover ourselves with OFF! before heading out on the lake to do some ice fishing. There also aren’t any ticks, wood spiders, deer flies or other creepy crawlies.
9) We don’t have to mow. Thanks to Jay’s dad (who does all the mowing around here) this chore isn’t really a big deal for us. But I’m sure it’s a relief for those of you without a father-in-law that loves his weekly spin on the Dixie Chopper.
8) It’s not so humid. In fact, it’s so dry that we all walk around for months with chapped lips and cracked fingers. It’s a good look! 🙂
7) I feel better about myself! I get to live guilt-free for the next 6 months as I drive to town since it’s too dang cold for all of my health-minded neighbors to be out walking on the road. Who needs those daily reminders that Bush was in office the last time I had a gym membership?!
6) Running errands requires less planning. Jay holds the title of Food Safety Freak in our house so his anxiety spikes when he fears the optimal temperature of the milk and eggs has been compromised. With these temps near 0° I can run errands without worrying about the cookie dough ice cream in the back of the Yukon!
5) We save on electricity. No reason to keep the ice chest plugged in at these temperatures. The unsold bags of ice will keep just fine without spinning the meter!
4) Winter is good for the lakeshore. Once the lake freezes over we don’t have to worry erosion. Let the wind blow! With hard water and frozen earth we aren’t worrying about wave action.
3) No concerns about the sun in our eyes while driving. The sun has almost disappeared over our southern horizon. We’ll see it again sometime next spring.
2) No problem falling asleep at night. Since it gets dark at 4:30 the greater struggle is staying awake until the girls’ bedtimes.
And the Number One reason to be happy it’s winter: 1) The sooner it starts – the sooner it’s over!!!!
It took a lot of effort to come up with those (lame) reasons to be happy winter is here. In fact, it took an entire day to think of ten. However, there is something that’s very good about these early cold temps – the lake is making ice like crazy! People who love Minnesota ice fishing will tell you that we need these cold temps before snow falls to make solid ice. Without good ice under the snow we get slushy lakes which make snowmobiling and ice fishing a lot tougher. We haven’t ventured out on the ice yet (and the wise will tell you to wait!) but I’m guessing there are a couple of inches on the southern basin of Bass Lake. When I took the dog out last night the ice-making noise coming off the lake was loud and clear. It was a beautiful, still night with a sky full of stars. Amazing. Don’t let anyone tell you that winter is horrible – it’s actually quite beautiful in small doses and when you are dressed up like that kid in “A Christmas Story.”
We finalized our Theater Packages last week and added that page to our website. Check it out for information on how to save big on Reif performance tickets when you stay at Wildwood! And for a list of other area events visit the Community Calendar on the VisitGrandRapids.com website.
Frostily yours,
Kim & Jay