More Than Expected

Last week started with an eroding warm and about a half an inch of rain. It ended in a deluge. In between, some below average highs crept around the shoreline. The low 70s°F were welcome, but later in the week the dew point soared, making the 70s°F feel like the 90s°F and the 80s°F feel like thick, hot, stifling death. Relief could be found in the lake which is holding at 76°F.

With the new moon and a few clear nights, It was a good time to wave bye to comet NEOWISE. The comet was fading fast, but at the start of the week, was still visible to the naked eye.

Plants seem to be loving the sticky weather and were exploding in color all around the shore. There was orange,..

and violet,...

There were two moderately attended ski shows last week.

The high lake levels and boat waves continue to dampen the first few rows. The Wednesday show started a chain of events that led to a dive rescue on Friday.

It started mid-show with a pyramid. The water was the roughest it has been this year. A climber made it to the top of some shoulders then slipped. She was caught on the way down by base skiers that showed more balance and strength than I thought possible.

The climber was saved, but while dragging in the wake, the leggings were lost.

On Friday, Mrs. Nemo and I snorkeled up and finned out from the show dock to search for the pants..

We found a few distinctly un-pants like objects.

During the search, a blue bag for a folding chair was recovered.

The pants were eventually discovered about 300 feet from the show dock in around 15 feet of water.

The weather was sunny and hot. The crowd was surprisingly large.

The spoon art was clever and ironically not near any soup stand.

There were a few tenths of an inch of rain predicted late Saturday night. We got that plus a bit more.

With the lake at an all time high plus three inches and inflows, we flew the drone south to the islands to see if they were still above the water or just new, albeit big, cribs. They were still there above the lake.

The islands remain above water. Parts of Lake Lucerne Drive, not so much.

There's talk of a gravel dump to bring the road up some. Until then, turn on your cars running lights at sunset and slow no wake.

Thirty eight inches above the nail is a new inter-month record for Lake Lucerne's water level. In a normal year, we see the lake dropping an inch or two every month after June. This year, we've gained half a foot since July 1st. The rising water makes for a larger surface to ski upon, but makes diving for pants a half a foot more difficult. The forecast is for a dry week, but it'll take more than a week of dry weather to get the lake level back down to normal. When slalom skiing, get those cut sprays high to increase the evaporation rate. Every little bit counts.

-Nemo requires soup with his spoon art.

More Than Expected

July 20th through 26th, 2020