« Previous

Not Winter Yet

Next »

November 13th through 19th, 2023

There was plenty of sun last week, very little frost, and no snow. Huzzah! If it were not for super long shadows, it felt more like early October than mid November. For those of us that perfer their lake open and their Winters short, it was the best of times. Early in the week, the sun and not too cold air pushed Lucerne's temperature to 46¡ÆF. With the warmer air came some wind. At its peak, the 40 MPH gusts chopped up the water and knocked down a few trees. The wind eventually stopped and the lake got all flat again. All summer, there was a tank at the bar with a few hundred pounds of air that needed burning off. During the warmest part of the week (58°F!) we got rid of some of it by spending quality time under the lake. The water was cold. The plants were down from the summer. I saw no fish and a few golf balls. The water was cold. A few of the golf balls were retrieved. After the dive, one thing was clear. The water is disturbingly cold. After the dive, there was golf. The course is a little shaggy and the greens a little slow, but we like it that way. One eagle was spotted above the lake. More than one goose was seen flying south. Later in the week, the bar's squirrels started to do prairie dog imitations. After that, they chose to imitate ravenous bird feeder raiders. That bit of stagecraft <a href='/WeeklySummaryPages/2022/1106/SquirrelFacts.html' class ='defaultlink2' target='_blank'>lasted a long time</a>. The weekend had a lot of flat water and more seasonal (cooler) temperatures. There were also a few fisherman! And many exploding milkweed pods. If you like your November weather warm, the forecast is looking ugly. The men talked it over, and it was agreed to pull the last pier from the lake. It only took an hour. There was no involuntary swimming. Huzzah! Saturday's sunset (seen here) was good. Friday's was better, but we were on the road for some reason and didn't get a picture. On Sunday evening, the smoke from a campfire on the west side of Lucerne hovered above the water. There was fishing, diving, golf, and even talk of another lawn mowing. If not for the complete lack of leaves, piers,  and the <a href='/icein/IceIn2023.html' class ='defaultlink2' target='_blank'>Ice-In Contest</a> being posted, last week could have been mistaken for a week in late September. The hard frosts that covered the weekend mornings had the lake area returning to a more November feel. That, and the sporadic shots that echoed off the hills, marking the 2023 gun deer season. So far, the much diminished Knott Lane deer camp has joined only one slug to deer. If the forecast holds, the weather will get more deer-hunty and we will soon see some lake ice. If you're traveling to the northwoods next week, bring a hat.<br><br><br>-Nemo's still a little shivery from Wednesday's water follies.

2023 Archives All Archives

Classic View Home