When Belinda Jensen isn't at work forecasting the weather, it's pretty safe to predict that you'll find her enjoying the outdoors. A passion for the outdoors pervades Jensen's personal and professional life. She even met her future husband on a ski slope, for heaven's sake.

Jensen is the weekend meteorologist for KARE 11 television and works weekday mornings for Twin Cities radio stations K102 and Cities 97. She also co-hosts "KARE 11 News Saturday" and contributes to the station's "Minnesota Bound" program as an outdoors reporter.Viewers can catch Jensen's gardening spots with master gardener Bobby Jensen [no relation] each week on "Grow with KARE" on KARE 11.

Studying the weather, exploring and reporting on the outdoors, digging in the dirt . . .This deeply rooted predilection to observe and appreciate nature, and to participate in a variety of outdoor activities, developed back when Jensen was a child.

She grew up along the St. Croix River and has never strayed too far from water and the broader world of nature. Jensen spent most of her childhood in Prescott, Wis., living with her parents and three brothers and sister in their home directly across from the river and the town beach. "We were on the river all the time," she said. "We didn't have fancy boats.We had a speedboat that broke all the time and we also went canoeing. It was a great way to get together with my friends."

Prescott was a very beautiful place to grow up, Jensen said. She also remembers days spent in nearby Hudson where her grandmother lived. "By growing up in such a beautiful area - the St. Croix River Valley - and spending time in the woods nearby, being outdoors just became second nature to me."

When she was younger and living in Apple Valley, her family had a small cabin on Big Sandy Lake. The family spent a lot of long weekends up at Big Sandy. The cabin provided the backdrop for the family's lakeside fun. Jensen recalls a trove of wonderful memories with cousins, aunts and uncles. Everyone came to the little cabin, even though "using the facilities" meant a trip to the outhouse.

After graduating from college at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Jensen worked for the National Weather Service in Salt Lake City, Utah, and served as a weather producer and an anchor of a "Sunrise" television show for three years at Salt Lake City's ABC affiliate.

While in Utah, Jensen did meet her husband during a day on the ski slopes. They married at Sundance and eventually moved to the Twin Cities. The couple had considered living on Lake Minnetonka but decided it was more important to live closer to their jobs.

While they do not own a lake home or cabin today, Jensen and her husband, David, still enjoy time on or near area lakes. David is an avid windsurfer, but loves virtually any water sport. He taught his wife how to windsurf, a sport she has been working on for eight years."It has a sharp learning curve," she said. Having "the right wind" is crucial for optimal windsurfing. Jensen teases that her husband planned all along to marry a meteorologist in order to improve his chances of hitting that ideal wind.

David spent the past winter learning the new sport of snofering. Participants use a special board with blades attached to the bottom - making the rig ideal for sailing across frozen lakes. And every June, the couple travels to Maui where, Jensen said, "the wind is always good and the scuba diving is great, too."

Much closer to home, a sunny, summer day could find Jensen inline skating around Lake Calhoun or Lake Harriet.Another favorite activity is having a girls' night out on a pontoon on Lake Minnetonka.

Jensen credits Minnesota Bound with giving her an extra boost in spending time outdoors. Her reports have taken her across the state - whether it's fishing on the Root or Zumbro rivers in southeastern Minnesota, mountain biking in the Minnesota River Valley or her several trips to the North Shore.

Sometimes she reports from an out-of-state location, such as snowshoeing near Vail, Colo., or mountain biking in Moab, Utah. Her fishing trip to Wisconsin's Brule River, a nationally known scenic riverway, airs on KARE 11 in May. The river is famous for its fishing and is sometimes referred to as "The River of the Presidents." Some of its visitors have included presidents Ulysses Grant, Grover Cleveland, Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover and Dwight Eisenhower.

"Being part of Minnesota Bound has been wonderful," she said."I get to enjoy the best parts of Minnesota, plus the chance to visit other states."

Jensen's biggest adventure, however,would have to be the birth of her son, Tanner, in January. Might he someday follow his parents into the great outdoors? Consider that one of his first gifts was a pint-size wet suit. "I sure hope he likes water," Jensen said.

By Barb Umberger