Freaky early spring in the North Woods

Alder catkins at Bear Head Lake State Park. March 24, 2012. Note open water.

It's March, and the frogs are calling outside Ely. The ice is off all but the biggest lakes. Nearly every sign of spring is coming a full month early. It's as if winter never happened, which is sort of true.

Leftover lake ice stack on the shore after break-up, Bear Head Lake.

Finally by the end of February the weather got as cold and snowy as a typical late November...and then on March 1 we jumped right past winter to weather more like May.


Of course the lakes opened up early; they hardly even froze. Of course the snow is all gone; we hardly even had snow on the ground.


The woods are already drying up. Streams are already running low. It's freaky and I just don't like it.