Here we go! Another week with a little snow melting and a little new snow falling and things look very much like they did a week ago. I guess the main difference is that a week ago, it was actually snowing, whereas today, it is a beautiful sunny day. It’s been a cold week. We never got above the freezing mark all week, with highs topping out in the upper 20’s to around 30. As far as snows go, no big storms, but we did pick up a few inches every now and then. Enough to largely off set any snow loss, but nothing really gained.
The forecast looks to keep any melting at a rather slow pace this week and then the potential for a monster storm next Friday and into the following weekend. It is a LONG way out to be putting much faith into the forecast and I am done with updating the forecasts for the site for this winter season, but will obviously be monitoring it for my other duties and personal interest all week.
I have to admit that I started the week like many up here, longing for the warmer temps of spring to start melting the snow in earnest. By the end of the week though, it hit me. I have never really liked the month of April up here and the biggest reason is because that is the time when we lose most of our snow, or at least do not have enough to play in, but it is also still too wet and cold to think of doing any warm season activities. So I just usually grumpy it out until things are dry and warm enough to do something in.
Then it hit me. I am having exactly the end to the snow season that I want. That being enough snow to play in and then get rid of all of it in a 2 week period and bring on summer. So far, the first part has panned out. We are hanging onto enough so to play in (and then some). If all goes as planned in the current forecast, then a week from now we will likely have even more snow on the ground than we do right now. That puts us at April 15 with enough snow still on the ground to play in for another 5-7 days, which takes us to around the 20th-22nd of April, at which point it is nearly impossible to hag onto snow for another two weeks (except in 2013 and again in 2014!).
So, no telling for sure what the next 3-6 weeks will hold in store for us. Perhaps I’ll be loading my sled into the back of my truck to take a Memorial Day or even June ride! For now, I will just enjoy the ability to still play in the snow if I so choose.
Speaking of playing in the snow, the entire Dee clan got out for a ski today. The past two days have been very cold and very windy, so just not real nice to be out in, even with some sunshine. Today the winds were fairly calm and temps rose to around 30 degrees, so we all piled into Nora’s vehicle and headed south.
It always amazes me on how much dogs pick up on. They are always excited to go with us in our vehicles, but when we are headed to do something fun, that excitement gets ramped up 10 fold. They bounce around the back of the vehicle, wimper and stick their heads in between the two front seats to see where we are. Today’s ride down to the ski spot was no different. They were running around like crazed animals before we even stepped outside the house. Then once in the vehicle, they were doing their thing. So it was extra special when we got to where we were going and able to all get out of the vehicle and stretch our wings.
The weather was perfect for a ski, with the sunshine pouring down on us and temps around 30 degrees. Nora, Grace and the pups got a bit of a head start on me, but I was able to catch up, then eventually pass them for the gold. Well, no medals were awarded, but a beautiful view of Lake Superior as awarded to each of us for finishing. Nora had been talking with a friend who is a seasonal resident, going away to the SW US in the winters. She had said she was a little worried about her place and wondered if we wanted to go down to it and check it out. We had actually planned to ski or snowshoe today anyway, so it was a perfect fit.
Arriving at the home, all looked good, but they did lose a bit of shoreline in last autumns storms. We relaxed a bit down by the lake and afforded me the opportunity to take a pic of the newlyweds. We were just getting ready to take another shot, just in case the first did not turn out well, and were photo bombed by this cute little girl. She was so cute and so sweet, that we decided to take her home with us. 🙂
We were down in Jackobsville, where the snow is usually a bit less than the rest of the Keweenaw- at just about anytime in our winter. So there was not as much snow as we have at our place, but still plenty to ski on in most spots. There was one spot on our ski where a hill was exposed to the south and the full sun and it had lost most of it’s snow. Nora and I chose to just walk across the grass and weeds exposed due to the melting, but Grace thought she would stick to the snow. She almost made it to the top, but after a couple of tried decided to follow Mom and Dad.
We made it back to the vehicle, then home and are all nursing some sore muscles. Even the pups! I do have to say that I was pretty amazed and delighted to watch them run around like they did. If one would have had to guess their age, they probably would have been in the 3-5 year old range and over 9 years old! Anyway, they both are very relaxed and very quiet right now!
So I guess that about covers it for this one. It sure will be interesting to see if I am talking next week about the dumping of snow we got, or the rains or perhaps how the forecast was a total bust and how we got rid of all of our snow!
Good night from the Keweenaw..
–JD
