Drip Drop: Winter is breaking in the North Woods

The woods came alive today with sun and warmth. Birds were noisier than they’ve been in months and their songs paired perfectly with the steady drips of melting snow.

With temperatures in the low 60’s, I grabbed my lawn chair and sat in shorts and a t-shirt and soaked up every ounce of sunshine that I could. The dirty dishes, piles of laundry, and dog hair would have to wait.

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Both boys played hard in the wet snow while Trigger laid down to cool off.

We came back to the woods yesterday after a visit Downeast. The Realty Road looked nothing like it did the day I left. For some reason I’ve never been mudding. That is, before yesterday. The boys giggled in the back seat, loving the pulling of the mud and the giant puddles that jumped up on their windows. It was pretty smooth riding once we reached Pratt Lake, where all other vehicle tracks ended and ours were the only ones going in the rest of the way.

Maybe winter is really on it’s way out? A sign at the beginning of the Realty Road yesterday said it will now be closed from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Logging trucks will run primarily at night, taking advantage of every bit of hard road left.

I’ve had lots of people tell me that I should take the boys and stay Downeast for the spring thaw, because it will be much harder to get out once everything is melted, running, and flooding. I can’t help but keep going back to the stubborn part of my brain that reminds me that not many people have been able to or ever will see a spring thaw at Clayton Lake. I will stay, simply because I can!

Rianne Ackley

About Rianne Ackley

I grew up in Downeast Maine but have recently relocated to the North Woods. I live in Clayton Lake where I am a stay at home Mom to two beautifully wild little boys and wife to a Maine State Game Warden. I am a lover of the simple things in life...a good book, a song, a rainy day, a bowl of white popcorn, etc. I have a slight obsession with all things food. Love cooking it, eating it, looking at it, smelling it, reading about it, etc. I am a firm believer that life is what you make it.