btb01
Gold Member
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2008
- Messages
- 7,687
In my recent posts in the Adventures of Pearl thread, while Pearl was visiting us here in Minnesota, I shared a few photos of Lake Minnetonka, and mentioned the impending ice-out for the lake. As I mentioned in the thread, ice-out on Minnetonka is determined by the Sheriff's department and the Freshwater Society; once they are able to navigate all areas of the lake without obstruction from remaining ice, they will declare ice-out.
Ice-out dates on Minnetonka (which have been recorded since 1855) range from mid-March to early-May, with most years falling in the middle of April. The last two years were quite early (March 27th, 2017 and March 17th, 2016). This year, however, the ice stuck around much longer than normal. Ice-out was finally declared today around noon, which meant that this year's ice-out date tied for Minnetonka's record latest ice-out -- a record that was set over 160 years ago on May 5th, 1857!
Now, I have to admit, I don't know if this sort of thing interests other folks at all. Perhaps those of you who live in Minnesota or any other area where lakes and other waterways freeze every winter are so used to it that you hardly give this sort of thing a second thought. But for an Arkansan who grew up around lakes that never froze, and who just moved to Minnesota from the Arizona desert, this sort of thing is pretty fascinating. I mean, the fact that you can drive your full size pickup truck out onto a frozen lake in winter to do a little fishing is just incredible! (Not that I was comfortable enough with the idea to drive my truck out there just yet... maybe next year.
)
One of the reasons I was most excited about moving to Minnesota was that I would be living near lakes again (and lots of 'em!). It was one thing that I really missed about home while living out in Arizona. And while the frozen lakes full of trucks and cars were fascinating when we got to Minnesota in January, now that they've thawed and actually look like lakes, I'm even more excited about living near water again.
So, to celebrate this year's record-tying ice-out date on Lake Minnetonka (and that fact that I'm just happy to be living near water again), I want to do a giveaway for everyone here on the Porch.
First, here are The Rules:
GEC's Farm & Field Tool #71 Bull Nose is one of my favorite pocket knives. I have several of them in a variety of handle materials. I was excited about adding the Muslin Micarta from this year's run, but somehow I missed the boat on the early reserve from the site I normally would have ordered it from. Thankfully, I managed to snag a pre-order from another site... a fact that I managed to momentarily forget when the Muslin Micarta Bull Nose showed up for sale on the original site I would have reserved it from. Long story short, I've got two of 'em, and I'm giving one of 'em away to one of you.
(We had quite a nice day here today, but right about the time I went out to take these photos, it decided to start raining. I suppose, given the theme of this GAW, it's somewhat fitting. Rest assured that I promptly dried and oiled the knife after we came in from our slightly damp photo shoot.)
And, finally, my own contribution, a few photos of Lake Minnetonka. I won't lengthen this post anymore by reposting photos that I already shared in the Pearl thread, but if you're interested, there are some photos there of Minnetonka three weeks ago (when it was still completely covered in ice) and one week ago (when it was starting to thaw). Here are a couple new photos, taken today at the little park down at the end of our street.
Ice-out dates on Minnetonka (which have been recorded since 1855) range from mid-March to early-May, with most years falling in the middle of April. The last two years were quite early (March 27th, 2017 and March 17th, 2016). This year, however, the ice stuck around much longer than normal. Ice-out was finally declared today around noon, which meant that this year's ice-out date tied for Minnetonka's record latest ice-out -- a record that was set over 160 years ago on May 5th, 1857!
Now, I have to admit, I don't know if this sort of thing interests other folks at all. Perhaps those of you who live in Minnesota or any other area where lakes and other waterways freeze every winter are so used to it that you hardly give this sort of thing a second thought. But for an Arkansan who grew up around lakes that never froze, and who just moved to Minnesota from the Arizona desert, this sort of thing is pretty fascinating. I mean, the fact that you can drive your full size pickup truck out onto a frozen lake in winter to do a little fishing is just incredible! (Not that I was comfortable enough with the idea to drive my truck out there just yet... maybe next year.
)One of the reasons I was most excited about moving to Minnesota was that I would be living near lakes again (and lots of 'em!). It was one thing that I really missed about home while living out in Arizona. And while the frozen lakes full of trucks and cars were fascinating when we got to Minnesota in January, now that they've thawed and actually look like lakes, I'm even more excited about living near water again.
So, to celebrate this year's record-tying ice-out date on Lake Minnetonka (and that fact that I'm just happy to be living near water again), I want to do a giveaway for everyone here on the Porch.
First, here are The Rules:
- Share a photo of any body of water that you live near or have visited. Ocean, lake, pond, river, stream, creek (or "crick"), golf course water hazard, drainage canal... doesn't matter. Just post a photo, and maybe tell us a little bit about it. If you like to fish, boat, swim, hike, camp, etc. in or on or near that body of water, maybe tell us about that, too.
- If you have (or can take) a photo of a traditional knife with the body of water, even better. If not, please post a separate photo of a traditional knife. If it's water-related (like a knife you keep in your tackle box), that's great, but it doesn't have to be. I just want to make sure we have some knife content here, as well.
- I'll open this up to anyone who has contributed here on The Porch. Let's say at least 25 posts in traditionals as of the start of this GAW.
- I'll gladly ship anywhere in the world as long as you meet the criteria above, so everyone is welcome (and encouraged) to participate, regardless of where you live.
- Lastly, I considered instituting a no-"not an entry" rule, but honestly, I'd rather have folks contribute and not enter the GAW than abstain, so if you're not interested in the knife, or already have one, but would like to contribute a post anyways, then by all means, please do so.
GEC's Farm & Field Tool #71 Bull Nose is one of my favorite pocket knives. I have several of them in a variety of handle materials. I was excited about adding the Muslin Micarta from this year's run, but somehow I missed the boat on the early reserve from the site I normally would have ordered it from. Thankfully, I managed to snag a pre-order from another site... a fact that I managed to momentarily forget when the Muslin Micarta Bull Nose showed up for sale on the original site I would have reserved it from. Long story short, I've got two of 'em, and I'm giving one of 'em away to one of you.
(We had quite a nice day here today, but right about the time I went out to take these photos, it decided to start raining. I suppose, given the theme of this GAW, it's somewhat fitting. Rest assured that I promptly dried and oiled the knife after we came in from our slightly damp photo shoot.
)
And, finally, my own contribution, a few photos of Lake Minnetonka. I won't lengthen this post anymore by reposting photos that I already shared in the Pearl thread, but if you're interested, there are some photos there of Minnetonka three weeks ago (when it was still completely covered in ice) and one week ago (when it was starting to thaw). Here are a couple new photos, taken today at the little park down at the end of our street.
.
