Day 16.

I'm officially halfway through with my stay. As I write this, two bald eagles are perched on the edge of the ice by the river channel, watching the open water. They're the two tiny dots you can see in the photo above. It's a clever way to fish. Go America.

Jeff left for North Dakota after a couple days of hangin', drinkin' grillin', philosophical chattin' and other assorted dudery, him having listened to me yammer on about various subjects because I hadn't spoken to anyone in so long. Our first night, we did up some ribeyes, then went for a walk on the lake in the dark. It was quite mild out, and fog was rolling in. We walked probably a quarter-mile out or so, then looked around, seeing only the lights of the cabin, what looked like a permanent ice-house and the glow of lights past the horizon. With the mist, it was really quite eerie. Then we went back to the cabin and drank Canadian whiskey until late.

Yesterday, we took a little day trip to Itasca and the Mississippi headwaters and then through Bemidji, where we got a bite to eat at the same bar I'd been to before. On the way back, we saw what might be the most awesome thing ever: a roadkilled deer being eaten by a bald eagle. I crept up in the van and managed to grab a few pictures as the eagle flapped away. We later saw a roadkilled wolf, as well, which was sort of sad.

Jeff had brought out some North Dakota lamb, which we grilled with peppers and apples. This was unbelievably awesome, and a recipe I should remember.

The lake is really opening up. The open water in the river channel is widening by the hour, and the ice is retreating onto the lake. It's really quite neat to watch, and there's definitely been more wildlife activity as things warm up. We're supposed to get some rain today and tomorrow, which will make short work of the snow.