Is this October?

    The thermometer hasn’t fallen below 60 degrees in the past 24 hours and it doesn’t feel like October outside.  There are still leaves on the trees, flowers blooming and canoeists paddling by the dock.  What great weather to be out in the canoe country camping.

     The only thing some people might consider a downside to the weather is the rain.  We received another .16 inch of rain yesterday and the sky is cloudy today.  With the temperature as warm as it is we won’t be seeing snow flurries any time soon.  It isn’t unusual for there to be a good dumping of the white stuff in October.

     October usually includes an inch or two of snow for the Gunflint Trail.  In 2006 we had a nice dumping of over 6.5 inches and in 2003 we received over 9 inches of snow.  October snow rarely sticks around which is kind of a bummer.  It sure would be nice to be able to cross country ski in November!

     I’ll have to keep my hiking boots handy and keep my skis in the closet for a little while longer.  And if this warm weather sticks around I might just have to think about swimming in the river again before it freezes over.