Open Water Anyone?

Dark is good, light is not and I’m not talking about chicken meat.  I’m talking about the ice on the Seagull River and the other lakes of the Gunflint Trail and northern Minnesota. As you can see from the photos below by April 21, 2012 there was no ice left on the river and the earth was free of snow except for the dusting received the night before. This year the river is still very white with just a little bit of dark next to our docks, the first place for open water to appear. Last year we didn’t have open water by this time either but it was a very late ice out and by the looks of it we’re in for another late ice out. However, anything could happen and a hot sun, hard rain and lots of wind at the right time can speed up the process. My best guess is you can hold off asking, “Is the ice off of Sag yet?” until after the 10th of May.