Back into the deep freeze again! It got down to -25· last night, and today it didn't rise above -18·. There was a brisk wind, too. We just get all complacent with the warm weather and put away the long johns, then we are digging them out again! Friday night brought us a little bit of snow, not much more than an inch, but there was enough wind to build some snowbanks. About the first ones we have seen this winter!

I just finished watching the hockey game of the century – Canada vs. the USA for the Olympic Gold Medal. What a game! After all the complaining about officiating during this Olympics, I was watching the referees closely and think they did a great job. No penny-ante stuff, and the penalties were deserved, even to my uneducated eye. I usually only watch about one hockey game a season, and what a one to pick!

School break for a lot of school units this past week, so the Park has been busy. Last night after dark, we watched the lights of ten or fifteen snow machines crossing the lake, more or less together. The Cove has been jumping!

Yesterday, we drove to Tisdale and then to Hudson Bay. It was Aaron's birthday so we took the family out for supper. The Timberline, just west of town on #3 Highway, consistently puts out an excellent meal.

We have always considered #3 highway one of the good ones, but I see it is developing a lot of potholes. It's as if holes are forming in a top layer of asphalt, because they all seem about an inch deep, just enough to be annoying, but not serious. If they get #23 finished between Bjorkdale and Crooked River this summer, we will have pretty good roads west, but going east from Porcupine…. there are a couple of stretches of #23 that are horrible! There are several good grids running north from #23 to #3 though, so we have alternatives.

We saw a dead moose in the ditch of #3 highway yesterday; it looked as if one side was hairless. Someone at the Cove mentioned seeing a moose with most of its hair gone, due to ticks. I gather that is one of the drawbacks of a mild winter – the ticks are active. Moose are weakened by exposure and loss of blood, and when a cold snap comes, they can't handle it. A few years ago, it was almost epidemic in the Park, but we haven't heard much about it recently until this year. Once the sloughs break up, the moose can submerge themselves and drown out the ticks, but that's a long way in the future!

Another trouble that Nature throws in the way of our wildlife population is mange. It affects coyotes and wolves, and there is nothing sadder than a coyote with almost all its hair gone on a bitterly cold day. Every one we have seen this winter has been in good shape, and we hope it stays that way.