Solstice Thaw

Last week's dichotomy of weather was as defined as those that go slow near buoys and those that touch buoys as they ski past as a modern form of counting coup. The start of the week was silently still and cruelly cold. The end of the week was tappingly warm and snowmobilely clamorous. At the start, dustings of snow gently covered the frozen landscape. On the weekend, packs of motorized mayhem swarmed trails and roads. Through it all, there were squirrels.

Even at the end of the week, with a base of about 6 inches, Knott Lane was in very good shape for cross country skiing and snowmobiling. There was even talk of installing a tow rope for those that like their ski hills packed and bunny.

Side roads still held enough snow to support great louds of sleds and some sliding of sedans..

As the thaw flowed from Saturday into Sunday, dripping water could be heard under the drone of two cycle engines and a Spring-like haze drifted over the hills and settled in the hollows.

The sun has punished the lake snow. Walking on Lucerne has lost that deep snow, cardiac event nature. We are hoping for more snow by the 29th Annual Lake Lucerne Bottle Rocket War, but for now is was a welcome change as we strolled out to get an ice thickness check

There's just under 7 inches of ice with a strange quarter of an inch thick liquid layer about three inches from the surface. With the snow cover all but gone, we're one arctic blast from firming up the entire slab.

We can't complain. Well...we can, but we shouldn't. A post solstice thaw of almost 40°F is uncommon and most welcome although we can't help but think this could make the ugly cold of January feel like that much more of a delight. As a veteran of Lucernian winters, we hold that it's best to enjoy the less cold while it's here rather than dwell on the frosty doom to come.

-Nemo has never counted buoy coup.

Solstice Thaw

December 16th through 22nd, 2019