Great Grey Owls

A few years ago the snows came early and heavy in the Canadian provinces to our north. It forced the migration south of the Great Grey Owls looking for easier prey. These are one of the worlds largest owls. These birds are dark grey overall interspersed with light grey or white bands with very fluffy plumage with a rather large head. We saw these owls everywhere that winter. On fence poles, utility poles and on traffic signs. They perch and wait for prey and then fly very quietly and fairly close to the ground towards their prey. Their primary food source are small rodents, squirrels, rabbit's, chipmunks and prey of that sort.

Our neighbor Sharon talks about the time when she and Tony were returning from an unsuccessful hunt. She was lagging behind her husband enjoying the scenery and the soft snowfall when all of a sudden, swooping our of the pines in front of her was one of the largest owls she had ever seen! Its wing span was 5 to 6 feet and it was flying about 7 feet off the ground flying directly at Tony. The owl was on a mission. She shouted to her husband, "WATCH OUT'. The owl veered off just as her husband turned back to her. He ducked and the owl was only a few inches from the top of his head!

Tony and Sharon could never figure out what the owl was after. Was Tony a tender and juicy morsel? Or just another tall fence pole.

Wolves vs. Deer

The Mpls. Startribune.com had an interesting article about this hot button north woods topic. They quoted a number of deer hunters who returned from up north this fall and reported seeing more wolves. And with the deep population down they were concerned that their was some correlation. An adult wolf can eat 15 to 19 deer yearly. With the state wolf population at approximately 3,000, that could mean an annual kill of 45,000 to 60,000 deer. Which would be about 10 to 15 % of the total deer population. The article also pointed out that livestock depredation from wolves have been on the increase as well. Oak Point hunters have told me that the number of deer that they saw were down this year. Could this be part of our local problem?

February Weather

We had great February weather this past week. Most every morning we awoke to minus 5 to 15 below temps. By mid-afternoons it would warm up to 20 to 25 degrees above. We are have much longer days with the sun higher in the skies. We have a little over 1 hour longer sunlight in both the morning and evening periods now. The sun is bright enough to melt some snow on the Oak Point Road. But the best news that I heard all week is that spring is only 33 days away. Spring begins March 20th, 2010.

Street Maintenance

The Leech Lake Public Works Department has agreed to take over the snowplowing and maintenance of our road at Oak Point Estates called Sunrise Beach Dr. This will provide us with first rate care for the road with the proper heavy equipment and know how. Very good new for us. This crew currently plows and maintains The Oak Point Road and most of the side roads in our area from all the way in from Highway # 371.

Eelpout Festival

Next weekend February 19-21, 2010 Leech Lake and Walker will celebrate its 31st Eelpout Festival. The Eelpout also called Burbot is the only fresh water member of the codfish family. Often considered a rough fish by the sportsman. The tournament is an excuse for late winter festival on the ice.