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Deep Winter V: Enough Already!

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January 31st through February 6th, 2022

At the start of last week, it looked as if Deep Winter had run its course. Wrong. By mid week the sub-zero morning lows and single digit highs were back. Many were not amused. The great stick pickup occurred mostly during last week's "warm" period Mrs. Nemo did most of the picking. Some were easier to pick than others. During the brief "warm", the temperatures, with a little help from the sunlight, went above freezing. There was some concern that the snow forts would get tippy wall syndrome and be done by week's end.. Then the sub-zero came back and the semi-thawed walls became rock hard. Barring any snowmobile-fort interaction, the newly minted ice-wall forts should last well into March. With the cold came some light snow and some not so light wind. Given that the wind only had about an inch of snow to work with, the resulting drifts were impressive. The return of the cold has surprisingly made the squirrels more active. For several mornings they put on a Squirrel du Soleil show for seeds and onlookers, but mostly for seeds. Many times the performers broke the fourth wall and would stare at the audience with taunting eyes and well fed face. (Hey, Tubby! Ya got a little something on your lip there.) It has been remarked that many of the bar's windows lack the R-value of modern glass. Pretty patterns though. As the evening clouds gave way to clear, sunsets have been great along and the certainty of a -9°F, -12°F, or -13°F morning. If it were not for the thickening ice and blowing snow, Knott Lane would be in great shape. A fifth week of Deep Winter is not common. The super cold has many expressing an unwillingness to tolerate any more of this undesirable sub-season. While the squirrels look fat and happy, if you observe closer you can see a deep sadness in their beady little eyes stemming from a lack of grass, warmth, and squirrel ball. Well...maybe not squirrel ball. We'll get a lake ice check next week right after we fill the bird feeder.<br><br><br>-Nemo's looking forward to July.

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