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	March 21st through January 86th, 2022

Last week started off in true Spring like fashion. Roads were free of ice and dry, the maple taps were running, and lawns were even greening up a little. Winter had been declared dead the week before and was looking like it would remain dead and unmourned until its progeny shows up next November or December (or October, blech!). That changed around mid-week.

The sunlight that makes it through the trees is feeling warmer and melting snow. It was further noted that some tree shadows are considerably shorter and wider this Spring than last.

The squirrels seemed to enjoy the snow free driveway as much as the cars.

Sugarmen burned late into the night to keep up with the dripping maples.

Before mid-week, the signs of Spring were all over the northwoods. All that was missing was a few Trillium.

It started with rain. Rain this time of year is expected and, when the lake level was low, welcomed. Then the temperatures started to drop. At the half inch mark, we took in the rain gauge to prevent cracking that could happen on the off chance that it got cold enough to freeze.

Then it started to snow. Zombie Winter was upon us.

In between the snow and the rain, there was ice. It made for a delightful coating on all the trees.

The snow, ice, and cold did not stop the creeks and streams from flowing. The lake is gonna be up this Spring (if Spring ever gets here).

Zombie Winter dumped about a half a foot of fresh snow on the area. The strong wind that came with the storm swept some areas clean and drifted others almost 2 feet deep.

It's annoying when one of those 2 footers starts to encroach on the driveway.

The wind was from the East and strong enough to tip all the buckets facing North or South.

At the end of the storm, the Maples ran hard. The sugarmen collected all the sap until well after sunset to prevent the predicted single digit cold from "pucking" the run.

Zombie Winter left the roads in an ugly state.

Some lanes were plowed and had their water filled pot holes frozen over. Fortunately, Mrs Nemo was there to step on them and break the ice.

On Sunday, under the watchful eyes of a waiting around Zombie Winter, we cut a hole in the lake ice to check its thickness.

It took a while to get through.

There's 19.5 inches of ice on the North end of Lake Lucerne. The top 6 inches are the airy, frozen snow kind and the rest is the hard, clear as glass type. With all the cold this season, I'd have thought it would have been thicker.

Zombie Winter, the third Horseman of the Snowpocalypse, usually arrives, taunts a young Spring for a day or two, and then leaves. Not this year's un-dead ugly cold bringer. The arctic cold spanned the weekend and flowed into the next week. Normally, a visit from Zombie Winter will push ice-out back up to a week, but this extended visit could push it into May. If the ice was a yard thick, I'd guarantee a May ice-out, but with only 19.5 inches separating us from putting in the pier, it will probably be sooner. Unless we get a rare visit by the fourth and final Horseman of the Snowpocalypse (Silenced Spring). Then we're thinking June and that will make for a very interesting first ski show.<br><br><br>-Nemo likes his taps running and his June ice free.

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