2/27/12 A STAY-AT-HOME SUNDAY, EUROPEAN LARCH, AND WE CAN ONLY EAT SO MUCH OAT MEAL

MOSTLY OPEN WATER BETWEEN BAYFIELD AND LA POINTE

EUROPEAN LARCH

THE PRIZE INSIDE THE BOX

GRRrrrrr.....I'LL DEMOLISH THE OATMEAL BOX...

...AND I'LL GET THAT COOKIE!

Monday, 8:30 AM.  22 degrees, wind W, calm to very light.  The sky is overcast and it is still snowing slightly.  We got 4”-5” of light fluffy snow last night.  There is a huge area of open water between Bayfield and La Pointe on the Island this morning.  The barometer is high.
        The roads were bad yesterday and I did not go to the mining legislation meeting at the Northern Great Lakes Visitors Center west of Ashland.  I will follow the results in the Daily Press and give my analysis tomorrow.  Yesterday  was a rarity in that the truck never left the garage, nor did a city plow or sand truck appear on the streets, and a night time walk with the dog was hushed, with us treading on nearly virgin snow.
        Most larch trees that one sees in Bayfield are American larch, also called tamarack, Larix laricina.  Occasionally one might see a European larch, Larix decidua.  The two species are quite similar in appearance, but in winter the European larch is easily identified by its much larger,  pendulous empty seed cones, while those of the American species are much smaller and  less noticeable.
        Buddy loves his toys but makes short work of many of them, and we found that an empty Quaker Oats carton with a cookie inside (like the prize in a box of Cracker Jacks)makes an inexpensive and satisfying toy, at least for a while.  But there is only so much oatmeal we can eat.