Spring is creeping back into our northland. As the temperatures begin to slowly climb above freezing we anticipate the ‘ice out’ in our ponds, lakes and rivers.
We have a creek that runs several hundred yards in front of our house and this time of the year as the snow begins to melt I can stick my head out of our front door a hear the roar of the water churning and tumbling as it makes it’s way to Lake Traverse and finally to the Red River of the North.
Ice outs have been a part of my life for nearly seventy-five years now. It’s a process that promises the arrival of spring and we look forward to it.
My first experience with ice outs occurred on our home farm. We had a slough behind our barn. As a farm kid the slough provided us much entertainment. We hunted ducks there, trapped muskrat and mink, and spent hours exploring it’s shoreline.
In the fall we awaited the first sheets of ice to form because when that occurred we knew old man winter was about to make his appearance. The arrival of winter brought along with it the anticipation of blizzards and blizzards guaranteed unscheduled vacation days from school. What kid didn’t look forward to that? 🙂
As the sheets of ice formed we had to test the ice’s strength by seeing which brother could venture out the furthest without breaking through the ice and putting a boot into the freezing water. And if one was really unfortunate both boots would break through the ice simultaneously and be submerged. Fortunately we stayed close to the shoreline so the worst thing that happened was that both boots filled with freezing pond water which made for a miserable walk back to the house.
One early winter the ice froze especially smooth so my two brothers, my sister and I donned our ice skates. We were having a wonderful time until my brother Tom took a tumble, hit his head on the ice and lay unconscious for several minutes.
That’s my first memory of hearing the word ‘concussion’ as my Mom conversed with the doctor on the phone.
We never skated on the slough ice again. Instead we built snow forts, dug snow tunnels and pelted each other with snowballs. And during chore time corn cob fights would occasionally break out! To this day I can’t ice skate and have no urge to try. 🙂
Ice out on a slough is not very dramatic. As the snow melts the water runs into the slough and speeds up the melting of the slough ice. The ice takes on a darkened color and becomes covered with slush. And then just like that the ice is gone and the slough is ready for the arrival of ducks, geese and other water birds.
If you want drama during an ice out you need to leave the sloughs and find a creek or river to provide that drama.That’s exactly what I did when I finished college and took a teaching job in Wheaton. After several years Kathie and I purchase eight acres in the country, eight acres that were bordered on one side by a creek.
The creek dumped it’s contents into the Mustinka River about a half mile from our house. So I have experienced the drama of ice outs on both a creek and a river for the last thirty-nine years.
An ice out on a slough is’ baby play’ compared to creek or river ice outs. As I began this blog I described the roar of the water and ice chunks as they careened down the creek in front of our house.
The amazing thing is that simultaneously as the ice and freezing water head for Lake Traverse the Northern Pike are swimming upstream beneath the raging ice flows sometimes for miles in search of spawning grounds. Once completing the spawn the fish will return to the lake except for those fish that are trapped upstream because of falling water levels.
The drama increases as the water from the streams enter the Mustinka River. The ice covering the river begins to float and pull free from the river banks. Soon chains of miniature icebergs fill the river channel.
The huge slabs of ice grind and push against each other. The river continues to rise and during extremely wet springs the ice chunks will actually damage or even destroy bridges spanning the river.
The moving water and ice chunks tear away at the river banks causing portions of the bank to collapse into the churning water. Each spring the river banks are remodeled by the force of water and ice.
It is not unusual once the water recedes back into the river channel to see huge sheets of ice several feet thick littering the farm fields abandoned by the receding waters. However the strengthening rays of the spring sun quickly returns the ice chunks to their normal liquid state.
Ice out is an exciting time for folks living near streams and rivers. Several times a day whole families jump into the family car and take a tour of the over flowing river and stream banks and “ooh” and “aah” at the waters depth and power.
Back to the sloughs of my growing up years this kind of excitement did not exist. Watching slough ice break up was similar to watching paint dry, to coin an old phrase. 🙂
But when you were a ten year old kid and the slough behind the barn was showing signs of surrendering to the spring warmth that was exciting. There was no traffic traveling down your gravel road filled with curious people viewing the slow melting process however.
It was an excitement you shared with your siblings and it was a promise for the arrival of spring and new life.
But that’s enough discussion on ice outs for now.
There’s a creek that runs right down the middle of our local golf course. I’m going to jump into my Jeep and drive over and check on it’s draining progress. I’m just hoping t-off box number eight is still there, both bridges crossing the creek are intact and green number seven isn’t under water.
The excitement I experienced standing by the barn and viewing the disappearance of slough ice has been replaced by my concern for the health of my summer exercise program, the Wheaton Golf Course! 🙂
Until next time.
