That is the talk of the town right now. Will the snow on the ground stick around for the season, or will it melt? The depth of the snow depends on where you measure. Up in the higher terrain, there is around a foot, even more in spots. The lower terrain has around 3-6″ on the ground. There is more on the way the first half of this week and temps look to be bitterly cold for this time of the year, with highs in the teens.
The general consensus among the public is that it is here to stay. I am not quite ready to go all in on that idea. I certainly am giving it a reasonable chance, but I have seen more snow on the ground later into November or even early December and have watched it all melt away with a December thaw and rain. That is the LAST thing I would want to happen, but I have seen it happen more than once, so that is why I am not full in just yet!
The snows this past week started late Sunday night and continued into Monday and then fell in periods every day the rest of the week. Our total for the week here in the banana belt was 12″, but interestingly enough, on Monday and Tuesday, we had as much or more on the ground than the high snow areas like Calumet and Mohawk. It was strange to drive from here to Mohawk on Tuesday and see less snow there. Both Calumet and Mohawk made up for lost ground the rest of the week, as when I was up through there on Friday, Calumet had nearly a foot on the ground and Mohawk around 8″.
Nora got her first taste of what it will be like to drive from here to Calumet in a heavy snowfall. Monday morning she left and it was coming down hard. It continued to come down all the way to Lake Linden and then actually lightened up a bit as she climbed the hill up to Calumet. Here is a shot she took on her way up the Jacobsville Rd Monday morning. Here is a shot of the road we live on not long after the sun had come up and I was out with Huck, letting him go to the bathroom.
As mentioned, the rest of the week saw periods of snow showers occur and it was cold. That kept the contractors away. Then on Friday, the snows finally ended, the sun even showed up for a bit and temps were warmer. The contractors arrived around mid-morning on Friday and got very close to finishing up the siding on the front of the shop. That is the last wall that needs to be completed, so it look like they have about 3 sheets of metal to put up and will be done. I doubt that they will be coming for the first half of this week, with the snow and cold, but am hoping that they come at the end and finish things up. It will be nice to have the exterior of the building done and also nice to not have any materials laying around any more.
Friday was also the fish fry fundraiser for the Keweenaw Snowmobile Club up at Lac La Belle. No major snowstorm this year and the attendance was very good. I don’t know the final count, but I think we were close to 200 tickets sold. We also had a 50/50 raffle that rose to the tune of $350+. So that will get us one step closer to being able to build the new groomer barn next build season. If you would like to help, you can make a donation here. I can also add that we are going to have a mega-50/50. The tickets will be arriving soon and we will begin selling them this week. We will continue to sell tickets all winter long and stop the selling a day or less before the drawing. The drawing will be held on April 7th at 7 pm at our April club meeting. I know I am excited to see how large the pot gets! 1, 5, 10, 20 thousand? Why not?
Living in Jacobsville sure has been nice. Living in Lake Linden and Mohawk was also nice, but we have made some really good friends down here and the small group of folks that stick around all winter really keep an eye on each other and lend a hand when it is needed. We went to breakfast to one such family that has become our friends in the past 12-16 months. Their daughter is the same age as Grace and the two of them, plus another girl of the same age are all best friends and call themselves the Jacobsville Girls Club.
The folks we went to for breakfast today lead a really cool life. They are transplants from the Appleton WI area and are homesteaders. They built their own home, a yurt-like structure with solid walls and a solid roof. They raise a variety of animals, as well as grow the majority of their produce. It is really an amazing life and also a ton of hard work. While having breakfast and chatting, I glanced at one of the storage areas for all of the things they have canned and was amazed at all of the jars of things. She also made some homemade juneberry syrup that we put on our french toast today and I now have a new favorite syrup to put on my pancakes and such! I just need to wait until next summer when we can pick our own juneberries and make the syrup, or better yet, the next time we are invited over for breakfast to their house!
After breakfast, we all went for a walk and swung by the animal sheds. We paid a visit to their two cows and goats, as well as said hi to the ducks, chickens and rabbits. This summer we got all of our eggs from them and plan to resume that as soon as we get settled into the home. We also walked a portion of their land, including a walk out to two of the old quarries they have on their land. They said that the quarry in the last shot is 40 feet deep in spots and averages around 30 feet deep. Pretty amazing it already has ice forming on it.
The week ahead looks to be a pretty quiet one. I have some electrical work that I would like to get done in the kitchen and upstairs bedroom. When it warms up at the end of the week, I am hoping to get over and get the rest of my shop equipment from the temporary shelter we put up near the camper and maybe even take the shelter down if I have enough time. Otherwise it will be resting up for the big move into the house on November 23rd.
I guess that about covers it for this one. Have a great week everyone and talk to you next week!
Good Night from the Keweenaw..
–JD
