It’s April 1 and, no joke, it’s snowing.
Of course, as North Dakotans, we aren’t surprised.
I’ve never been a fan of this so-called spring season because this is what you get, ups and downs.
One day you’re hauling the patio furniture out of storage and the next you’re firing up the snowblower again.
I’m just in survival mode, impatiently waiting for turkey season when I could care less what the weather does because I’ll be outdoors regardless.
But in those shoulder weeks, it’s interesting to reflect on how different every year has looked, most of it weather dependent.
In 2018, our first spring on the Northern Plains, we had not yet fallen ill to our turkey addiction, and instead found ourselves ice fishing on Lake Audubon on April 14.
And if memory serves, we even drove on the ice in our pickup.
Fast forward to 2019 (the start of the addiction), and I recall a tiring but captivating April weekend of corner-to-corner travel.
We had apparently stowed the auger and favored the shotguns, spending Saturday in LaMoure County hunting snow geese, only to road trip to Billings County at 3 a.m. the following morning to shoot our first western North Dakota turkey together.
With the uncertainty of the 2020 pandemic, our turkey hunting misadventures were abundant nonetheless, starting with waking up to snow on the tent on opening morning.
I recall grabbing a shivering Fins and pulling him into my sleeping bag for both our sakes.
Despite my hesitation, we did eventually get out and it was worth it.
Spring 2021 arrived unseasonably early.
I have a video of us fishing in the Pounder on March 20 on Rice Lake in Emmons County.
What a 180 from ice fishing on April 14, 2018.
That early of a spring, with no more snowstorms unfortunately brought dry weather and a challenging fire season, followed by extreme drought.
Many of our favorite turkey stomping grounds were impacted that year, but not nearly as hard as countless farmers and ranchers across the state.
In complete contrast, we spent April 14, 2022, shoveling 16 inches of snow off our driveway and I wore coveralls turkey hunting that Saturday.
We hunted a spot just off the interstate because most roads were still unnavigable.
I wanted so badly to shoot a turkey in the snow like that, but despite a thunderous morning of gobbles, not one came in, and I honestly think it’s because they couldn’t or didn’t want to move.
April 2023 wasn’t much different.
To me it will forever be marked as the winter that wouldn’t end, inconveniently timed with a colicky infant.
Looking back, we were finally able to enjoy some fresh air as a family on April 10, alongside heaping piles of lingering snow.
Last April was average as can be.
We enjoyed a final day on the ice in March and were soaking in the sun by April with no snow on the ground.
Our backcountry tent pictures tell me there were no off-road travel restrictions associated with drought and no unwelcomed late spring snowstorms, all of which boded well for broods and fawns.
As for today, I’ll head home and likely break out the shovel, knowing we all need the moisture and turkey season is just around the corner.
