A Touch of Thaw Week

January 15th through 21st

The lake area got its first taste of Thaw last week. After all the sub-zeroness in the past several weeks, it was most appreciated.

By Tuesday there was some sun to go with the warmer. It wasn't July, but for January it was close enough.

The sun and warm was not kind to the Bottle Rocket War forts. The crack in the lake that extended up through the middle of the Southern fort grew in the February like heat.

The sun facing side of the ice votives grew thinner. Then lacy. Then gone.

The Northern fort started to noticeably list.

After a few hours the list turned into full limbo. How low would it go?

The answer was pretty low. Its final bow will be part of the sub-zero to ice-out time lapse movie currently being recorded.

First! Some lake enthusiasts saw the warm and couldn't wait for ice-out.

Local fuzzies soaked up the warm and seemed less grumpy.

And now four words for the individuals that tossed their McGarbage into the swamp on the North end of the lake.

We are not amused.

The warm continues into the weekend. With the lake's snow cover almost gone, car and truck traffic on the North end was at an all time high. This could come to an end soon. There's forecasts of a half a foot or more of blowing, drifting snow coming. That will make the lake-ice truckers stuck and sad, but the snowmobilers zoomy and happy. If you listen closely, you can already hear their 2-cycle cheers and laughter bouncing off the pines.<br><br>-Nemo can't limbo like that.