Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

It's 16 below zero this morning. The sun is out in all its glory. At this temperature, and with the bright, bright sunlight, the super-chilled snow appears as if coated with a carpet of tiny diamonds. So beautiful to look at--though I think we'll postpone the morning walk a bit.

Jack Frost

Frosty has been busy lately. Here's a view through the upstairs' window. Jack doesn't like the thermopane on the main floor--but he has a ball upstairs.

OK--Humongous

I have an old sailing buddy who was fond of saying, "Life is a word-eating contest." On my earlier post you may have noticed that I said we never had humongous snow--just a lot of accumulation over winter. I stand corrected as of last Wednesday--as you can see. Here is a picture from Main Street in town.

Snowfall

We are mercifully out of the Great Lakes lake effect snow belt--so we never get a humongous amount at one time. However, as the termperature seldom strays above freezing in the winter, we do find quite a bit on the ground about this time. Here are some pictures. The point in winter--for those of you who have enjoyed it--is a bit less hospitable this time of year, but it is every bit as pretty.

Coyote on Country Club

I would include a picture--but it would just be a black dot on the snow field that is the lake. The furry fellow was moving from the Elks toward Rain Creek--about even with Doc Fritz' place. If I had a little dog on Country Club--I'd keep him on a leash! He seemed confused as viewed in the binoculars, lots of looks over the shoulder and hesitation. We saw some tracks around the island a few days ago that we thought belonged to a dog--perhaps not. The snow creates a good record of visitors--but I'm not the best at deciphering whose feet belong to whom.

The Ice Puzzle

More like a jigsaw puzzle. The recent run from way above freezing back to freezing has left the lake in distress. The surface is carved into triangles--many not much bigger than a coffee table. The question: Do these fractured seams have the same strength as the surrounding ice once they re-freeze--or will they break again at the first opportunity? It is a bit unnerving to walk across the surface with so many cracks and with such a clear view of the lake bottom! It looks very cold down there. So far so good.

A Winter's Scene

A color photograph--but a world in black and white.