Spring Comes to Duluth!

The last two weeks I have really been seeing the signs of spring arriving in our town. The snow is melting, even up here over the hill, where it lingers forever. There have been years where we’ve had piles of snow in our front yard in the beginning of May and we need to go shovel it to get rid of it! This winter we didn’t have as much snow, so the snow left faster. Our back yard is even free of the snow and of the lake of water that usually accumulates after the snow leaves. The middle of April and all the snow is gone! In fact, on Saturday, my husband and son raked the yard and the flower beds. Things are all set for the “greening”. We could use some steady rain to bring the green a bit faster. We did get some today, the morning started rainy and we thought we’d have a rainy day, but it cleared up and the sun came out. (Not that we are complaining about the sun!).

On my drive to work, my route takes me along Lake Superior each day. Its fun to see how each day the lake can look different. Yesterday morning the temperature was 48 degrees and it was sunny. The lake was so beautiful. It was the deep, beautiful shade of blue that I like the best. Oh my, it was pretty. There was an ore boat sitting there also, on its way to the harbor. On the way home, the temperature was about the same, except there was no sun, it was dreary and the water reflected that dreariness. The water was gray with just a hint of blue tinge, and there were lots of white caps. There were two ore boats in the harbor. A sure sign of spring!

I read Sam Cook ** in the Duluth News Tribune. He does a weekly column and it’s always interesting.This week he wrote about “Nature, mankind unleashed”. He told how every morning on his route to work his is now “seeing runners, chugging up Woodland Avenue, barreling along Fourth Street and bouncing along the lakewalk.” To quote Sam, “This is an amazing season in the North, unleashing pent-up endorphins in humans and fostering events worth of awe in the natural world.” He also talks about how we mark spring with the ice being off the lake, the calling of spring peepers, the migration of ducks and hearing the call of the loon.

Last week I was able to walk 4 times at the Rose Garden by the lake on London Road. The Rose Garden isn’t too pretty now, but when those roses come out of hibernation and the green shows up, it’s going to be a great place to walk around in. I thought I’d start now, so I really appreciate it when it’s beautiful. I’m starting small, walking in circles there, so I can get my legs built up for walking on the Lakewalk when the weather gets really nice.

Now, I’m waiting for the green to come out on the trees. We won’t see that till May, but one day, things will look dull, no leaves, then the very next day we will see the leaves coming out on the trees. AHHH….Spring in Duluth….. We are grateful it is here!

** To read Sam Cook’s column this week and to read previous columns, go to
www.duluth newstribune.com