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December 7th through 13th

The North end of the lake is being stubborn. Lake Lucerne's reluctance to freezing over was augmented by another mid-week temperature bump. Last Wednesday's and Thursday's highs of 46°F and 47°F respectively, gnawed at the ice edges and pushed ice-in back at least a few days. The creek in the northeastern corner continues to flow swamp filtered runoff into the lake. The activity of the creek and the springs may be the main reason this end of the lake is still open. The mid-week heat took all the snow and frost from the top of the ice that covered much, but not all, of Lucerne. Ice checks required a shoe dampening trudge to the edge of the shore to be sure of the openness. All during what we now call the Decemberian Warm Period, Lakes Wabikon, Riley, and Devils Lake keep their ice. There were confused, unsubstantiated reports that ice-in had come to either Lake Metonga or one of the ponds near Metonga. The ice that covered part of Lucerne was about this thick. The lake was at its most open for the week just before Friday. The warm combined with the sun had some looking up to see if any tree branches were fooled into leafing. The trees that make up the northwoods remain foliage free. The cold came back and brought some strong wind with it. During the weekend, ice would build at night and the daytime breeze would sweep it back. The line that separated the open water from ice-in pushed back and forth Saturday and Sunday making a noise not unlike a glass wind chime. Along with the wind, three aquatic mammals were seen ottering up the North end's boundary. With the snow and ice that occupied the middle of October, we missed getting that last mowing. It turns out it wasn't missed, just delayed. It might have been the last time to join toe to water, but the bar's lawn was cut instead, partly because it was sort of needed, but mostly because I'm not insane. The lake may be open, but that water is really cold. In summation, last week excluded ice-in and snow, but included wind, mowing, and otters.<br><br>-Nemo didn't ski either.

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