First Snow

We woke up to our first covering of snow this morning. We must have 2" to 3" of the wet snow, compared to the 10" to 12" that they got down in the cities. The temps right now are in the low 30's with a forecast of somewhat higher temps for the next few days, so we are hoping for the snow to melt. Our son and family who live in south Mpls. were some of the unlucky homeowners whose electric power was knocked out.

Deer Hunting

Deer hunting continues here on Oak Point. The number of hunters in the woods are down some this weekend from last weekend, but still lots of blaze orange hunters are out. I had the privilege of going hunting with Gilbert Starr on Saturday morning. Gilbert grew up on Oak Point, Starr Point area, and he knows the area like the back of his hand. He show me the area that he has hunted over the years, included various tree stands. He has plenty of stories of successful hunts, both deer and bear, associated with various stands. With the new snow on the ground maybe that can help me locate a deer. The Minnesota DNR estimates that nearly 90,000 deer were taken during the first weekend from the approximate 450,000 hunters in the woods. I have until November 21 to get my deer.

Miscellaneous

Saw my first flock of swans flying over this morning. They are usually the last migratory birds that use the Leech Lake area as a stop on their way south. Saw some birds on the lake yesterday, I don't know if they were fisherman or duck hunters, but I suspect their days are limited. Usually by Thanksgiving we have some ice on the "big lake". We typically don't see any ice fishing houses out until sometime in December. Been burning plenty of oak wood in our fireplace these shorter days since we are back on Central Standard Time. Darkness comes early. So a warm fire and a warm supper in the oven is welcome. I cooked a bear steak in the slow cooker that turned out real tender and very tasty and was a great main dish with some locally grown potatoes.