Spring!!!

[Mihun09]

I could paddle the ditches or fields here, that is about the only open water.

Reported on MyCCR that around Lac Du Bonnet, most likely the Winnipeg River, March 31st, 5 feet of ice!

 

[Mihun09]

Still 4 feet of snow in the backyard, haven't seen a robin yet, but I did, see, a MOSQUITO!

 

[yellowcanoe]

Still 4 feet of snow in the backyard, haven't seen a robin yet, but I did, see, a MOSQUITO!

Same here. Not four feet of snow but the lake still has ice and there is about 18 inches in the woods.. They have a LOT of standing water to make whoopee in!

 

[memaquay]

Easily three feet of snow on the ground, a snow storm raging right now, -18 two nights ago, and the dang ants are coming into the house! Arghhhh!

 

[Guest]

I was bothered by the first mosquitoes of the season last week. Darned things were high up amongst the rafters of a horse arena, where a buddy and I were doing some carpentry repairs. Does that count as a sign of spring? I dunno.
Our family's Good Friday walk was a resounding success. The river side trail we followed showed few signs of spring, except for flooding and the early green shoots of Skunk Cabbage. Not much colour yet.
My backyard bulbs are starting to show promise of more colourful things to come. It'll be nice to see something other than grey and brown, after months of white.
My brother bought, and dropped off a ditch plough at my place. It looks suspiciously like a snow plough to me. It better not jinx this long awaited spring, or when he comes by to pick it up, he'll find my brand new/old lawn ornament instead.

 

[Marten]

Enjoyed a great paddle upstream on the Sugar River in northern Illinois yesterday. WOW, it was good to get back on the water.

 

[LF_tripper]

Here in southern Manitoba the Red River is open as the ice has moved north to Selkirk. The Selkirk canoe club is paddling on Cook's creek in east Selkirk already, but I don't think there is anywhere else to canoe that is safe except for ditches. Today was the best weather of 2014: +14 C, sunny with no wind. The birds are back; pelicans, cormorants, herons , ducks, geese, robins, red winged blackbirds, bald eagles, and other hawks like this merlin, of which I managed to get a few pictures.

But the pics will have to wait because there is a problem......

 

[Mihun09]

Snowing, sigh.

 

[Mihun09]

Not quite here yet... still snow in the yard and cool. Much like last year we are about a month behind schedule with April weather in May. Ice out in 2 weeks for the long weekend?

 

[icedragonmx]

If it was open water for the long weekend that would be great!

 

[red langford]

I'm still going with the 13th here. But spent the first of my days off packing for a trip next week. Ice out or not I'm getting out in the bush. Had my first backyard fire tonight listening to Randy Bachman and Olger Peterson, okay so it snowed a little bit but it is still full on spring here. Very little snow left, while last weekend we attempted a ice fishing trip and ran into corn snow that was too deep to make travel possible.

 

[red langford]

It will be gone on the 13th here. The seagulls told me that.

 

[Marten]

It will be gone on the 13th here. The seagulls told me that.

That is music to my ears! I am heading up to my cabin near the MN,- Ont. border and will wait for a sat. phone call confirming that a plane can land on WCPP waters.

 

[red langford]

Marten, I may have been lied to by those seagulls.
Monday I drove out to Lund Lake. My Taco did well but on Monday there were spots on the road with well over a foot of corn snow. There were other spots that were pretty mucky, and I figure it was the frozen ground underneath that prevented me from getting bogged down too badly. And every lake between here and there was still frozen. But that was 5 days ago. Today it rained all day, and then the sun came out this evening. Tomorrow is forecast sun and +18C and that will do some serious damage to the already darkened ice. The indicator pond opened yesterday, and that is usually around 10 days before Howey Bay.
Now there has been enough snow gone that I have been walking the trails in the woods behind the house and even today there is still a few patches of snow, and the ground is still frozen rock solid in most places under the first few inches of muck. It sure has been nice to get out there and smell the dirt again. It's been a long cold winter.
So I am thinking you will be able to land a plane in the park by the 19th for sure. Maybe a few of the larger lakes will still be iced over for a few more days.

 

[Cronje]

Thanks for the weather update. It was 91F here today. Sometimes I forget that everyone isn't looking for the shade.

 

[memaquay]

Rivers are beginning to open up around here, but lakes are still covered. Next weekend is the long weekend when walleye season opens, and I'm pretty sue most lakes will still have ice.

 

[Mihun09]

Beautiful Day!!! Low 70's in the shade. It would be nice if it never got warmer than this but Manitoba will throw some heat eventually. Snow is gone from the yard but it still sits in places in the bush. NASA's Modis satelite imaging shows most lakes are still frozen here, the Winnipeg River is open as are smaller streams/rivers in the south, but it looks to be a while still for ice out. Good thing I don't listen to the seagulls.

 

[Mihun09]

Snowing. 6C today, -4 overnight, ice out???

 

[red langford]

Feel fortunate mihun, we had 6 inches yesterday, it almost all melted but then woke this morning to another covering and temps below freezing again.

I don't mind the cold nights at all. Actually I wish every night all sumer reached single digits, but enough with the @#$%ing snow! The river is open enough to go for a proper paddle but the wet snow all day yesterday and the strong winds made me think better of the idea.

 

[Mihun09]

There is open water in some southern areas, smaller rivers are flowing and east of the big lakes and within 4 hours drive it appears to all be open. Still, the big lakes and further north all have hard water so it is very late this year. I'm glad I don't live further north but still, the closest lakes still show green ice on them.

It was beautiful yesterday and spring has finally arrived with day time temps in the upper teens and low 20's through next weekend. 24C next Saturday?