Tree Tapping Weekend
March 13th through 17th   
The lake is more ice covered for this time of year than normal.  On top of that 23.75 inches of ice is a thick layer of slush and 9 inches of snow on top of that.  Lake golfing season has been pushed back.
The Moon and Jupiter shared the same frame on the cold night of the 17th.  It wasn't the extra special cold of Deep Winter but rather the deep, damp cold of a drawn out Thaw.  It was the same chill that roamed the northwoods for the last 4 days.
At first glance, Knott Lane looks good.  It's plowed.  If you look a little closer you'll see a 3 to 4 inch layer of ice covering the road's surface.  It can be quite slide-y.
Snow.  When we last left the lake it was present but managable.  Now the bar looks like it's squinting as the snow curling from the roof gets closer to the growing piles on the ground.
The snow is 2 or 3 feet deep in the woods and deeper in some spots (!), forcing not only the tappers to wear snowshoes, but their rides too.
Despite the snow and cold, it was determined to be the time to hole those maples (and add spiles, buckets and lids).
Holes were first added to trees with a gas powered thingy until it broke.
Electric drills (18V) were called into service while the gas drill had its pull cord reattached.  You can get about 20 trees from a full battery.
Spiles filled both the electrically carved holes and the gas made ones.
The air was right around freezing but the sun was out and there was little wind which helped some of the trees run.
Winter is making a pest of itself by sticking around too long.  Look back at the last 4 years of close-to-this-date weekend summaries (2012, 2011, 2010, 2009) to underscore that.  What this year lacks so far in exposed grass and emerging ferns, it more than makes up for in deep snow.  You'd think that with all the snow Lake Lucerne might go up this spring, but it's been observed that bringing the lake level up is more a function of spring rain than snow melt.  Still, lots of melting snow should help.

-Nemo, not golfing any time soon.                                    Previous  Next