Peak Snow

February 24th through March 3rd

There was only moderate snow, about 8 inches total, last week. The absence of Snowpocalyses and blizzards was noted with no small amount of relief. The brutal cold was the only January artifact that seems to have carried over into March if you don't count the ginormous piles of snow.

With a fresh 5 inches on the lawns last week, 3.5 more inches would come later, and warmer temperatures in the future, Peak Snow has been declared. The snow on the lake was about 20 inches deep. Lawns held over 30 inches of the white stuff but without the delightful slush layer that rested on top of Lake Lucerne's ice.

The piles at the end of driveways were substantially higher. On the weekend, a friend with a skidsteer widened our road entry and the piles went from close to 6 feet (seen here) to 10 feet. It'd make a good sledding hill if it weren't so cliff-y.

Main roads are starting to resemble Knott Lane.

Knott Lane is starting to resemble a glacier

Snowplow leavings are getting so tall that many signs are becoming ineffectual.

When traveling in packs, mailboxes are still somewhat functional.

Lone mailboxes are easy prey to the mighty waves of snow.

To the casual observer, outdoor objects are becoming more difficult to spot during peak snow. Snow forts are the exception. They have been somewhat enhanced by the burden.

Tractors are a little more difficult to identify.

Look for protruding stainless steel bits to find auxiliary sap cookers.

Trucks can be hard to find when they become snow mounds, but if you look closely a mirror or antenna is a dead giveaway. The height of the pile is the best way to differentiate between trucks and cars.

Snowmobiles can be really hard to identify especially if you don't remember where you parked them.

The best way to spot trailers is to use the Wait For Spring method.

Picnic tables and firepits can be easy to find if you obtained their GPS coordinates before the storms.

After giving in to the weather and adopting a more Nordic look, local residents can be easy to spot but harder to identify.

Snow loads on roofs is always a concern during Peak Snow. Not so much for smaller, well built structures.

There have been a few collapses. The bar's lid, a veteran of many Peak Snows, is hanging in there.

Rage : Noun. Violent, uncontrollable anger [when presented with a horrendously disagreeable declaration].

In the past, taps were in and maple sap was flowing. Not this year. No one is looking forward to breaking trail in the yard deep snow.

By the weekend, the bitter cold froze much of the slush layer on the lake. That pushed the lake ice up to 29 inches. It'll be a yard deep before it begins to retreat.

The snow got all the photographic glory last week, but it was the cold that will not soon be forgotten. Sub-zero mornings and single digit highs are the norm for January. Not for March. It looks like the lake has got another week of this faux January before temperatures get close to normal. We'll get the Annual Lake Lucerne Ice-Out Contest posted in the next week or so.<br><br>-Nemo needs one of those Dumbledore beard rings.