Still Open

December 4th through 10th, 2023

Lake Lucerne
At the beginning, it looked as if the lake would be ice covered before the weekend. The southern third of Lucerne had a nice cracky, snow covered sheet and the north end had a few feet of ice extending from parts of the shoreline. That changed around mid-week.
Lake Lucerne
At the start of the week, Lake Metonga also had its share of ice with a similar distribution to Lucerne (ice covering the south, mostly open on the north).
Lake Lucerne
After Wednesday, high temperatures jumped into the 40s°F. The ice clinging to the northern shoreline melted.
Lake Lucerne
The ice around the islands retreated a little, but was thick enough to not completely go away. I wouldn't walk on it though (involuntary swimming, fear it).
Lake Lucerne
The warmer weather created some patchy ground fog in the morning. The ice on Wabikon, Riley, and Devils Lake seemed to shrug off the March temperatures.
Lake Lucerne
Going into the weekend, all the ice on the north end was gone.
Lake Lucerne
There was almost golf on Friday, but we ran out of light. The remaining ice on Lucerne took a beating.
Lake Lucerne
The warmer temperatures and shrinking ice extended the great gathering of mergansers and loons on the lake.
Lake Lucerne
The weekend's relatively warm weather rewarded Christmas light stringing procrastinators with the gift of unfrozen hands during the hanging festivities. All we needed after about an hour of ladder time was some snow to complete the holiday look.
Lake Lucerne
Saturday night's snow came in surprisingly fat clumps.
Lake Lucerne
We were expecting an inch. We got twice that much.
Lake Lucerne
On Saturday, the lawns of the north end were green and some could have used a mowing. On Sunday, some grass may still have needed a trim but the green was buried under a blanket of white.
Lake Lucerne
The rain/snow mix before the snow made West Shore Drive ugly for both walking and driving.
Lake Lucerne
The condition of Knott Lane isn't much better.
Lake Lucerne
To those that picked a late date for ice-in, well done! To those that thought (like me) that the ice would come early, better luck next year. We have a few frigid mornings coming, but then warmer temperatures are forecast. If ice does not cover the lake soon, we could be looking at the first ever January ice-in. Well...maybe not ever, but at least since we've been keeping track. A January ice-in would make getting the last swim of  '23 and the first of  '24 (jump in just before midnight, leap out just after) far easier without having to cut a hole in the ice. If you haven't entered in this year's Annual Lake Lucerne Ice-In Contest, now's the time.


-Nemo canceled his tee time, hung some lights, and battened down the hatches.