APRIL FOOLS?

It's spring in The County, and it's SNOWING! April Fools Joke? Nope, just more of the "same old, same old" this morning. The good news is, by mid morning it changed to drizzle, then rain, and our high temp was nearly 40, so spring really is coming to us here in the north. You might think we're all tired of the snow, but no, we are celebrating - we have SHATTERED the old snowfall record of 180" and have now received over 220" of snow this season! To celebrate and officially say good-bye to winter I am working with Darlene Kelly-Dumond (Bee Jay's, and Fort Kent Muskie Derby) to plan The World's Largest Snow Plow Parade. It will feature every kind of snow removal equipment imaginable from as far away as Allagash, Portage, Madawaska, and points in between. The Fort Kent Lions Club is sponsoring a cookout following the parade. Between now and then, who knows what other whacky fun stuff will be planned! The parade will begin at 2:00 p.m. on April 19th, on Market Street in Fort Kent.

So, what does one do to celebrate spring when there's 5' of snow on the ground? Start getting ready for another season! We got a great deal on dining room chairs at Mardens; the price was too good to pass up so we bought 25; they're cushioned with red "pleather" on a black metal frame. I've ordered new tablecloths to compliment the red chairs, green plaid curtains mom made, and "honey toned" logs of the lodge. I painted the bar "barn red". Wayne will be installing new globe light fixtures soon - we'll cover the brass finish with flat black paint to compliment our wrought iron lamps and other metal elements (we've been watching too many home decorating shows!) Finally, we'll replace the bartop with a slab of heavily urethaned wood and remove the old carpet. We hope we can simply sand the floor boards beneath and urethane them for a fresh, new look in the dining room!

We spent all last weekend cleaning the kitchen, from top to bottom! It's an annual event we look forward to...we scrubbed, swept, vacuumed, mopped, weeded out junk, and orgainzed shelves. A winter's-worth of dullness has been washed away. The kitchen is now sparkling clean for us to prepare meals for our spring fishermen...next up...the living room...

Another sign of spring are the various sportsman shows being held throughout New England. We attended the Pine Tree State show in Wilton, ME over Easter weekend. We had a ball visiting with friends and clients from "down state": Northwoods Sporting Journal staff; NAVHDA Sebasticook Chapter members; Arnold Rice and "the boys" from the Phippsburg Sportsmans Club; Dave Paquet (Allagash Sporting Camps); Jim Carter (Munsungan Hunting and Fishing Club); Lila and Carroll Ware (Fins and Furs Adventures); Bill Saiff and his crew members Larry and Dave (Bill Saiff Charters, NY); "Max Trap" family; Russ and Carole Dyer (Ruffed Grouse Society, Bowdoinham, ME); Glen Rodgers and Gerald York (Bailey and Great Islands, ME); Don and Janice McPherson (Mexico, ME); and many more! We were blessed with a booth directly across the aisle from the Phippsburg Sportsmans Club - the guys made perfect moving targets when Wayne returned to our booth with a "blow gun" that shoots marshmallows! Arnold, DUCK! I gave a presentation on hunting bears over bait. We celebrated Larry's "156th" birthday, or something like that. He is often selected (embarressed) by fellow diners when we request waitstaff sing him "happy birthday" - it's an annual event after a day at the show. The weekend of April 5th and 6th we will be exhibiting at the Presque Isle show.

Wayne has shoveled all the snow off all the roofs again in anticipation of rain. Of course this is the 5th or 6th time he's done it this winter! But rain is a sign of spring so he happily completes the chore, hopefully for the last time.

Alli (our German shorthaired pointer) had lost weight over the last few weeks of winter. We were concerned...until we snowshoed up the hill, following her well-worn path, to discover she's been up there chasing rabbits! She's run herself ragged for hours at a time in hot pursuit. We almost missed the fir trees in the meadow; they are burried. All we could see as reminders of their presence were little clusters of buds sticking out of the snow. I'm looking forward to walking up there with Acadia this summer to show her how high the snow was.

Squirrels have exhausted their winter cache and crows are more active now. Daily, we watch a pair of crows carring twigs for a nest. Last week the dogs chased a red squirrel in to the lodge when they spotted it feeding on bird seed! They chased the squirrel across the deck outside just as Wayne opened the door from inside...the squrrel ducked in, between Wayne's legs. He shut the door just in time to close the squirrel in and dogs out. He "hunted" it down in the lodge for 20 minutes...under furniture, behind the TV, up the logs, across the beams...before cornering it in my office (which explains why I came home to find pictures down and papers scattered!)

We're looking forward to hosting another Guide School, beginning April 30. We contract with Lila and Carroll Ware to instruct the course. We provide meals and lodging. Every year we make new friends and watch as another group strive to become Maine Guides and hopefully wear "the patch" with pride.

As I update the journal this evening, the lodge is shrouded in fog. We can't see much beyond the windows and it is much like being in a blizzard. But tonight it is not blinding winter snow obscuring the far shore and Oak Point from view... The days are longer, our snow is wet and heavy now, icicles drip in the mid-day sun...These things all mean "spring" to us, and a dwindling supply of wood...