...we might hope.

The Nik/Der/Ru contingent were able to get away, amidst snow showers and after more shoveling, and make it back to Mpls/St.P.

On the back roads to and from Fort, hundreds of birds along the shoulders, drawn, I think, by a bit of bare ground. On little Cravath Lake in downtown Whitewater many waterfowl, including gulls, mergansers, a loon, and others I didn't recognize. I suspect that a great many birds, especially those on the move, got stalled by the storm. We might hope that the storm did not result in high levels of avian mortality (or in plain English, that it didn't kill too many birds). Worried about those sandhills that went north weeks ago.

Here's the reply from Therese to my question, "How are things on Manitoulin":

Bad. But we are lucky to have power. Ice storm yesterday and snowstorm today. No going out on the roads. May have to get driveway plouged again! Cra-zee! Solar panels coated in ice covered in snow. Good thing we have lots of wood and propane!

Two weeks to our Manitoulin departure.