WHATEVER IT TAKES!

THE COLDEST, SNOWIEST, ICIEST, LONGEST WINTER IN DECADES

OK, OK, WHATEVER IT TAKES!

Monday,  9:30 AM.  37 degrrees F, wind from the NNE at ground level, with clouds moving in from the WSW at higher elevation.  The sky is mostly cloudy and overcast.  The humidity is trending up, now at 83%, and the barometer down, currently at 29.86".  It's a tossup as to whether it will rain or snow today, it all depends on the temperature.  

   Andy and Judy are back in camp, trying to get maple trees tapped to start sugarin', but the snow is almost overwhelming.  I am combating ice dams on the roof and worrying about where the runoff will go when all the snow finally melts.   There are reports from ice fishermen that in some places there is five feet of  hard, clear ice.  And I have no idea when we will start planting trees. Or when the daffodils will bloom.  It is the coldest, snowiest, longest winter in decades, if not longer.  And all the while the propaganda about stopping Global Warming continues.
   O.K., O.K., whatever it takes!.  I'll sign up,  if  they can guarantee  it will stop snowing!

AN ENCOUNTER WITH MIZZ MA'M'SELLE HEPZIBA

JUST OUT FOR A STROLL IN THE SUNSHINE...

...BUT DON'T THINK I'M AN EASY PICKUP!

Sunday, 8:30 AM.  36 degrees F, up from much colder earlier. The sky is mostly clear, with some scattered clouds and haze.  The wind is variable, with moderate gusts. The humidity is 75% and the barometer has dropped to 29.96".  We are bracing for another storm from out of the west.
   On the way to the recycle center yesterday we came across a skunk just strolling along the side of Townsend Road.  Joan saw it first and I had to back up a ways to take these photos.  Skunks don't see very well and we got quite close, but I rolled up the window and drove off when it turned around and began to raise its tail...a rather ominous sign.
   Buddy wanted badly to make friends but had to be satisfied with looking out the window.  I have had dogs sprayed by skunks and it is a most unpleasant experience. A tomato juice bath is the only antidote I know for the nauseating stench.  Dogs, by the way, are the only animals dumb enough to attack a skunk; except for the great horned owl, which is reputedly its only real predator.  Maybe the owls hold their noses.
   Skunks don't really hibernate, but do become very inactive and stay denned up most of the winter.  I have read that the females  den together, but that the males are solitary.  We did not investigate as to this individual's gender, although it looked rather pretty and dainty, at least for a skunk.
  Remember the femme fatale lady skunk, Mizz Ma'm'selle Hepziba, in the old Walt Kelly comic strip, Pogo?  Beautiful, flirty,  but oh, so unapproachable!

LICHENS; YET ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE ON THE ECONOMY OF NATURE

AFTER THE STORM...YESTERDAY MORNING

LICHENS ON YOUNG SUGAR MAPLE TREES

LICHEN COLONY ON A YOUNG RED OAK TREE

Saturday, 9:00 AM.  21 degrees F, but warming rapidly.  The sky is again crystal clear.  The humidity is 80% and the barometer has risen to 30.34".  It is a gorgeous late February day.  Unfortunately, it is almost April.  The snow will, however, melt considerably today and tomorrow, before we get the next snow storm.
   Taking Buddy for a run down Old San Road yesterday I was struck by the number of lichens on the oaks and maples, and how obvious they are in the bright sunshine and glistening snow.  There are many, many kinds of lichens,  epiphytes that grow harmlessly on the bark of tree trunks and branches, as well as on rocks.  Those pictured are crustose (crusty) lichens; there are also foliose (leaf like) lichens, and others that look like miniature trees or shrubs.  The beauty and diversity of these odd living organisms is striking, and they encompass their own, separate  branch of botany.  Although I have always found them fascinating, I have never studied them seriously.  And that's a shame.
   Lichens are a symbiosis between a fungus, which provides the growth substrate, and a blue-green algae, which provides the photosynthesis which nourishes the composite organism.  There are also lichens which are a symbiosis of a fungus and a photosynthetic bacterium, that are very prevalent on the rocks along the shores of Lake Superior and other northern bodies of water.  They are orange and yellow rather than green in color, making the rocks look as though they have been splashed with luminescent paint.  Lichens are also very sensitive to air pollution, and their abundance can be seen as an indicator of good air quality, and their absence the inverse.
   Lichens also live on conifer branches (I see them most often on spruce trees), occasionally so heavily encrusting them that some of the branches may die, but they are not parasitic in any way. These strange and lovely organisms should be accepted as part of the ecology of the landscape, as they are by and large not harmful, and provide yet another  perspective on the economy of nature.
 

A WILD SWAN CHASE, AND A BLACK BALD EAGLE

BLACK-PHASE BALD EAGLE

NAMEKAGON RIVER NORTH OF HAYWARD

Friday, 8:30 AM.  26 degrees F, wind N, calm.  the sky is azure blue, the atmosphere crystal clear.  The humidity is 82% and the barometer 30.01".  A "Canadian clipper," a short mini-blizzard, came roaring through late yesterday afternoon and into the evening, and left us with an additional 3"-4"of new snow,  rendering the tired old winter pristine again.  Luckily we got home yesterday before it hit.
   Our trip down to Madison was uneventful, we accomplished our business readily and then decided to go the long way home, taking US Hwy. 12 northwest out of Madison to I 90-94 and on up to Hudson, Wisconsin, across the Saint Croix River from Minneapolis-St. Paul. The objective was to see large flocks of Trumpeter swans that for many years have overwintered there.  That turned out to be a "wild swan chase," as the river and lake were all but frozen solid.  Should have known.
  However, all these perambulations gave us the opportunity to really assess the advance of spring in Wisconsin, from north to south and from south to west.  I hate to tell you this, but spring is not as yet to be found anywhere in Wisconsin (I doubt even Milwaukee).  The Wisconsin River was frozen solid everywhere we crossed until our last view of it around Portage, which is about an hour north of Madison.  The state is still snowbound at least to Wausau, which is about mid-state, and then snow cover decreases until there was nothing but a few snow piles left  in Madison, but it was still winter there, although finally getting above freezing during the day.  We did see some open stretches of water on the Namekagon River around Hayward, but that was very unusual.  And we saw a very large flock of turkeys in the same stretch along State Hwy. 63.
   But the best part of the trip was seeing the black-phase bald eagle (above photo) around Mercer on the trip down to Madison.  This bird was still a juvenile, by what I have read probably a three year old.  Younger juveniles have primarily mixed brown and white feathers, and the adults have brownish body plumage. The black phase usually, from what I have read and seen, does not usually have distinct white plumage on head and tail, and its beak and eyes would not as yet be yellow.  This was a spectacularly beautiful eagle and we were fortunate to have spotted it while driving.  We did make a U-turn to go back and take photos.

   He clasps the crags with crooked hands;
   Close to the sun in lonely lands,
   Ring'd with the azure world, he stands.

   The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;
   He watches from his mountain walls,
   And like a thunder-bolt he falls.
                   -Tennyson-

NEEDLE BURN AND SALT DAMAGE ON CONIFERS

WHITE SPRUCE WITH SEVERE NEEDLE BURN

...CLOSEUP OF DAMAGE

ROADSIDE SALT DAMAGE ON COMMON JUNIPER

Tuesday, 9:00 AM.  8 degrees F, wind WNW, light.  The sky is partly cloudy with some overcast.  There were slippery ice crystals on the roads again this morning and I put on my Yak Tracks.  The humidity is 69% and the barometer 30.23", both trending down.  We are driving to Madison this morning on business but the roads and weather should be O.K.  The trip, exactly two weeks from our last journey on the same route, will show whether there has been any obvious advancement of spring thru ought the state.

   Even though the calendar says it is spring, functionally it still is winter.  And it is taking its toll on conifers.  The medium sized white spruce in the photo has rather suddenly turned mostly brown.  I have looked pretty closely (the snow is deep) but the damage appears to simply be needle burn.  The sun's strengthening rays are now at an angle at which they are hitting the upper surface of the needles at the same time they are reflecting off the white surface of the snow and hitting the lower surface (note how much more damaged the needles are over the snow on the garage roof).  The result is desiccation of the needles, which the tree is shedding profusely.  Needle burn from late winter sun and wind ia becoming more and more obvious.  If the dormant buds of new needles aren't too baldly damaged the tree will grow new needles but it may take some time to recover.

   And of course salt damage along heavily travelled roads is showing up now as well.  It isn't just salt runoff that causes damage to vegetation, but also salt spray from heavy traffic, which can be carried some distance from the road by the prevailing winds.

FREEZING FOG, NORWAY SPRUCE, AND A FATE TO BE AVOIDED

FREEZING FOG..MAKES ROADS AND WALKS QUITE SLIPPERY IN PLACES

GROVE OF SNOW-LACED NORWAY SPRUCE

THE DEEP SNOW MAKES THE TOP WIRE OF  FENCES ALMOST INVISIBLE ...

...SO IT IS QUITE IMPORTANT TO OBEY THE SIGN...

...WHICH IS PRETTY MUCH IGNORED

Monday, 8:30 AM.  1 degree F at the ferry dock, 5 degrees on the back porch.  The sky is mostly clear with a few high, thin white clouds.  The wind is westerly, light. The humidity is 84% and the barometer is trending down, currently at 30.31". There is a freezing fog which is evident over the channel but almost imperceptible here on the bluff, but I can feel it on my face; very tiny crystals of ice, which have coated the roads and made them very slippery in places and difficult to walk on.  I don't think I have ever experienced anything quite like it.  It will disappear as soon as the sun warms it up a bit.
   A magnificent grove of Norway spruce, Picea abies, occupies most of the block between Ninth and Tenth Streets and Wilson and Manypenny Avenues. They are quite beautiful laced with the latest snowfall. They were planted by naturalist and good friend Andy Larsen when he was a boy, and his grandfather owned the land.
   The snowmobile trails on the outskirts of town have some rules and regulations, which are often ignored.  The admonition to stay on the trails and the warning concerning  barbed wire fences is a particularly important one this winter, as the snow is so deep it is often level with the top wire of the fences. Running into barbed wire on a snow machine is a fate to be avoided.

KEEPING THE DOOR OPEN!

MORE PROPANE FOR MADELINE ISLAND

TRANSFERRING PROPANE FROM TANKER TRUCK TO SMALLER DELIVERY TRUCK

Sunday, 9:00 AM.  Wind W, calm with stronger gusts.  The sky is mostly clear.  The humidity is 75% and the barometer is trending higher, now at 30.53".  It looks like a repeat of yesterday.
   It has been only a week  since the last tanker truck of propane arrived at the ferry landing destined for Madeline Island, and I find it rather amazing that another shipment was needed already.  It certainly has been unseasonably cold.
   There was a discussion as to whether the big tanker could safely cross to the Island on the Ice Road, but it was all theoretical and the transfer was made to the smaller truck, which itself is rated at 23,000 pounds fully loaded, certainly no lightweight vehicle. If I were the diver I would keep the door open during the trip across the ice.

NEEDLE BURN ON WHITE FIR, AND ENOUGH OF PRETTY ALREADY!

NEEDLE BURN ON WHITE FIR...

...CLOSEUP OF DAMAGE;
NOTE UPWARD SWEEP OF NEEDLES ON BRANCHES, WHICH IS TYPICAL OF FIRS)

NEW SNOW ON HEDGE MAPLE;
ENOUGH OF PRETTY ALREADY!!

Saturday, 9:00 AM.  10 degrees F, wind WNW, light to moderate with moderate gusts.  The sky is mostly clear except for some very high thin white clouds blowing in with the cold high pressure system.  The humidity is 72% and the barometer is rising, now at 30.34".  It is a pretty day, although chilly.

   The white, or concolor fir, Abies  concolor, is native to the mountains of Southwestern North America (Colorado to southern California, New Mexico, northern Mexico) and as a montane species adapted to the cold conditions of high elevations is hardy to Zone 3.  It grows best on rocky, well drained soils with ample moisture.  It does not tolerate clay very well.  The tree pictured has always looked good, but has a lot of needle burn from this winter.  Our native balsam firs do not seem to have been similarly damaged.  The concolor fir is rather broadly conical and has a blue to blue-green needle color that is much like that of the popular Colorado blue spruce, which has some problems of its own.  It is fine to plant such trees for their color, shape and texture, but be aware of their shortcomings.

   Firs can be easily identified by the upward curvature of their soft, non-prickly needles, and by their cones, which are held upright on the branches (spruce cones hang down).  The needles of the Douglas fir (which is not a true fir but a separate genus, Pseudotsuga) are attached to the branch horizontally, like those of yews (Taxus species).

   The new snowfall is very pretty, but enough already!

SPRING IS RELUCTANTLY ARRIVING: PUSSY WILLOWS,NESTING CROWS, AND OPEN WATER

PUSSY WILLOW BUDS ARE BEGINNING  TO OPEN

THERE IS OPEN WATER NOW BEYOND MADELINE ISLAND
(as viewed from the top of Washington Ave)

Friday,  9:00 AM.  30 degrees F, wind WSW, calm to very light.  There is a high overcast, the humidity is up, to 81%, and the barometer is down, to 29.89".  We may get some precipitation.
   I checked out the native pussy willows, Salix discolor, at the beach yesterday and the buds are beginning to open, the white fluff inside now  clearly visible.
  The crows have been very active of late, and this morning I saw one flying with a twig in its beak, obviously engaged in building a nest.
   We were surprised yesterday to see that there is now a huge expanse of open water east of Madeline Island, where there was nothing but ice and snow only twelve days ago. The Ice Road won't last much longer.
   Spring is reluctantly arriving.

...BUT ON THE OTHER HAND...

A GAP IN THE ARBORVITAE  HEDGE...

...AND LOTS OF WINTER BURN ON THE DWARF ALBERTA SPRUCE

THERE'S A RHODODENDRON GARDEN UNDER THERE SOMEWHERE...

...AN AZALEA POKING THROUGH THE SNOW

Thursday,  29 degrees F, wind WNW, light with stronger gusts.  The sky is overcast, the humidity is down to 72% and the barometer is up, now at 30.01".  At least it isn't snowing on this, the first day of spring, or ziigwan, as our neighbors would say in the Ojibwe language. 

   By all accounts this has been a rough winter.  Just how rough won't be apparent until after the snow melts and we can really examine the plants.  Not that it hasn't been plenty rough on heating bills, water lines and roads.  But plant-wise it's a little early to tell, although some things have obviously taken a hit, such as the arborvitae (Thuja occidentals) hedge in the back yard, which has many plants bent over by the snow load.  I hope they're not actually broken, and I have learned over the years not to try to brush the snow and ice off of heavily laden trees and shrubs, it invariably does more harm than good.

   And the dwarf Alberta spruce (Picea glauca 'Conica') in the herb garden, which are no longer 'dwarf', have experienced even worse winter burn than usual.  The needles often burn from wind and snow-reflected sun, but they recover with a flush of new growth.

   Some plants will actually benefit greatly from the deep snow cover.  The Rhododendrons and azaleas (both are in the genus Rhododendron, but the Rhododendrons have broadleaf evergreen foliage and azaleas are deciduous) are happy as can be under the snow.  Only one azalea is poking through, and the buds on it look quite viable.

   The perennial garden will fare well also, with plenty of insulating snow cover, little or no frost, and lots of moisture from the melting snow.

   So, on the one hand..., but on the other hand...

BAD ROADS, AND WORSE

WINTER RETURNED TO THE NORTHLAND WITH A VENGEANCE YESTERDAY...

...AND TO THE ICE ROAD 

WHEAT DRIED FOR HARVEST WITH ROUNDUP (GLYPHOSPHATE)

Wednesday,9:30 AM.  27 degrees F, up from 18 earlier.  The winD is NW, Light to moderate.  The sky is cloudy and it is  still snowing lightly after depositing 4"- 5" of new snow.  The humidity is 90% and the barometer is steady, at 29.85".

   Winter returned with a vengeance yesterday, and the roads were pretty treacherous.  I had a flat tire that needed repairing, and will ultimately result in purchasing a set of new tires for the truck, so I had to drive on bad roads to Ashland. The Ice Road looked worse.

   Traversing Wisconsin last fall I was amazed at all the obviously artificially dried fields of corn in the agricultural areas of the state.  Upon asking farmers and others who would know the reason, the consensus was that glyphosphate, specifically the weed killer Roundup, was being used extensively to treat the green corn so that it could be more easily distilled into ethanol.   I was astounded at this, as only the kernels are used to produce ethanol and the rest of the plant is used primarily in cattle feed.

   First, let me say that I think producing ethanol as a biofuel is a fools errand, as it takes almost as much energy to produce the ethanol as is derived from it as a fuel.  The whole enterprise is another expensive, dubious governmental boondoggle, resulting in 40% of the nation's corn crop, which arguably should be used for food for humans and animals, is now used to produce ethanol to enrich gasoline.  Even Pope John Paul, who was neither an economist nor a biologist, got this one right.  Will we never learn?

   Second, and perhaps more importantly, there is now considerable suspicion that glyphosphate used to dry crops (wheat as well as corn) and as an agricultural weed killer is finding its way into the human diet and causing the near  epidemic-like incidence of celiac disease, which is intolerance to dietary gluten.  The research on the causal relationship is perhaps rudimentary, but there seems to be a more than incidental connection between the two factors.

   We have had pesticide and herbicide panics in the past, such as the the concern about the use of Alar on apples, which have been unnecessarily damaging to agriculture and were overblown.
   But keep your eye on this issue.

KEEPING OUR FINGERS CROSSED

COULDN'T HURT, I GUESS...

...THAT'S PRETTY MUCH WHAT IS HAPPENING

Tuesday, 8:30 AM.  26 degrees F, wind variable, light.  The sky is overcast, it is snowing lightly; fine, icy crystals, of which about two inches has fallen.  Freezing fog enshrouds the channel.  The dusting of new snow covers up the ugliness of the deteriorating snow cover, but that's all I can say for it.
   The church on Hwy. 13 south of Washburn has an intriguing message posted on its information sign: "Pray for a slow melt down." Can't argue with the sentiment, and actually that's what we have been getting for several weeks now, so one might assume their entreaties are being answered.  Anyway I guess their efforts couldn't hurt.
   Another week or two of similar slow melting and we shouldn't have too many flooding worries (absent a repeat of last year's April and May storms that dropped about five feet of late snow on us).
   We'll keep our fingers crossed as well.

TROUT, DEER, MAPLE SAP AND HUNGRY BEARS

NORTH BRANCH OF PIKES CREEK IS RISING...THINK TROUT!

DEER ARE LOOKING FOR HERBS BENEATH THE SNOW  

MAPLE SAP IS RISING

AND THE BEARS ARE WAKING UP

Monday,  9:00 AM.  19 degrees F, wind SW, light to moderate with strong gusts.  The sky is overcast and a few snowflakes are blowing about.  The humidity is 82% and the barometer has fallen rather precipitously to 29.83". A city crew is thawing out a sewer main on tenth and Manypenny.  We have a return of winter this morning, which I hope  is only temporary.
   Things are waking up though, coming out of the winter doldrums.  The North Branch of Pike's Creek is beginning to look like a trout stream again; we are seeing deer looking for fresh forage every day now, the maple sap is flowing and the bears will soon be prowling about.  Hope ours aren't as hungry as the Russian Bear that has come out of hibernation and is gobbling up Ukraine.  Time to put my pistol in my coat pocket when out in the big woods, I guess.
   President Obama, please do not wander about in the Russian woods unless you do likewise.

I SURE DO LIKE WATCHING BEAVERS

BEAVER POND AND DAM AT HEADWATERS OF THE NORTH BRANCH OF PIKE'S CREEK...

...LOCATED IN A MARSH ALONG VALLEY ROAD...

...LOOKS LIKE THE BEAVERS ARE BECOMING ACTIVE

AMERICAN BEAVER, CASTOR CANADENSIS

Sunday, 9:00 AM.  7 degrees F, up from 4 degrees earlier.  The sky is clear, the wind NW and calm.  The humidity is up to 82% and the barometer is also up, to a quite high 30.60".  There will be a full moon tonight, in Ojibwa it is called onaabani-giizis, Hard Crust on the Snow Moon, which is an apt description of March conditions.  It was nearly as light as day last night, with the almost-full moon and clear skies.
   Coming back from the Recycle Center yesterday we drove from Hwy. 13 north of Red Cliff to Compton Rd., which becomes Valley Road and connects with Hwy. J.  There is a marsh along that route that is the headwaters of the North Branch of Pike's Creek, which flows into Lake Superior just south of Bayfield.  There is a beaver dam and pond in the marsh that appears to have an active beaver population.  It looks to me like the beavers have been out and about in the snow around the stream and dam.  We will make it a point to watch for them and try to get some photos.
   I find beavers very interesting, but they can be extremely damaging to trees and other woody vegetation and they often are trapped for that reason as well as for their fur, which can be quite valuable if the market is high.  We have at least one active trapper right in the immediate area and the beavers may not last long. In general  I have no objection to the elimination of animals doing economic damage, but I do hope these are left alone.
   I sure do like watching beavers.

THE END OF THE ROAD, AND BEGINNING OF THE SAP RUN

ICE ROAD ADVISORY

PROPANE TRUCK TOO HEAVY FOR TH ICE ROAD

COLLECTING SAP FROM COURTHOUSE SUGAR MAPLE TREES

CLOSEUP OF SAP COLLECTION BAG AND SPILE

Saturday, 9:00 AM.  17 degrees F, wind NW, light with stronger gusts.  It is party cloudy with lots of blue sky.  The humidity is down, at 66%, and the barometer is up, now at 30.19".  We had a dusting of snow last night, and our morning walk was a bit nippy.
   The Ice Road is now closed to all but local traffic.  This is an advisory only and is not enforced in any way, and is meant to keep the road useable by residents for as long as possible.  The unofficial projection is that it will be open perhaps another week.  The major portions of the road have very deep ice, but the approaches to land on both ends are becoming noticeably soft and wet.  The Ice Caves visitation will probably not last much longer either, although I suspect this weekend will be another mob scene.  I have heard that the local EMTs have been making an average of two dozen emergency runs on weekends, mostly falls and exposure.
   The propane supplier on the Island is running out of propane and a tanker truck was at the Bayfield dock today, too heavy to cross the ice.  The last I saw, it was waiting to transfer the propane to smaller trucks that can safely cross the ice.
   Someone has tapped the large old maple trees at Bayfied's  Old Courthouse (now Park Service headquarters) to collect sap for making maple syrup.  I assume it is a school project.  The bags were still empty when I took the photos, indicating that sap is not as yet flowing.  The bag system looks to me to be clean, neat and efficient.  As long as taping is properly done and the spiles (sap spigots) are removed at the end of the season no harm is done to the tree.

DEER, MYOPIC MISCHIEF, AND NATIONAL DECLINE

DEER ARE EMERGING FROM HEAVY WINTER COVER

Friday, 8:00 AM.  39 degrees F, wind WNW, light to moderate.  The sky is mostly cloudy at present.  The humidity is 81% and the barometer is trending down, now at 29.44".  We are very fortunate that the melting has been gradual, with no rain, so that runoff has to this point been gradual.  The ground has been frozen hard and deep, and a lot of the snow melt will run off into the lake rather than percolate into the water table.
   Lake Superior water levels should rise considerably with all the snow melt, and in addition the lake has been mostly frozen over and will remain so for some time to come, greatly reducing evaporation, which lowers water levels in an open winter.
   Yesterday we saw five deer along Nevers Road on our way to Tetzner's Dairy to get milk and ice cream.  As the weather warms and the snow melts they will become increasingly visible, moving out of winter yarding areas to find fresh forage.
   Wednesday's Urban Forestry Council meeting at the capitol in Madison was filled with interesting information, some of which I will pass on.  The harsh winter will probably hold down some insect populations, such as Gypsy Moths and Emerald Ash Borers, but insects are so fertile that even under the worst conditions enough of the population overwinters that their numbers can soon return to normal.  Twenty-one of Wisconsin's 51 counties are now under EAB quarantine.
   A report was made on Leed certification of "green" buildings (those which pass stringent environmental standards of energy and water use, recycling, carbon emission and sequestration, etc.), which sounds like a good goal for all new or reconstructed building projects.  How could anyone object to such obviously virtuous standards and results?
   Ah, but as with any sales pitch, it pays to read the fine print and ferret out the unintended (or at least undisclosed) consequences.  In order to reach the highest levels of certification, a "green" building must be constructed of so-called local materials, i.e., produced within a five-hundred mile radius of the building site.  Who could argue with that, as it supports more-or-less local industries and labor?
   I could, and here's why.  I won't even argue the fact that it may increase the cost of the building significantly, and of course finance costs and real estate taxes as well.  My main objection to so-called local input requirements is that if everybody, everywhere adopted these draconian standards, interstate and international trade would be decimated and everyone, everywhere, would suffer.
   Case in point: Wisconsin's forest products industry adds approximately nine billion dollars to the state economy yearly, over 12% of the state's annual GDP. Approximately 2 billion dollars of forest products are exported annually to China alone.  If  environmentally "enlightened" Chinese adopted Leed standards, Wisconsin would loose that $2 billion dollars a year and drive the struggling forest products sector into further decline.  Add to that the fact that the wood products sector supports many highly paid jobs and established private sector businesses, and that decline is at the expense of the struggling middle class.
   The  environmental movement is rife with this kind of myopic mischief, and it is sucking the entire nation further and further into decline.

THIMK SPRING!

WISCONSIN SNOW COVER

RED OAK LEAVES

Thursday, 9:00 AM.  22 degrees F, wind WSW, calm to very light.  The sky is overcast and very dark in the west.  The humidity is 70% and the barometer is more or less steady at 29.87".

   We had a good trip to Madison and an excellent Urban Forestry Council meeting at the Capitol.  We met with our state Representative and Senator and brought them up to date on state urban forestry issues, including Emerald Ash Borer infestations and other pest and disease issues, and we thanked them for their strong support for the recent, $49,000 Forest Service Great Lakes Clean Water Initiative grant  that we recently received.  I have several forestry issues I will discuss in tomorrow's post, but for today I would like to make some observations on the trip itself.

   US Hwy. 51/I39 pretty much bisects the state of Wisconsin, north to south, so traversing it really gives a pretty accurate overview of seasonal and other changes taking place in the state.  Most noticeable is that despite a lot of recent melting, Wisconsin north of Wausau, in the middle of the state, is still heavily covered with snow.  South of there  snow cover gradually diminishes and is mostly gone by Madison.  It is mid-March but outside of the coloring of the willows and the reddening of red maple buds not many signs of spring are noticeable from a moving vehicle, although I am sure the skunk cabbages are blooming in marshland in the southern part of the state at least.  I did notice a definite purple-gray coloration on gray dogwood branches as well, but I can't compose a photo of something so vague.  We saw a few local geese moving around south of Wausau where there is some open water, and the Wisconsin River, which twists back and forth across our route numerous times, is still frozen north of there but has a lot of open water south.

   Another thing I noticed is that the dried leaves are much more prevalent on red oaks the further one goes south.  It is very obvious but I have no explanation for the phenomena.  

   Thimk Spring!

RED MAPLE TREE FLOWER BUDS, TRUE HARBINGERS OF SPRING

RED MAPLE TREE BUDS...

...BEGINNING TO SWELL NOTICEABLY

Tuesday, 8:15 AM. 36 degrees F, wind NNW, light with slightly stronger occasional gusts.  The sky is hazy but clearing rapidly.  The humidity is 71% and the barometer is more or less steady, at 29.36".
   The melting continues, and as welcome as it is, it is also problematic.  The streams will soon begin to overflow their banks, and ice dams on roof edges and valleys will cause leaks and water damage inside buildings.  And to add insult to injury, the city tells us that the warm weather and melting actually drives the frost deeper into the ground, requiring us to keep our water running at least a pencil-diameter stream until further notice, to keep water lines and sewers from freezing.  As though to emphasize the point,  two more water line freeze-ups occurred in town yesterday.
   On the bright side, it is time to start watching the red maple buds swell. They won't bloom for perhaps another six weeks or more, but they are none-the-less true harbingers of spring, which I have watched wherever we have lived.  They are beginning to swell quite obviously now.
   We are on our way to Madison this morning for an Urban Forestry Council meeting at the state capitol.  Each spring we make the pilgrimage while the legislature is in session, so that I can meet with our state senator and representative to inform them of local issues in urban forestry.  This year we will thank them both (Senator Bob Jauch and Representative Janet Bewley) for their support of our recent, successful grant from the Forest Service to plant 142 or more street and park trees in the Chequamegon Bay communities.