1/16/09 NOT COMPLETELY NUTS

Friday, 8:00 AM. –20 degrees, wind W, calm. The sky is cloudless except for billowing lake smoke on the eastern horizon.
I cannot pass up the opportunity to comment briefly on the "miracle on the Hudson" plane crash yesterday. New York is, I think, the greatest city in the world, and the people among the best. I worked in the City for some years, and have a vivid memory is of an accident on an on ramp to the West Side Highway. A couple of guys in T shirts and shorts walked into the mess, and directed heavy traffic safely around the accident, acting exactly like traffic cops. The amazing thing is that everyone, everyone obeyed these guys! There's no one like a New Yorker!
Two blue jays at the feeder are puffed up as big as crows. Yesterday I saw a red squirrel pop up out of the snow like a Jack-in-the box, shake itself, and pop back under into the tunnel it has been using to run from tree to tree.
I think the ice road will open soon, it must be frozen thick enough now, although there are other factors to consider, such as quality of the ice, currents, etc.
The photos are of the big wind sled. The interior has bench seats and I am told it is a hard, noisy, smelly ride. The two big engines can move it at a good clip but I think the pilots are usually pretty conservative, as rivets can pop, etc.
The wind sleds are owned by the Village of LaPointe on the Island, and the operating budget is provided by fares, a subsidy from the Bayfield School District, and donations from the Madeline Island Ferry Line. The big sled was purchased several years ago from a Canadian manufacturer with a federal grant. They are expensive to run and maintain and are not a profit making venture, so everyone is happy when the ice road opens. The Island would be virtually isolated for weeks without them. The wind sleds, the ice road and the ferries are all expensive operations, but a lot cheaper than a boondoggle bridge, and think of the sense of romance and adventure we would loose!
No walk for Lucky and me until it warms up considerably. Like most of us Northlanders, we are hardy souls, but we are not completely nuts!