Sending in this one early, as Grace has a skating show this afternoon and by the time we get back from that, it might be too late to write. Then the possibility that I may not even be in the office much on Monday exists (more on that in a tiny bit). So I figured I had better get this one out ASAP! The rush to write left me in a bit of a conundrum with regards to a title, thus the one I chose.
I need to than all of you that sent in well wishes for my medical procedures. I did have the stress test on Friday, but have not gotten the results yet. I did see the cardiologist shortly after the test and he explained to me how things would go down from here. If the results of the stress test show no blockage, then the ablation will take place as scheduled this Wednesday the 24th. If the stress test shows a blockage, then they will do a heart catheterization on Tuesday, as sometimes the stress test can produce a false positive. If the heart catheterization shows no blockage or one that does not need to be addressed at this point, then the ablation will take place on Wednesday. If the heart cath reveals a stent is needed, then they will put the stent in at that time and my ablation will be delayed about a month, as my blood will need to be “thinned” even more that it currently is and the ablation procedure would be too dangerous with the clotting ability so low. So we wait some more to know how things will play out.
It was a fairly uneventful week both weather wise and activity wise. The winter activities came to a screeching halt. Well, almost. I did see some posts on social media of folks that were still riding this week. Some locals and some from out of town. The latter really surprised me, as it really is taking a risk to travel here to ride based on the snow conditions. They also must be really hard-core snowmobilers and have some decent knowledge of where the snow will last better than other areas, as they did ride those areas.
We have not lost all of our snow. The patches of bare ground have grown and the areas that do have snow only have around 5-6″. It’s hard telling how much longer that snow will last. The weekend was warm and now we look to cool back down and get rain. Typically rain will melt the snow fairly well, but it will be a cold rain, with temps in the upper 30’s to low 40’s. So the melting will be slower. There is also a wild card chance for a big snow event by next Sunday, but confidence is low on that idea.
Even if all the snow is gone before the end of the month, we have a long brown April to go through before things start to turn green around here. If we don’t get a lot of rain, then things could still be fairly enjoyable in April, but if a fair amount of rain falls, then it becomes very clear why April is called the “mud month”. Either way, I will have things to keep me busy…especially if I can get the ablation and start to feel more energy.
On my way back from my appointments in Rhinelander, I stopped at the snowmobile race track in Eagle River to watch some of the snowcross racing they were doing there Friday and Saturday. I was given the VIP treatment and tour by a visitor to the site. He is the track Chaplin and pretty much goes by the nickname “Rev”! I got there about mid afternoon, so the crowds were not too bad, but by the time I was leaving, people were streaming in from all directions to take in the action.
It may or may not have been desirable weather for the racers and their machines, but it was nearly ideal for the fans! Mid-50’s and clear blue skies made it very comfortable to be outside to watch the racers hop and bop their way around the track. The track does have suites that are enclosed and heated and have the capability to have drinks and some food in them, which would be ideal on a cold winters day/night, but on Friday the best seats were outside.
It really is amazing to watch these racers go around the track and hit the jumps off the mounds of snow created for the race. Here is a short video of the racers hitting the largest jump on the track. None of them hit it exceptionally hard in that video, but this picture illustrates how high up many of them would go when they decided to give-er before hitting the jump.
I do have one final thing. I have ended the SnoScoop videos for this season. I mistakenly thought that when I closed my account with the folks that were hosting the videos, it would shut down the automatic payment process. Well, it doesn’t! So, if you are still subscribed to the videos, please go in and cancel your subscription. I do not know how to do that, as I did not have a subscription being the producer of the videos, but I know it can be done, as some already have canceled. I do have the capability to do it myself, but can only do it one at a time through a very slow process, so I would appreciate folks go in and cancel their own. At the end of the week, I will be going in and canceling the rest.
I think that just about covers it. It will be an interesting and hopefully positively eventful week for me and who knows, maybe when I write next week I will be talking about a major snowstorm hitting the Keweenaw!
Good Night from the Keweenaw..
–JD
