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	October 14th through 20th, 2024

Last week included colorful trees, a few hard freezes, and a weekend lifted from the pages of August. The weekend was really summer like, but the freezes kept us grounded in reality. The nipped plants whispered, "Winter is coming", but the sun and warm shouted, "Not today!". We were good with that.

At the start of last week, the hills east of the lake still held plenty of autumnal color. By the weekend, there was less.

On Monday, the rain gauge reported that the lake was almost 0.8 inches deeper. This was good, but Lucerne could use a little more.

If we don't get much more rain, many won't be pulling the piers from the lake because the dry will be pulling the lake from the piers.

The hard freezes that chilled mornings mid-week frosted the grass

The icy artifacts of the freeze disappeared shortly after the sun hit them.

When the sun hit the trees, they practically glowed.

The mid-week cold seems to have brought out the pontoon crane guys. After the freeze, they were zooming around Lucerne picking out piers and lifts.

After the freeze, it was time for a day trip to the Eau Claire River Dells.

The dells are about 100 miles south of the lake. The trees there seem to have less leaves.

There was plenty of water in the river. It was a kayaker's dream or nightmare depending on their skill level.

The cliffs of the dells are impressive, but only for looking at, not for jumping from (The pools under them are cold and not that deep).

Antigo is on the way to and from the dells. Gunkel's Bakery is in Antigo.

The store is not as majestic looking as the dells, but it is far more tasty.

Last week, there was a visible comet in the evening sky. There was also a full moon. On clear nights, we were concerned that light from the bright moon would wash out the comet.

The moon blued up the sky a little, but the comet was still visible (barely).

On Saturday, it was time to carve pumpkins.

The cutting began early in the afternoon.

The bar was readied for the event before sunset.

Just after sunset, the carving started to pick up.

The results were judged good, set on the deck, and candled.

There were also Bugles, America's best finger longering snack food!

The cooler temperatures (before the weekend) and drier weather has slowed the grass. This was the first week since May that the bar's lawn didn't get mowed. Huzzah! The recent blessing of warmer temperatures will force another mowing or two before the snow, but it was nice to have a week off the tractor. With the pumpkins carved and the dells visited, many of the year's remaining events are of a colder nature. The first snow, deer hunting, and ice-in come to mind. With the high temperatures in the 70s°F, it seems odd to even think ice-in. If you dip a toe into the lake, it doesn't seem so odd. Lucerne's temperature finished the week in the mid 50s°F. Watch for this year's ice-in contest to be posted in a week or three. <br><br><br>-Nemo: Swimming soon, no. Mowing soon, yes.

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