Last Ski, First Sap

March 18th through 24th

There was plenty of blue sky and starry nights last week. That resulted in warmer afternoons and freezing mornings. The sound of running water could be heard at sunset. The unsound of solid ice at sunrise

Early in the week, it was a fine time to ride the lifts at Ski Brule.

The lifts (and hills) were mostly empty. Mostly.

The snow on the hill was a little grainy, but otherwise fine. It looks like there will be a few more weeks of lift riding left in the season for those that don't have their days filled with making maple syrup.

The last spiles were pounded home last Monday. They have been dripping daily since.

Those drops were collected daily, put into jugs, and transported back to Knott Lane.

Both cookers on the lane struggled to keep up with the flow.

Back on the lake, sunny warmer days have reduced the bottle rocket forts into a few mounds of icy snow.

Late last week, a hole was cut into the lake ice to get an ice thickness measurement.

It's not a yard, but 28 inches is still an impressive amount of cold.

It's unlikely that the ice will be off the lake this March. We've seen 9 inches of very solid ice melt in a week, but never 28 inches. The roads through the northwoods have become largely ice free. Knott Lane still has some ice and large patches of water that become ice on cold mornings. No running is more the rule than the suggestion.<br><br>-Nemo prefers the red and yellow collection buckets.