I snuck out last night to watch the full moon rise over Lake Superior and was surprised to find ice. That's right frozen blocks of water lingering on the shore of the world's largest lake on May 2nd. You have to love northern Minnesota where it is winter for nearly eight months each year.

Ice this late in the season isn't really that unusual. A few years ago Grand Marais harbor froze over with a thin skin of ice on May first. In June of '96 I was biking about two hours north of here and found large drifts of snow tucked in several shady spots. Still, talk to any local and they will definitely remark how our temperatures are changing. Winters have been progressively warming.

I had a fun time on the road last week with stops in Milwaukee Wisc., Lanesboro and St. Cloud Minn. I managed to participate in the Whitefish Bay eighth grader's Earth Day festival and kick off Eagle Bluff Environmental Learning Center's sustainability fundraising campaign.

Back in northern Minnesota, I am enjoying my time gazing at the stars, waiting for summer and watching the last remnants of ice disappear. Oh yea, I'm also cleaning chimneys, but that's a story for my next update.