Day 55
For all of you ice angler's out there. The ice has finally begun to form on the lakes in our area. This is great news with Tip Up Town USA only a few weeks away. Whether or not the ice will be safe in time for TUT remains to be seen. The festival will go on either way as all of the rides, vendors and contests are held on snow covered land with the exception of a few, such as the ice fishing contest.
Late ice on the lake has happened before. A few years ago the ice didn't form up until the very end of December and TUT went on without a hitch. I'm sure I'll see someone on the ice in the next two weeks whether the ice is safe or not.
Unusually warm weather was the culprit a few years back. This year we set a new record for December average temperatures. Just over 40 degrees average for the month.
I don't ice fish so I'm not upset in the least. I look forward to an early spring and getting my boat back in the water at either Backus Lake or Reedsburg Dam area. I prefer fishing from my small two man boat. Over the last four years I have become very fond of trolling at Backus Lake. Partly for bigger fish but lately for any fish. The winter kill over the past two winters has been devastating to the smaller and shallower bodies of water.
Fishing has gone down so much at Backus there were hardly any campers there this past summer. One good thing though, the deer flies were almost none existent. Deer flies like to fly around your head and they bite. Mostly they bite my hands and ankles. Right through my socks! It's hard to catch fish when your constantly swatting at biting flies. I don't look forward to the flies but I have an electric fly swatter. Once you zap the first dozen they don't come back right away. So it's all good.
Anyway, the point is there's ice forming on Houghton Lake and a little snow on the ground. So ice fishing and snowmobiling aren't far away. Spring isn't far away either.
Until tomorrow,
Ken
Showing posts with label snow. Show all posts
Showing posts with label snow. Show all posts
Saturday, January 2, 2016
Tuesday, December 29, 2015
What a Day!
Day 51
Yes. It has snowed. I'm not happy about it but what can I do. I cleared enough snow to get the snowblower turned around and started. I parked the snowblower by my door back in October. It was started once to get ready for the season and there it has remained until today.
There are basically two types of snow here in Michigan; the heavy wet snow that's like overcooked sticky rice, and there's the dry light snow like boxed mash potato flakes. The first snow of the season is almost always the former.
I have a small Toro snowblower. One speed, no drive assist. It only moves as fast as I can push it and it only throws the snow ten feet on it's best day. My deck gets the snow removed first. The deck Is twenty feet long and twenty feet wide. By the time I get half way across the snow height has doubled. Five more feet and it has tripled. When I get to the edge I'm pushing more than I'm throwing. Still better than shoveling by far.
I'm a bit overweight. I'm 5' 10" and weigh 300+ so you can probably guess I don't get a lot of exercise. My New Years resolution is to lose weight. Again.
I'm out there huffing and puffing and blowing harder than the big bad wolf, when a thought occurs to me. More people die of heart attacks, while shoveling snow, than any other time. I know this because the old friend I went to visit a week ago is a retired insurance adjuster for State Farm Insurance. He recited the fact when I mentioned clearing away the snow at my house. Rather, I mentioned how happy I was "not" having to clear away the snow at my house, because it hadn't snowed yet.
Clearly I was intimidated as any sane person would be. So I only cleared snow for a short time and came back in the house. I hooked myself up to my home heart monitor and watched TV, while I rested and ate a snack (just to keep my energy up). I went back and cleared a little more snow, then came back inside again to rest and monitor. I did this all day long. It worked well. I should be able to clear the other half of the deck tomorrow. Then I'll tackle the path to the driveway. Then the driveway. I figure I'll have it done by next spring.
Until tomorrow,
Ken
Yes. It has snowed. I'm not happy about it but what can I do. I cleared enough snow to get the snowblower turned around and started. I parked the snowblower by my door back in October. It was started once to get ready for the season and there it has remained until today.
There are basically two types of snow here in Michigan; the heavy wet snow that's like overcooked sticky rice, and there's the dry light snow like boxed mash potato flakes. The first snow of the season is almost always the former.
I have a small Toro snowblower. One speed, no drive assist. It only moves as fast as I can push it and it only throws the snow ten feet on it's best day. My deck gets the snow removed first. The deck Is twenty feet long and twenty feet wide. By the time I get half way across the snow height has doubled. Five more feet and it has tripled. When I get to the edge I'm pushing more than I'm throwing. Still better than shoveling by far.
I'm a bit overweight. I'm 5' 10" and weigh 300+ so you can probably guess I don't get a lot of exercise. My New Years resolution is to lose weight. Again.
I'm out there huffing and puffing and blowing harder than the big bad wolf, when a thought occurs to me. More people die of heart attacks, while shoveling snow, than any other time. I know this because the old friend I went to visit a week ago is a retired insurance adjuster for State Farm Insurance. He recited the fact when I mentioned clearing away the snow at my house. Rather, I mentioned how happy I was "not" having to clear away the snow at my house, because it hadn't snowed yet.
Clearly I was intimidated as any sane person would be. So I only cleared snow for a short time and came back in the house. I hooked myself up to my home heart monitor and watched TV, while I rested and ate a snack (just to keep my energy up). I went back and cleared a little more snow, then came back inside again to rest and monitor. I did this all day long. It worked well. I should be able to clear the other half of the deck tomorrow. Then I'll tackle the path to the driveway. Then the driveway. I figure I'll have it done by next spring.
Until tomorrow,
Ken
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