August Moon in the BWCA

   

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  It’s hard to believe we are already a week into August, where has the Summer gone?  The days are getting shorter, the nights are getting longer and before we know it the kids will be back in school.  The sun waits to rise until after 6:00 AM which makes it more difficult for me to get out of bed in the morning.  I love it when it is light out bright and early and the birds are chirping in the woods and I look at the clock and it’s 5:00 AM.  I’m out of bed in a flash and ready to start the day, but in the winter when it’s still pitch black out with stars in the sky and I have to take Abby to the bus stop at 6:30 AM, well, that’s a story for a different day.

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     August is here, like it or not, and August is known in Ojibway as the Blueberry Moon.  Unfortunately our crop of blueberries was here alot earlier this year and if you waited until August to come and pick, I’m sorry, they are pretty much non-existent.  There are still ripe raspberries, thimbleberries, and the rose hips are ready, so please come on up and enjoy them.  The August Moon is also known as "when Indian corn is edible",  "end of the fruit", "drying up", "feather shedding", "berry", and "young ducks begin to fly" month.  The full moon is on the 9th of this month and the new moon is on the 23rd.  Normally the best time to see the Northern Lights is closer to the new moon, but our guests reported seeing them dance in the sky around 2:30 AM last night, go figure.

     August is generally one of our nicest months up here at the end of the Gunflint Trail.  The average daytime high is typically in the mid 70’s, and the nightly low is usually above 50 degrees, with only 3.9" of precipitation on average.  Our Gunflint weather guy Dave reports 2004 was a colder year with the average high temperature of 65 and average low temperature of 45.  Typically the bugs are gone in August and when the kids head back to school towards the middle of the month, things tend to quiet down.  It’s a great time to come up and paddle the Boundary Waters so come on up and see us, before the snow flies!

Like these tidbits of monthly information?  Be sure to check out our Voyageur Calendar for more monthly happenings in the Northwoods.