Snow and Cold Week

January 22nd through 28th
Deep Winter returned early last week. Then it thawed. Then it sub-zered. All the while, there was much shivering. During the mid-week thaw, it snowed. The 3 to 6 inches forecast turned out to be closer to 8. It was about time. There's been plenty of 1 or 2 inch snows this season, but 6+ inch events have been rare. As soon as the sky cleared, snowmobilers painted the lake with the northern Wisconsin version of crop circles. Not sure what these mysterious and mercurial lake painters intended to communicate to us. While there is no agreement among those that study such things, some believe they were making reference to a golf club, either a driver or some other wood, as a life metaphor about going long, keeping shots straight, and staying in the fairway. Other experts believe they turned around to get some soup. A runway was plowed in front of Water's Edge before the snow. Looks like they'll have to plow it again before they use it. Lakes Wabikon, Riley, and Devils remain frozen. This was not completely unexpected. Lake Metonga is also still frozen and snow covered. As the temperature began to plummet, some low clouds crashed into the trees leaving a frosty debris field pretty much everywhere. After the cold, thaw, snow, and cold, the lake gained about 2 inches from the week before, bringing the ice thickness to just over 20 inches. The mid-week thaw was long enough to slushify much of the snow, but not long enough to have that slushy water flow away. The resulting ice that was formerly called Knott Lane is not as thick, but every bit as hard as the lake's. Last Saturday's bar night started off as a small affair and then grew. It was cold and icy outside so many warmed their hands, lips, and innards with the Bailey's Comet and other libations. The extreme cold is back. And it's forecast to get colder. There was a brief discussion and eventual agreement that any liquefied gases that pool on the lake's surface should not be counted as part of the lake level. Clearly, these few inches of liquid nitrogen and oxygen will surely be boiled off by July. The return of Deep Winter forces us to remind everyone going outside to not forget their hat. A coat is a nice thing, too. Lastly, always wear eye protection when smashing frozen bananas with a hammer.<br><br>-Nemo, over serving the masses since 2005