Season of Winter

The daylight hours are short, many days of cloud cover and turbulent weather fronts, and only the moon phases providing relief from the many hours of darkness. Stars in the darkness on frigid clear sky nights are an array of diamonds----seemingly within finger tip reach only to be recognized as being as far away as infinity. The forested landscape is as black as pitch with an occasional crack of frozen moisture in the tree branches---branches stretching for the darkness. There is wonder in a Chippewa Flowage night sky and woodlands----quiet solitude, still with stature, crisp textures, peaceful embrace, and always a sudden chill of wonder-----a time to allow memories to spin.

During the daylight hours you can observe the snowshoe hare almost turned completely white, a red fox on the road looking for road kill, an Eagle perched in a skeleton of a tree near open water on the Flowage---gazing for a lunch, have you ever observed a red squirrel walk?, a breathing hole in wind fall near a fallen tree-could it be a bear den?, a black squirrel crashing the glass on a bird feeder, visually trying to catch up to the flight of a Piliated Wood Pecker, a shoreline mink, wintering birds darting back and forth between seeds and suet on a bird feeder----Cardinal, Redpoll, Finch, Downy Woodpecker, Blue Jay, Junco, Chickadee, Nuthatch, Grosbeak, Tree Sparrow, Siskin----and maybe a grouse.

In the darkness of the woods and our frozen Chippewa Flowage come the nocturnal images and sounds of the night-----the now slow moving Whitetail, a Fisher on the hunt, a crafty Bobcat, a pack of howling Coyotes, flying squirrels, listening to tunneling voles, the hooting of a near by owl-----and the rare possibility of sighting a wolf, elk, or cougar in the beam of your headlights.

Quiet, peaceful, still, restful, chilling, and compelling---during the long winter months the Flowage provides many incentives for activity; snowshoeing, snowmobiling, Nordic skiing, hiking, birding, photo opportunities-----embrace the Chippewa Flowage in the winter.

There are sights and sounds not heard in the summer months---the roar of an ice auger, a wood burning fire pit on a cold winter night, cheering children on a down hill snow slide, contrails in the sky and a passing jet liner, a pack of snowmobiles on the move, the sight of a dog sled team crashing thru deep snow-----another wonderful part of our "up north" winter to take pleasure in.

Join in on the excitement and thrills of winter-----deal with the outdoor elements of the season on the Chippewa Flowage.