Mostly About Lake Ice

Sunday January 31, 2010. Before anything else, an urgent reminder for my fellow-husbands: Valentine's Day is two weeks away. There's still time to get your wife something thoughtful. (I'm set: my wife knows my limitations - she told me what would be thoughtful.)

Okay. What's been happening here in Sauk Centre?

Cold. Snow. Ice. And Ice fishing.


Road to the ice fishing huts on Sauk Lake. January 29, 2010.

Minnesota is in that part of the world where water is a mineral for part of the year. That road is lake ice on Sauk Lake,east of Highway 71, by the bridge north of town. Right now, it's safe: and I've yet to hear of someone breaking through up there.

I'll say this for living in a slightly extreme climate: it encourages situational awareness and common sense.

Let's take a closer look at that photo:


A little village of fishing huts: and probably more around the bend. January 29, 2010.

There's a signboard on the landward side of that ice road, with official notices that are, by and large, more appropriate to the part of the year where unattended water is in its liquid state.


That "Exotic Species Alert" is important, but I've sometimes felt a sort of admiration for new species that survive a winter here. January 29, 2010.

Finally, a plug for my webcam's blog: Small Town America: Minnesota. You'll see live streaming video from near the corner of South Ash Street and 9th. I think it's the first on-the-street webcam in Sauk Centre, with 24/7 coverage. Apart from a few minutes interruption now and again, of course. Or, in the case of that power outage and some of my more spectacular technical issues, an hour or more.