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Nose for News by Sarah Stultz

I’m trying not to get my hopes up too high, but these warmer temperatures on the seven-day forecast have me daydreaming about spring.

Toward the end of the week, the temperatures are expected to rise to the mid-40s and possibly reach the mid-50s on Sunday and Monday.

After 15 years of living in Minnesota, I may be used to the winters around here, but that doesn’t mean I like them to last forever. So when temperatures reach unseasonably high marks, I’ll take what we can get, although in the back of my head I know it won’t likely stay this way the rest of the month.

Spring has always been my favorite season — it’s one of rebirth, the temperatures are fantastic and, of course, it means my favorite hobby of gardening is right around the corner.

It also means it’s allergy season for me, although I tend to have some form of allergies year-round.

When the weather gets nice, it also gives me an itch to want to travel, to check out something new I haven’t seen before.

An interview I had for the last Albert Lea Magazine has me looking into the North Shore and opportunities along Lake Superior. I’m hoping we can figure something out and squeeze in a trip for a few days.

Last year, all of our trips got canceled because of the pandemic — we were hoping to have a family trip back East, a family reunion in South Dakota and a trip to Florida.

These days I’m just glad for little day trips to the Twin Cities, to Rochester or Mason City. Wow, how things have changed over the last year. 

As I look ahead to spring, I also look forward to open water on the lakes, and the annual ice-out story I have grown to enjoy over the years. The ice-out is also another indication of when spring is around the corner.

Like last year, we will have an ice-out contest in the newspaper where people can guess the date when the last of the ice will melt on Fountain Lake. The people who guess closest to that date will receive prizes.

The contest entry form will be in the paper on Saturday and next Wednesday, and all entries must be turned in by noon on March 12.

I’m not very good at guessing those kinds of things, but I know a lot of you are out there.

Though it’s too soon to tell if spring is here to stay, I hope we can all get out and enjoy the sun this week! I know I’m going to try to add in a few walks into my schedule to soak it up as much as possible!

Sarah Stultz is the managing editor of the Tribune. Her column appears every Wednesday.