February Thaw?

The month began in typical winter fashion...daytime temps at or below zero, breezy, peeks of sun that provided mid day warmth as days grew longer. The second week of February ushered in mild temps in the 30s. A saw whet owl perched in a tree along side Old Main Street watching morning commuters pass beneath. I saw it on my way to Fort Kent on the 9th. Wayne and Grant installed a new cupboard in cabin 1. It gives us lots more storage space this winter and I think our guests will like it come spring. We enjoyed watching the Olympic Games from Vancouver and looked forward to evenings in our cabin seeing all the Olympians compete. We've been cooking up the remainder of last fall's bear meat. We've had stews and loins. The tender, rich meat is a delicious treat at the end of a winter day.

On the 13th Wayne and I took advantage of unseasonable temps and drove over to Spud Speedway in Caribou to watch vintage snowmobile racing. The old sleds, difficult to steer, careened around (and sometimes off) the track providing spectators thrills and spills! We hope these races become part of their regular winter schedule because it was a lot of fun to watch and a great family outing.

Fort Kent hosted our own "Olympics" of sorts, the State Class C ski meets the week of February 15th. We were honored to have Freeport's Marriconeag Waldorf School students, parents, and coach staying with us during the meet. Although the lodge was closed for the winter we couldn't deny "our athletes" the opportunity to watch the Olympics during their stay. Each afternoon we'd fire up the old woodstove so the Marriconeag School skiers could gather 'round the big TV to watch their favorite Olympians compete and to take advantage of our dining room to eat dinner together. While we have a "soft spot" for our local skiers, we couldn't help but hope our friends from southern Maine competed well in Nordic events - Zoe Chase finished 2nd in her class - Nicely done Zoe! Throughout the meet our print shop published an "event newspaper" called "The Pine Journal". We covered the meet with photos and stories from both Lonesome Pine and 10th Mountain venues.

Our skiers departed on Wednesday which gave us a day to clean cabins and get ready for the arrival of our favorite snowmobilers. Duane and Tom Webber (Cundy's Harbor, ME) have become some of our most loyal clients. I grew up with Duane hunting, skiing, and making so many memories over the years that he is more than a friend, he's like a brother as we've shared life's ups and downs. His parents, Ron and Mim Webber, are lovingly called "Aunt Mim and Uncle Ron" although they aren't really relatives. Now Tom, Duane's son, is of another generation adding to the memories and strong bond between friends. Duane graciously agreed to bring Acadia up during their stay so I could spend some "quality time" with my grand daughter. On the 18th they called me at work from Portage so I could meet them at the lodge - perfect timing as I followed them down Old Main Street!

Every one got settled. Acadia found new friends in Duane and Tom and suggested we go check on them. Our visit led to a Chinese checkers game - Tom kicked butt!

Wayne ice fished on the 18th and brought home another fat brook trout. We finished cleaning cabins on the 19th. Acadia played on the lake with Alli and Grace, went sliding, then helped us by hauling bags of trash up to the dumpster with her sled. After we got our work done we took our snowmobiles for a ride to Portage for a late lunch. Other than bare ground in the logging operations, trails were in remarkably good shape given the lack of February snowfall. In Portage we rode through the deer yard and saw about two dozen deer! We continued on to Stockholm and Cross Lake before finishing our 110 mile ride. Acadia was a trooper, preferring to ride two-up behind me. I worried about her falling off but her good balance kept her safely and snuggly behind me, although I had to keep reminding her to hold on around my waist - she was too comfortable back there!

Eagle Lake Winter Riders, led by Pierre Plourde, hosted snowmobile drags on the lake on the 20th. There were hundreds of spectators, most rode in on their own sleds to watch. The club ended up running qualifying and the race on the same day due to worries conditions on the lake would deteriorate the second day. It was an amazing event and huge success - plan on it for next year! That afternoon, after watching the races, Acadia and I ran to Fort Kent for groceries. We watched a fat raccoon cross the road - spring is in the air!

The night before Duane, Tom, and Acadia left we had a marathon of Chinese checkers before bedtime. It was a melancholy morning for me when Acadia, Duane and Tom departed on the 21st. Tom is thinking about going to UMFK to study criminal justice in hopes of becoming a game warden some day. It sure would be a treat to have Tom attend school in Fort Kent!

I took a walk with Alli and Grace on the 28th. The lake is in great shape for snowmobiling, walking, skiing, and ice fishing. Snow in the woods is "rotten", compacted ice granules. When temps are cold it can be walked on, when temps warm it is walked in. I walked through the woods without snowshoes by staying on an old snowmobile track Wayne left a month ago. There the snow was firm enough to walk on. Step off the track and snow was well over my knees!

Although it has been a mild month we've enjoyed our share of winter activities...snowmobiling, ice fishing, sledding, walking on the snow... We better enjoy it now for it will all be slush and mud in another month!