Full Thaw

March 25th through 31st

Some of the snow that has blanketed the lake area melted last week. The snow on the lake was especially vulnerable to the sunshine. Winter is losing the battle with Spring as evidenced by the slushy in the evening, and frozen in the morning scars covering the lake's surface.

The snow on the lake may be at an end, but the snow in the surrounding woods is still deep. Two to three feet deep. Walking in the forest in the frozen mornings is not so bad. The frozen top layer of snow will keep the stroller from crashing through to the bottom snow. Walking in the warmer evenings, about the time collecting sap occurs, is painful, fall filled, and not recommended.

The maples ran extremely well until the weekend.

All those drops were gathered, put into jugs, and transported back the the cookers.

After cooking, the sweet results were filtered and bottled.

The condition of Knott Lane started off bad, but got better with each passing day. By the weekend, much of the snow and ice was gone.

The Bar's driveway was made mostly snow free by week's end. The exposed crushed red granite was much better to drive on. The squirrel less so.

By the weekend, much of the Bottle Rocket War forts were gone, too.

During the weekend, a check was made on the thickness of the remaining lake ice.

There's still over 2 feet of very good ice. That's down from 28 inches last week. At this rate the ice will go out on Memorial Day weekend. Odds are that the rate of de-icing will accelerate during April. Ice out by Easter? That'd be unlikely but nice.

The ice was a little thick to put lifts in, but thick enough to move them around the lake.

Cold weather returned on Saturday. The taps stopped. The sugarmen were blessed with much needed rest.

Winter is almost over. You can see it in the uncovered roads. You can hear it in the sound of running water. You can smell it in the clean, damp evening air. And you can feel it in the late March sun on your face. Results of the ice-out contest are becoming more clear. The ice did not go out this March. It would have been nice to have another March ice-out, but that would have made it harder to move that lift. Swimming it across the lake would not have been fun..<br><br>-Nemo is working on Winter's obituary.