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Deep Winter I

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January 3rd through 9th, 2022

Lows last week fell well below 0°F, the winds were high, and there was a goodly amount of snow. Welcome to Deep Winter, the second and most dreaded sub-season of the new year. The taxonomy of Deep Winter is simple enough, below zero (°F) lows, snow, and the ugly below zero (°F) highs (augg!). Surviving Deep Winter can be challenging. We recommend hats with all the fixin's up to and including flaming drinks, cars with working heaters, and a well stocked propane tank. During the middle of the week, the weather went from AUGGG!! to Auggg!. The sky clouded, the sunsets improved, and the temperatures rose to a now disturbingly comfortable feeling 20ish°F. The experienced Deep Winter survivor knows what to expect next... The snow started just before mid-week. The amount exceeded forecasts (3.5 inches predicted) by about 100% (7 inches actual). After the snow and wind, we popped the drone up to check if the smaller islands had drifted over. They had not. Not yet anyway. By the end of the week, Knott Lane's condition was very un-good. While we continue to be un-pleased by the larcenous nature of the fuzzy red feeder raiders, during Deep Winter, all <a href='/WeeklySummaryPages/2021/0725/SBallN.html' class ='defaultlink2' target='_blank'>Squirrel Ball</a> matches have been suspended. While the fuzzies enjoyed the Deep Winter bye, they seem to completely lose their appetites when a squirrel denting beak attached to a pileated shows up. Whether tossed at the Bar's paparazzi or spilled from squirrel/pileated skirmishes, the wild turkeys are there to vacuum up the spilled seeds. The big birds are becoming much more plentiful and a little bit less skittish. Despite this, they still make a better main course than a pet. On Sunday, the lake ice was about 9 inches deep on the North end of the lake. I wanted the metal to shine in the photo, but any wet area on the ruler froze instantly in the 7°F air and blowing wind. After a minute or so dunking the measuring stick below the water to get the ice off only to have it reform a fraction of a second later, I gave up and took this shot. The ice that covers Lucerne is under close to 6.5 inches of frozen snow with a few inexplicable slushy patches between the two layers. The good news is that Deep Winter usually only lasts about 3 weeks. The other kind of news is that we have another 2 weeks to go before the beginning of Thaw, the last sub-season of Winter. Currently, it's best to get your daily steps indoors, enjoy any form of hot food, and keep those bird feeders full. Woe to those that don't stock the bird troughs, lest the squirrels, pileateds, and turkeys stop fighting among themselves and ally against those that allow feeders to go empty. The 31st Annual Lake Lucerne Bottle Rocket War is just under 2 weeks away with fort construction less than a week away. If firing rockets in the freezing cold as snow armor explodes around you is not on your bucket list, there's always the after party at the bar that's full of well told tales of skill and glory, award ceremonies, drinks (both flaming and non-flaming), arcade games, bar rail bowling, and the Wheel of Dubious Booze.<br><br><br>-Nemo keeps it full and remains neutral in the upcoming Pileated/Squirrel feeder war.

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