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	March 13th through 19th, 2023

The single digit lows (°F) of the weekend were a little warmer than the sub-zero lows at the start of last week. That being said, there wasn't much thawing last week. The ginormous snow storm that was to smack into the lake toward the weekend was a bust. The silver lining around the cold was the sun. It was mostly out all week and felt warm.

The warm sun and the cold air has led to some impressive icicling. If they touch the ground we call them load bearing.

There was a bump of seasonable warmth mid-week. The men took advantage of the bump by tapping the remaining maples.

The trees ran for three days. There was not enough to justify collecting all 300 trees. The daily sap would freeze into a puck at the bottom of the bucket overnight. The collecting of those pucks is both feared and loathed, so the pucks would get thicker each morning. We now have about 100 gallons of sap in solid form in the woods. That'll give us a 100 gallon head start when it really starts to flow.

The snow in the woods is deep. Snowshoes for the men and ATVs are a must.

On a cold morning late in the week, some foolishly tried to check the ice in the buckets without snowshoes. The packed, frozen snow would hold you up for most of your steps, then it would fail, leaving behind a cold, deep hole and a little cursing.

The bar's turkeys have been especially active during the second cold snap.

They are clucky and tetchy, but they have a strange ugly beauty.

After cleaning out the bird seed, the <a href='/WeeklySummaryPages/2022/1106/SquirrelFacts.html' class ='defaultlink2' target='_blank'> evil squirrels</a> have developed a taste for suet.

The big storm never materialized, but the wind that was to accompany it did. Snow devils danced up and down the lake all weekend.

The sun, wind, and the mid-week warmth has reduced the southern bottle rocket war fort to a whisper of a wall and a lump. The northern fort is completely gone.

The final task for the week was to check on the lake ice.

Huzzah!

The lake ice is close to 19 inches thick. That's over 4 inches thicker than 2 weeks ago.

The lake ice's width is going in the wrong direction. For those that would prefer an early ice-out, the good news is the nature of the surface ice. The top 2 inches is thick, but under that there's a 2 inch water-slush layer. Under that is hard, clear stone. A week or so of a normal late March should take care of the top layer. A warm start of April could have a few crazy people swimming just after Easter. With all the snow currently on the ground, we don't see the NCC golf course usable for even the most devoted duffer for the rest of March. With all the wind, there's not much snow on the lake. Lake golf season should start next week just as soon as a few holes are plowed. <br><br><br>-Nemo's about 180 yards out, looks like he's gonna use a 9 iron.

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