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	January 18th through 24th

This year, it's arrival had been delayed, but we all knew it would come. Last week it appeared. Deep Winter, the second sub-season of the un-summer solstice, entered the northwoods. Time to break out the hot chocolate, long underwear, and Yukon Jack ("...a taste born of hoary nights, when lonely men struggled to keep their fires lit and their cabins warm". Says so right there on the label. It also claims to be the Black Sheep of Canadian Liquors. It's unclear whether that refers to its nonconformist nature or a literal reference to a mutton like aftertaste, but I digress). There was also some snow.

The extreme cold did not stop local eagles from soaring up the North end of the lake.

The wild turkeys did not seem to be fazed by the winter harshness either.

The cold seemed to bring out more snowmobilers than is normal. Their high rpm, snow kicking antics entertained all.

The tracks that covered the lake are testament to their hardness, stamina, and heated handle bars

The bottle rocket war forts still dominate the lake's North end.

Most of the sticks and detritus have been removed leaving behind only snow walls and scorch marks

The southern fort is holding up well in the warmth-less sun.

The only sign of age was the shrinking of the icicle spikes that surrounded the Orb of Justice.

The northern fort was getting a little tippy.

By the weekend, it was in full limbo mode.

The skating rink near the northeastern corner of the lake seems to draw many onlookers but few, if any, skaters.

The ice under the rink and forts is 11 inches thick. There are reports of thicker ice, up to 15 inches, on the South end of the lake.

The ice that covers many of the roads is only about an inch deep.

As the sky cleared and temperatures dropped, we were treated to a few nice sunsets.

In addition to lots of cold and a little snow, there was wind. These ingredients mixed together resulted in "Snow Devils" dancing across the lake and crashing into the shoreline.

With the weekend came more cold and about 3 inches of light, fluffy snow.

With the slightest breeze, the trees would shed those inches and a cold, shimmery whiteout would fall onto the ground and the hats of those standing on it.

Eagles, wild turkeys, cold, and snow. What more could you ask for during the first month of the year? Well...we could use a little more snow and a little less cold, but such is the nature of Deep Winter. Usually this sub-season of Winter lasts about 3 or 4 weeks, but the delayed onset this year may shorten its stay by a week or two. Being that this type of weather has few fans, it's not a bad thing. A little more snow would also move some of the traffic off the lake and onto the trails, bringing more noise to the woods and more quiet to the lake.<br><br>-Nemo prefers his whiskey without any shanky aftertaste.

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