On Tuesday, April 29, five canoes floated down the Necktie River from County Road 16 to 315th Avenue: two tandems and three solos. We had gotten about 15" of snow on the previous Saturday, the third blizzard in as many weeks. April snows have reflected heat from the lake ice, slowing its melting. We weren't sure whether we'd be able to cross Hart Lake. Our host checked the lake several times prior to the cruise and was prepared to adjust the cruise if the lake was not navigable. Luckily, the ice was greatly diminished by the time we got out on the lake and we were able to paddle straight across to the outlet.

As we paddled, we watched eight eagles on the south shore, probably having venison for dinner. Five of them moved to roost trees to the southwest of the lake. Three flew north. Some had adult plumage; others were immature. I tried to photograph one that was sitting in a tree, but the batteries were dead in my camera. I put different ones in, but the eagle didn't wait for me to finish.

We saw a lot of waterfowl, including one trumpeter swan, many geese and ducks. Some geese appeared to be sitting on nests. We looked for one nest and found two eggs in it. We saw at least one great blue heron. We saw muskrats, beavers, northerns and suckers swimming in the river. A porcupine was spotted in a tree.

Hart Lake has a couple buildings on it, but it's a quiet little lake with a lot of natural shoreline. The Necktie River is slow moving with a mucky bottom. Large rocks can be found in several areas, either by sight or (if you fail to see them) by sound (when your canoe hits them). It seems like the tops of most of them lie just under the water surface. The river banks are lined with tag alders, tamaracks, black ash, and cedars. The only development you see along the river is at the road crossings. At the first crossing is a beautiful log house with log outbuildings, but the scene is spoiled by a cow pasture that runs right up into the river. Talk about a stench! There was another pasture farther downstream and on the other side of the river that was equally appalling, years ago. Below that point, one noticed a dramatic increase in aquatic vegetation and algae. That pasture has been abandoned, now, and the river bank is grassed over. It's nice to see some environmental conditions improving.

The 7.5 mile cruise took two hours.