Winter II: The Sequel

March 26th through April 1st
Last week started with typical early Spring weather. The temperatures slowly showed an above freezing trend, creeks began to flow, and puddles formed on the lake. Ice-out was just a week or so away, or so we thought. Winter had other plans. Early in the week we had rain! A half an inch helped melt the snow and will surely push the lake level up to extraordinary heights. The Maple Syrup Season was one more rain event away from not needing the ATV with the feet to hall sap from the sugarbush. Early in the week, the maples started to flow well. The sugarmen called in the auxiliary cooker to keep up. There were ugly rumors of a snow event later in the week, but this did not stop the sap flowing/collecting/boiling operations that culminated in a bottling event around mid-week. So far this year., the syrup is very pretty. The nights continued on a more Wintry vector. This resulted in daytime melt turned into thick nighttime ice on decks and driveways. Those that moved the fastest, fell the mostest. Lawns were sighted for the first time in forever. Ice-out was declared on area ditches! The ground is really saturated. Many ditches around the lake have become navigable waterways. Then Winter came back. The 3 to 6 inches of snow turned out to be 8. The wind gusts of up to 40 mph did not help. Temperatures dropping to the single digits helped even less. Ice-in was declared on area ditches. The maple taps froze shut, so the ATV with the feet was no longer needed in the woods. It seemed more at home on the lake anyway. It's at this point in the calendar that a sequel to Winter is not so much given to us but rather is inflicted upon us. Currently, under all that infliction, there is 28 inches of very solid lake ice. Forecasts of close to sub-zero cold and another foot or two (!) of snow will keep the taps stopped and the hot chocolate flowing. The bar serves 5 different kinds. All served piping hot with a swirl of whipped cream on top.<br><br>-Nemo prefers Chocolate Supreme