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I guess the winter is getting rather long in the tooth when a main topic of conversation is talking about how ice freezes and melts, but it is rather interesting. The bay off the Onion River was completely free of ice last Friday, and yesterday it was frozen over again. It took me some years to figure out what most Bayfield residents already knew; every winter there are periods when much of the ice in the west channel through the Apostle Islands becomes a huge detached floating mass, and blows back and forth across open water with the wind. A northeast wind will blow the ice sheet southwest toward Washburn, and a southwest wind will blow it back towards Bayfield. Under the right conditions an ice sheet several miles square will move perhaps eight or ten miles one directions or another overnight, or perhaps within a few hours. One might look out the window in the morning and see the channel frozen over, and look out at noon and it is completely clear. It didn’t just melt, it migrated. I think I have got this right, but I would appreciate comments on the subject from my Bayfield readers.
Did you know that you and I are subsidizing the haircuts of our US Senators? Yup, there is a Senate barbershop, with federally employed barbers, to cut congressional hair. $27 for a basic haircut and $105 including wash, blow dry and highlights. Barbers receive union wages, federally paid vacations and retirement benefits. I wouldn’t mind all this silliness if the hair salon didn’t run a deficit of $300,000 a year. It's time to pony up, Senator Claghorn! You should get a bill for this and past deficits according to the haircuts you have received.
The next time you see your Senator on TV, look closely at his oh-so-perfectly coiffed hair, and realize that your tax dollars helped pay for it. If these bozos actually lived in their districts instead of in Washington, DC, they would be mingling with their constituents at the corner barber shop instead of cavorting with the Capitol lobbyists.
I believe the ice is melting from underneath. These persistant west winds move the cold surface water out, allowing for warm water to come to the surface. I have been watching the lake for over 20 years and have never seen what we have been seeing lately. Last Sunday it was froze over except for a small area near shore. The wind came up and the ice disappeared within 30 minutes.
ReplyDeleteSherman Edwards the ferry boat captain has said essentially the same thing. What about the icve pack moving about?
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