Troutbirder II

Troutbirder II
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Thursday, December 12, 2013

Winter Life in Southeastern Minnesota's Bluff Country

This post is a retrospective from January 2009.   Actually, there isn't much life here lately.... at least outside. Upon retirement, I had vowed to myself NEVER to "age gracefully." That meant living to the max by keeping up all the outdoor activities that I loved. Well... this proved to be, shall we say, a little idealistic

Let me explain. A few misguided souls (including yours truly) have been noting, maybe even complaining, that "we haven't had a real Minnesota winter in more than a decade." Such a winter means ice storms and lakes that  freeze over in mid-October. Then howling blizzards come in from Alberta or Siberia or someplace. Roads are blocked for days. The temperature doesn't get above zero for a month. Be careful what you wish for!

We had a rain a few days ago, followed by rapidly dropping temperatures. The consequence has been that I have been chicken to go outside for some time. "Aging gracefully" has meant to protect my artificial knee and other bodily parts I only venture out rarely. I read mostly and stare out the window watching for some excitement at my bird feeders. Good grief! It was Baron who finally brought me out of my funk.

Actually he has been driving me crazy. You can't coop up a 2 year old German Shepherd for weeks without any serious exercise and expect him to remain totally passive. It was time to take him for a good hike. Due to the ice storm the local streets were basically better suited for ice skating than anything else. So I opted to check out the snowmobile trails at nearby Forestville State Park.

I expected the park to be deserted and it was. "No leash needed today boy," I said.  We drove up to the fisherman's parking lot. Mrs. T opened her door and probed the lot with her walking stick. "Forget it," I heard her say. It was pure ice….

With that I turned the truck around and headed back towards the campground. Not many campers there that day! Fortunately the icy road circling the campground was covered with a crunchy layer of snow frost. This made it walkable. We did our thing. Baron romped through the woods looking for rabbits.
 

Later we drove down to the old bridge and the store which has been preserved as it was in the late 19thcentury. There were no reenactors or crowds of people there this day. We had the park all to ourselves.


 So what about life on the tundra in Minnesota? It can be a challenge, especially for the "older generation." You just have to work at it a little and be willing to adjust!  Now five years after I wrote this post we’re still adjusting. I just bought a laptop to keep up with my blogging friends as we’ve decided to try becoming snowbirds flying to Florida for a bit in 2014….. J

19 comments:

  1. If true winter involves ice storms, ugh. I don't mind the snow, but the ice is miserable. We do have "chains" for our boots, but it's probably better to stay indoors.

    Anyway, enjoy your snowbirding.

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  2. Yikes! Stay warm up there! I feel like I'm living in Minnesota at the moment - can't image what you're all going through :o

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  3. Stay warm and safe, Trout. I love your photos!

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  4. It was -13 C here when I went for a hike. It sounded worse than 9 F.

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  5. Friends of ours turned us on to
    Stabilicers (check Amazon).....like snow tires for your shoes. They grip like nothing I've ever tried before. Hubby and I can once again resume our walks, no matter how icy it is outside!
    The only suggestion I make with them is to just keep them on one pair of boots--though easy to take on and off, you'll find yourself making excuses to not put them on. They are miracles. They have given us back our winter life.

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  6. I'm trying to remember 2009, I think I was in Germany that winter. But I feel and share your pain, TB. It's recently warmed up here, people were frolicking in the 2 above temp this morning.

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  7. I have always said that winters aren't as bad as they used to be around here. I remember having much more snow than we get these days... AND--so far this winter, we have had NO snow here. BUT--we have had ICE. Yuk!!!!!

    Hope you enjoy your time in sunny Florida... Merry Christmas.
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  8. The older I get, the less tolerant my body is with the cold! And that, my friend, looks colder than anything my body could deal with!

    Enjoy Florida!

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  9. I've been watching youngsters making their way into school this week, and quite a few slip and fall. But they are so wrapped up in layers of down (and so close to the ground to begin with) that they just pop right up again. No wonder there are so many older folks in the warm states.

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  10. I'm glad I left my Minnesota winters behind seven years ago!

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  11. I hear you! I am going to visit my sister in Florida during February. I'm almost getting tired of all this cold. No snow, but cold temperatures almost beyond belief! We're in the Pacific Northwest. What happened? :-)

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  12. We all start retirement with a very romantic idea of what we will do. We'll show everybody that old age is a piece of cake! I've been better at getting out this year. Who knows maybe I'll get back to what I used to be!!!
    Enjoy your time in the south.

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  13. Stay inside with a cup of hot chocolate! We have our share of snow here too.

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  14. It is a great post. You do have to stay inside and keep warm retired or not.

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  15. Boy can I relate to your story. Idealistic I was -- for sure. Now I eat humble pie in my 70s. So you are going to become a snow bird. Oh and about the snow and ice -- years ago my Michigan dad used his old golf shoes for traction after he had a bad fall. The shoes worked beautifully when he was walking outside on the snow and ice. -- barbara

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  16. Well that is exciting news..I am glad you get to escape the Minnesota winter at least part of it. WE have been thinking of a few weeks away too..it is so cold so early this year. The other morning we had -33 F unbelievable for this early in the winter...I wonder what will happen in Jan and Feb the really cold months. Just think of all the birds you can see in Florida! Good news about the laptop too!
    It is good to see old photos of Baron...I am certain you must miss him terribly...but it is easier to travel without a dog.
    Chance gets antsy in the afternoons and evening too especially if we stay home instead of going for our drive. We play hide and seek inside with the ball...anything to entertain a Border Collie.

    I am not sure any amount of butter could make lutefisk taste good:)

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  17. Although I enjoyed your snowy pictures, I'm glad we haven't had that much winter weather down here in Tennessee. A few inches of snow that melts in a couple of days is about right for me. I think you'll enjoy being snowbirds.

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  18. Looks like a cold and snowy winter. I wonder if this year will be a repeat.
    Love your header! Looks like the horse is eating your hat!

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