Well, I guess that’s maybe a bit of an exaggeration. However, I cannot deny that I certainly feel like it is…and I’m not the only one. Probably everyone in the 807 feels the same way. Confused? Have you read this blog before? If not, you better back track and catch up. Just kidding. I’m obviously referring to the weather, which has been a constant topic of conversation for me in the last little while. So the miracle is that spring has finally arrived…a month late! We’re finally seeing some double digit temperatures, melting snow and today the precipitation is rain instead of snow (though we may get a little snow later in the week as the temps are supposed to drop). Who cares though, as the end has arrived and it couldn’t come soon enough.

Beautiful evening, April 2013.

So today is the last day of April. Wow! That means there is only 2 months left of school…some days I wonder if I’m going to make it that far. Holy burnout Batman! I am really feeling it now, but that could be the bit of a cold that I am currently nursing. It certainly isn’t helping the situation. There are just so many things going on right now it’s hard to keep up. Between family, work, football and history stuff, my head is spinning. After 15 years of teaching, I should know that this time of the year is especially crazy. But, it is easy to forget when you’re in the moment.

The warmer weather and the end of the school year are making me think of football. Come again? Football? Isn’t that a fall thing? Yes, it certainly is, but times they are a changin’. Football, like many other sports, is becoming a year-round endeavour. The season ends in November, but soon after Christmas we start with our off-season workout schedule (which I supervise once a week). In a few weeks the coaches from the University of Minnesota-Duluth (UMD) will be coming up for a weekend camp which requires us to give out equipment. Finally, I’ve already started planning this year’s edition of our annual spring camp, which takes place in June. Hard to start thinking about x’s and o’s when there’s still snow on the ground 😉

The railway has been very busy as usual, but I was thinking that I haven’t done much research in a long time. I did manage to squeeze in a presentation over the weekend. I always love to talk about the railway, and never pass up an opportunity to promote it and my work. About a month ago I was contacted by a gentleman named Dave who asked if I could come and speak to a men’s group he belongs to. So I found myself up early on Saturday morning (it was tough to get up at 7) and making my way to St. Paul’s Anglican Church. Everything went well, especially since I only had 45 minutes to deliver information that usually takes more than an hour.

As has been the norm lately, most of my time has revolved around the Historical Society. We have a board meeting coming up in a few weeks and there’s a lot to prepare before that happens. I’ve been working with a former student to overhaul our website, and also trying to get the spring edition of the society newsletter ready to send out. Wow, holy craziness! And that is in addition to the work on the North-Gunflint Lakes Historic Corridor (what we’re calling it)-hopefully I’ll have some news about that by the end of the week.

My final news this week is in regards to my article on the ghost town of Leeblain. My work is currently being reviewed, while I unsuccessfully attempt to find a mapmaker. I’d love to include a map with the article, but I’ve never created a digital map in my life. I’ve been struggling to find someone who can help me out, but my search so far has come up empty. I may have to bite the bullet, put my geography minor to the test and try my hand at cartography. I fiddled around a bit last night, making some headway but also dealing with a lot of frustration. Why can’t anything ever be easy?

Anyway, time to go. I’m tired and need to get some sleep….lots of work to do! More to say next week as usual. Until then…