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	March 22nd through 28th, 2021

Last week started off as a full celebration of Spring. There was sun, warm-ish high temperatures, and the little snow that was left was only present in the shadows. Winter was declared dead.

The roads were ice free and suitable to run on.

The maples were dripping and filling buckets in less than a day.

The sugarmen were boiling sap down to syrup at the start of the week. There was quite a backlog and they were pushing the cookers to their limit.

Maybe too hard. Or maybe wood was not the best material for the handle of a firedoor.

Many plants were getting ready to burst with Spring color and leaves.

Robbins were seen bopping around lawns looking for worms.

The lake ice was pulling away from the shore. There was growing hope for a March ice-out.

A brief, high look at other area lakes showed that Metonga was still ice covered.

Devils Lake just to the East of Lucerne, looks closer to open.

Lakes Wabikon and Riley are also close, but still ice locked.

And there was golf! Nicolet Country Club's course was in pretty good shape for the week after Winter died, but there were a few issues

The snow hazards weren't that bad, but the new, rustic flags were hard to see from more than 50 yards out.

There was some rain mid-week and puddles and rain gauges had a little ice. While Winter may no longer be with us, at this point in Spring below freezing mornings are still kind of a thing. The bar didn't need a new rain gauge, but it did need a new bird feeder. The old one was falling apart and seemed to feed the squirrels more than the birds. We got a new feeder that had a cage around it that was supposed to allow birds to pass but would keep the fat fuzzy types out

Ask us how that worked out.

The lake was forecast to get a good rain late in the week. As the weekend approached, the forecast started to speak of a rain/snow mix. And then a snow/snow mix. Predicted high temperatures were shaved down to ugly. As the first light of Sunday morning reflected off the new blanket of white it was clear that the third Horseman of the Snowpocalypse, ZOMBIE WINTER, was wandering the northwoods. The animated corpse of Winter was back slicking up roads, pushing back ice-out, and extending the maple syrup season.

Knott Lane went from tennis shoes to cross country skis overnight.

There was some question if the sap run would come before or after ZOMBIE WINTER left the area.

Sugermen were dispatched to check the state of the spiles.

It was confirmed the the sap would run before ZOMBIE WINTER would leave. The cold and hard run produced a huge crop of "Wisconsin Coconuts" with a hard 1 inch thick icy husk and a sweet sappy center.

To hole the husk to get the juice out, the wise sugarman takes his or her nut hammer along when collecting.

One of the hazards of so much sap is having your hat plucked from your head by saplings as you carry two full buckets back from some of the deeper trees.

This image of the South end of Lucerne was captured just hours before the arrival of ZOMBIE WINTER. It was taken during a happier and more hopeful time when ice-out was within sight and syrup season was winding down. Not any more. Spring will return someday and maybe even soon. In the meantime, cancel your tee time, grab your nut hammer, and try not to set the firedoor handle ablaze.<br><br><br>-Nemo 0 , Squirrels 1

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