NO SNOWMOBILES (OR POLAR BEARS) ON THE ICE.

POLAR BEAR Google Photo

A LONG WAY OUT AND BACK

Saturday, 9:00 AM,  23 degrees F both at the ferry dock and on the back porch.  Wind NW, light with stronger gusts.  The sky is mostly overcast but with patches of blue, and there are massive dark snow clouds on the eastern horizon that seem to be moving mostly westward.  The humidity is 86% and the barometer is rising slowly at present, currently at 29.74". We are in a warming trend for several days, with heavy snow  predicted for Monday and Tuesday, after which the temperature will fall to the single digits and it will remain overcast.
   We still haven't seen any snowmobiles on Chequamagon Bay and that is a very good thing.  Maybe the incident of the ten fishermen having to be rescued from the ice flow last week has muted some of their ambitions.  In any case, these two were a long long way out on the ice off Ashland, gettng plenty of exercise and fresh air.  From a distance it looked like they were being followed by a bear or a big dog as they dragged a sled behind them.
   We have plenty of black bears, but the last polar bear sighting reported on the  Bayfield peninsula was in 8021 BC.    Hudson's Bay, directly north of us a bit,  has a population of the beasts, and I hear they have been seen migrating south this winter in search of food, so who knows when they may show up.
   I don't know anything about any fish.

ICE FISHING

When ice fishermen fish

they mostly catch ice

A whitefish or trout,

now that would be nice

But when out on the Bay

be very aware

And alwaus keep looking,

for that white polar bear

AMERICAN MADE...WIN SOME AND LOSE SOME

BIRD FEEDERS...AMERICAN MADE

LOOK FOR THIS SYMBOL...

...UNFORTUNATELY, YOU WILL USUALLY FIND THIS!

Friday, 900 AM.  17 degrees F at the ferry dock, 12 on the back porch.  Wind variable and mostly calm, with occasional light gusts.  The sky is overcast.  The humidity is 81%, and the barometer 30.01" and falling.  The week ahead will be mostly warmer,  cloudy, overcast and snowy, with heavy snow predicted for New Year's Day.
   I have had another small victory in my in my quest to buy American made products. Having pretty much neglected bird feeding so far this winter I have been looking to buy American made bird feeders to replace those that had pretty much become unusable. I found some good ones at Walmart, of all places, and got them filled and hung up on the back porch yesterday afternoon. They are well made and competitively priced.
   On the other hand, all the clothing purchased for Christmas presents was imported, mostly from China.  Iconic American clothing brands, such as Pendleton, Woolrich, etc., are no longer made here, and clothing manufacturing will be the hardest commodity to bring back to American shores.   Sewing clothing still requires a lot of hand labor, and it will be difficult to compete with foreign labor costs, and if appropriate tariffs are imposed the prices will be too inflationary.  I find the Pendelton brand clothes, at least, usually of far poorer quality than years ago when made in this country.
   I think all American corporations that produce things out-of-country should be required to retain enough productive capacity in the USA to give customers an opportunity to buy American if they wish.
   I would like to see American manufacturing emulate that of Germany, which has such a reputation for quality and innovation that people will pay a higher price for its products.  It is a shame, as we once had that reputation ourselves.  American tractors, turbines, airplane engines, etc., used to be the quality leaders of the world. Now we cater to a throw-away society. and we are throwing away our jobs and reputations in the process.
   There's many an Allis Chalmers or John Deer farm tractor still plowing the fields that is seventy or more years old.  That's the kind of quality I am talking about.

THE MEAL TICKET

THE MEAL TICKET

FLOCK OF GULLS WAITING ON THE ICE

 

Thursday, 9:15 AM.  27 degrees F at the ferry dock, 22 on the back porch.  Wind WNW, light with strong gusts.  The sky is cloudy and overcast, the humidity 77%.  The barometer is rising, currently at 29.75".  The forecast is for more of the same weather, with heavy snow next Monday and Tuesday and much colder temperatures thereafter.  We are paying now for our long, beautiful fall.

   There was a large flock of seagulls resting on the ice of Bayfield harbor yesterday afternoon, and I couldn't help wondering why they would all lie with their bellies on such a cold, frozen surface.  It certainly is not as pleasant a place to rest as on a nearby park bench or the hotel roof, even though they are not perching birds.  In fact, one would think they faced the danger of being frozen in place on the ice, or at least getting uncomfortably cold.

   Then I noticed one of the nearby fishing tugs with smoke coming from its stack.  It was probably just keeping the cabin warm until they left for the fishing grounds very early the  next morning, but these birds regularly follow the fishing boats to eat the fish heads and guts as they are being cleaned, and I will theorize that they didn't want to let their meal ticket  leave without them.

THE STRANGER

THERE'S A STRANGER  STANDING ON THE CORNER...

AND BUDDY DOESN'T LIKE HIS LOOKS!!

Wednesday, 9:00 AM.  24 degrees F at the ferry dock, 21 on the back porch.  Wind SW, mostly calm with light gusts.  the sky is overcast, the humidity 80%.  The barometer is falling, currently at 29.79".  The week ahead is predicted to be mostly cloudy and overcast, with daily snow showers.  Time for a January thaw.

   We are still walking on eggshells, as the ice has not melted, and the fine-grained beach sand the city spreads on icy roads provides little traction for either tire or boot.

   Someone built a large snowman right on the corner of 10th St. and Wilson Ave., and Buddy saw it from half a block away and pointed it. He was very wary as we approached it.  It was a stranger, and Buddy didn't like him at all!

   He didn't bark, he didn't growl; but tugging at the leash, he wouldn't let us get any closer than about 30 feet away from it.

WARM, DRY AND ALIVE

THE WINE DARK SEA

Tuesday, 9:15 AM.  13 degrees F at the ferry dock, 12 on the back porch.  Wind WNW, mostly calm with occasional moderate gusts. The sky is overcast, the channel is foggy and it is snowing lightly.  The forecast for the week ahead is for temperatures in the teens and twenties with a wintry mix of weather, and heavy snow next Monday.  Several inches of ice with a dusting of snow made for a short and somewhat perilous walk this morning.

   Homer's "Wine dark sea" might be a good description of the channel between Bayfield and Madeline Island now, except that the ice flows render it more comparable to a dark beer with a good head of foam (this is Wisconsin, after all).

   When ice forms on the channels of the Apostle Islands in winter, or as it melts in spring, the winds and currents move the ice flows around, and when they stay in one position for a while they solidify, sometimes quite suddenly; or just as suddenly, break up and disappear.  "Here today, gone tomorrow," can become "here one moment, gone the next." 

   I don't know all the details as yet, but that's evidently what happened to ten ice fisherman near Washburn yesterday, who floated off on breakaway ice and had to be rescued by the Ashland Fire Department's air boat, the "Ice Angel."

   You may recall I said it was a little early to be out there.  Being warm, dry and alive sure beats being cold, wet and dead.

  

A QUIET CHRISTMAS AND A "NEW KING"

TREES DECORATED AT HAUSER'S ORCHARD

HAUSER'S BARN PRIOR YEARS...DARK THIS YEAR

Monday, 8:45 AM.  38 degrees F at the ferry dock, 34 on the back porch. Wind SW, strong with gale force gusts.  The skies are partly cloudy, but the sun shines strongly.  The humidity is down to 70%, the barometer 29.39" and steady for now.  Snow and continued windy conditions are predicted for later today and this evening. The days ahead look to be similar, but with slightly lower temperatures and somewhat diminished winds.
   The roads are covered with several inches of frozen slush this morning, cutting our walk short; I was reminded of my mother walking a half mile to the bus to go to work on similar roads while in her 80's.  A life long hiker and walker, she was tough as nails.
   Seeking a break from TV and being housebound Christmas Day, we took a drive in the orchard country at twilight.  There were a few Holiday lights, but not nearly as many or elaborate displays as other years.  Putting up lights on a barn is a whole lot of work, and maybe folks were tired after a bumper crop of apples, but for whatever reason, it wasn't anywhere as enjoyable as some other years.
   Folks should be in a better mood this year with the election over, the stock market up, the economy picking up...but I think people were in a malaise for so long they are having a hard time digging out of it.

OFF THE CUFF

A New King

   The Never Trumpers are at it again, complaining vociferously that a RNC Christmas message referring to Jesus as the "New King" really referred to Donald Trump, whom they were somehow comparing to Jesus Christ.

  Don't you just love it when someone tells you what you really meant to say?  How pitiably absurd! Don't these people realize that this sort of nonsense is exactly why they lost the election?

CHRISTMAS 2016

CHRIST  CHURCH, DECORATED FOR CHRISTMAS

THE BLESSING OF THE CRECHE

CHRISTMAS SCENE ON LAKE SHORE DRIVE

Christmas morning, 9:45 AM.  26 degrees F at the ferry dock, 24 on the back porch.  Wind ESE, very strong.  The sky is overcast, the humidity 88%.  The barometer is falling, currently at 30.5".  Today will be snowy and rainy with a high around 31degrees and with strong, occasionally gale force winds.  Roads will be icy.  More of the same is predicted throughout the week to come.  Stay home!

   Our little Christ Church, Episcopal, held its Christmas Mass yesterday afternoon; there will be no service today.  It was a beautiful Mass, with a candlelit blessing of the creche while the little congregation sang, "Away In A Manger."  The only thing lacking was children. How can we expect there to be Christians in this failed old world, if we aren't raising any?

   In any case, we sang all the old Christmas hymns I remember singing as a child. I remember singing Silent Night, while a few old folks murmured  Stilege Nacht, Heilege Nacht, in deference to their own Germanic childhoods.  Of particular poignancy this year, as in many other years throughout my life, were the words of the Prophet Isaiah:

   "For all the boots of the tramping warriors, and all the garments soaked in blood shall be burned as fuel for the fire;

   For a child has been born for us, a son given to us;

   Authority rests upon his shoulders, and he shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.

   His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom;

   He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forward and forevermore."

   In my own lifetime, Christmastime has usually meant wartime; WWII, Korean War, Vietnam War, Cold War, Iraq War, Afghanistan and now...we really need God's Peace, "which surpatheth all understanding."  Pray for it like you mean it.

BAYFIELD CHSRISTMAS LIGHTS

THURSDAY'S DAWN

LIGHT'S IN FOUNTAIN GARDEN PARK

RICE RESIDENCE ON WASHINGTON AVE.

RESIDENCE ON 2ND ANDWASHINGTON

LIGHTS ON S. 11TH ST.

Saturday, 9:00 AM.  32 degrees F at the ferry dock, 31 on the back porch.  Wind variable, calm with occasional very light gusts.  The sky is mostly overcast and cloudy, the humidity 78% and the barometer at 30.17".  The ten day forecast is for highs in the high twenties to low thirties, with a chance of light snow daily.

   I have been looking for winter footwear, and specifically a shoepack traditionally made in Main for the last hundred and more years.  Thinking I would buy them at one of the Ashland stores rather than out of a catalog, we went looking for them.  Forget about it.  Everything is made in China. Yes, the Chinese shoepacks are about half the cost of the American, but the quality is doubtful, and in any case, the customer should be the decision maker, not the seller.
   Even the Canadian brands, which there were a number of,  were upon examination made in China.  What good does a North American Free Trade  Agreement do anyone in North America, if everything to be traded is made in China anyway? And, what is the point of "buying local" if that is only a matter of where the merchandise is shipped to?
   The "Buy Local" advocates care about their own pocketbooks, but not much about the jobs of American workers. Actually, I think it is more a matter of indifference and laziness than anything else, since clerks and store owners can offer only a blank stare when asked why they don't carry the "made in America" brand.  I usually get the impression they think I am nuts or something.  Well, the "Made in Main" shoepacks I want are available in the Lands End catalogue, and I will order them from there. So much for buying locally.

   Coming home yesterday in the early dark, we took the opportunity to drive about town a little looking at Holiday lights.  Bayfield is over 50% absentee residents, so there are not as many decorated homes as one might expect, and those that are decorated are quite welcome.

  

GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS, AND EAGLES

A FINE DAY

Friday, 8:30 AM.  33 degrees F at the ferry dock, 29 on the back porch.  Wind WSW,  calm with light to moderate gusts.  The sky is mostly cloudy, the humidity 77%.  The barometer is falling gently, currently at 29.96".  The next ten days are predicted to be a typical winter mix, with snow showers and clouds, but with some sunny days.  Temperatures will be around thirty degrees, then cooling significantly towards the end of next week.

   Yesterday turned out to be a fine day to drive to Duluth for dual appointments for myself and Joan with orthopedic surgeons, hers for a carpel tunnel problem, mine for my injured left shoulder, which has not improved much with therapy. She will have surgery on her right wrist. I was given good news and bad news.  

   The good news first; nothing wrong with my rotator cuff.  The bad news; my upper arm bone, broken just below the ball, isn't healing properly, and I must have a shoulder replacement.  So, we scheduled our procedures for right after the holidays  to get them out of the way and healed.  Looks like January will be a busy bummer, and no Texas visit this winter.

   The trip to Duluth was good, the roads dry, the day warm and flooded with sunshine.  Eagles are active and we saw a number of them; two swooped low, one after the other, right in front of the truck, an awesome sight.  It is the the bald eagle mating season, and we assume it was a mating pair that we saw so close up.
   We will be watching for lone eagles resting on the ice of the lower Chequamegon Bay, where we have seen them other years, trying to attract a mate.  Eagles mate for life but maintain a solitary existence after mating and nesting, then meet again, same time, same place the following year. 
   The Wisconsin DNR recorded over 1,500 nesting pairs of bald eagles last year.  Their population has increased dramatically from lows in the '60's, when widespread DDT use had caused these birds at the top of the food chain to lay eggs with soft shells, which resulted in the mortality of many incubating chicks.

  

A MIXED WEATHER DAY, AND A TRAGEDY ON THE REZ

NOON WEDNESDAY ON HWY. 13 SOUTH OF BAYFIELD

Wednesday, 10:30 PM.  This will have to serve as the Thursday post, as we must leave early for a trip to Duluth.  Wednesday was about as mixed bag a day as there could be, starting out dark and overcast again, then lightening up somewhat with struggling sunshine, then cooling enough to cause fog on the channel, then warming up to 38 degrees with us driving in a snowstorm on Hwy 13 on the way to Ashland at noon. The day ended dark and windy, with a trace of new snow in the driveway.  Hope the roads are OK for the 90 mile trip tomorrow morning.

   The Red Cliff Rez is a very private place, so the following may not appear in any news source, but it was told to us today by a friend who lives there. A young woman, evidently distraught at Donald Trump winning the election, doused herself with kerosene and set herself on fire.  She survived but will be scarred for life.  What a shame!  

   The doleful hype spewed by the losers and their allies really must stop, as it can cause real life tragedies. Obviously there must have been other factors in this unfortunate incident, but irresponsible talk and dire predictions can push vulnerable people to do terrible things.

   The rhetoric of the Left is no better or more responsible than shouting "fire" in the proverbial crowded theater.

A SUNNY DAY AND AMERICAN MADE BROOMS

END OF A BEAUTIFUL DAY

Wednesday, 7:45 AM.  25 degrees F at the ferry dock, 22 on the back porch.  Wind variable, calm.  The sky is again cloudy and overcast, the humidity 84% .  Snow is predicted for today but it will also be warmer, in the 30's.  The barometer is rising, now at 29.92".  The next ten days are predicted to be a wintry mix, with high temperatures around thirty.

   Our bad spell of weather came to an abrupt end yesterday, which was unexpectedly cloudless and sunny.  A warming SW wind melted snow packed roads and one didn't even mind the slush.  A beautiful day melted into a gentle twilight, as seen from the Sioux River beach.  Too much to expect two days of sunshine in a row, though.

   In need of two new brooms with which to sweep snow from walks and decks, I went to the Bayfield Ace Hardware Store, and was pleasantly surprised to find and purchase two American made brooms of excellent quality among the mix of brooms available.  One was labeled "Made in the USA," and the other stated it was assembled in America of materials obtained worldwide.  They were priced competitively with those from China and Mexico. 

   It seems there is already pressure to return manufacturing of everyday products to our own shores, and I believe that in most cases they will be reasonably priced.  Cheaper American energy (no thanks to the Obama Administration), superior technology and proximity to market will spark competition.  Job growth will soon follow, with the Trump Administration leading the charge.

FIRST FERRY OF THE MORNING

FIRST FERRY ON MONDAY MORNING

YESTERDAY'S  FRIGID, FIERY DAWN

Tuesday, 7:45 AM.  28 degrees F at the ferry dock, 23 on the back porch.  Wind WSW, gusty.  The sky is cloudy and overcast, the humidity 79%.  The barometer is rising, and currently stands at 29.59".  The forecast calls for temperature highs in the upper twenties and a wintry mix of weather the next ten days, starting with several inches of snow tomorrow.

   Buddy's cough is almost gone, but it returns when he is outside in the frigid atmosphere, so we will continue his medication and his short, necessary arctic expeditions a while longer.  The weather did warm up considerably yesterday, but it became so windy that one could hardly feel the difference.

   It's easy to be up before first light these mornings, as I was yesterday, when I took this photo of the first ferry of the day plying the cold, dark waters of the channel. A few minutes after that I was greeted by a glorious, fiery dawn.  Both events were well worth getting out of a warm bed to witness.

OFF THE CUFF

The Electoral College Results

   The results of the Electoral College voting are in, and Donald Trump did have two defectors, reducing his vote total from 306 to  304;  but Hillary Clinton lost five votes, reducing her total from 232 to 227.  Are we done now?

   The election is now officially over, after the Left blatantly calling the purpose of the Electoral College into question. Without it, California would choose Michael Moor as President  of the United States of America.  Anyone for that?

   To top off the ridiculousness, Bill Clinton, the self-pronounced "first black president," blamed Hillary's loss on the votes of "angry white men."  The Big Dog should know that folks are not likely to vote for someone who demeans and degrades them by calling them deplorable and unredeemable, along with a whole litany of even worse insults.

   Where, oh where, has the Democratic Party of my parents gone?

LESSONS AND CAROLS AT CHRIST CHURCH

CHRIST CHURCH, BAYFIELD, DECORATED FOR CHRISTMAS

LESSONS AND CAROLS CHOIR AND CLERGY

LESSONS AND CAROLS

CHRIST CHURCH, AN HISTORIC 1870'S GOTHIC REVIVAL STRUCTURE

Monday,  8:00 AM.  6 degrees F at the ferry dock, 3 on the back porch.  Wind SSW, moderate with strong gusts.  The sky is partly cloudy, the humidity 80%.  It will become significantly warmer later today with a wintry mix of weather during the week, with heavy snowfall possible by next weekend.

   Yesterday evening there were Lessons and Carols at our little Bayfield Christ Church, Episcopal.  It was the first time in several years we celebrated Lessons and Carols, as we had been partially closed for years, and then only open as a summer chapel, but we now are open year 'round again, with a new pastor and mission, and we are thankful that we are a full service church once again.

   Christ Church is a very rare Carpenter Gothic structure, dating to the 1870's, well preserved and on the National Register of Historic Structures.  It is beautiful and inspiring, as were the Lessons and Carols, which were led by our noted organist, Arthur Maud.
   It was good to hear the ageless account of the Christmas miracle once again, and its promise of peace on earth.  It will happen if all the world believes that  it can.
   Believe!

JACK FROST, GRAFFITI ARTIST

A FEEBLE SUN AT 10:00 AM SATURDAY

ARTISTRY OF JACK FROST ON THE KITCHEN WINDOW

BASSWOOD ISLAND, BARELY VISIBLE  IN THE FOG AND SNOW ON SATURDAY

Sunday, 8:45 AM.  -6 degrees F at both the ferry dock and on the back porch.  Wind SW, calm with occasional light to moderate gusts.  The sky is mostly overcast with some patches of blue and a struggling sun, and lots of early lake fog that is now burning off.  The humidity is 82%, the barometer mostly steady for now at 30.44".  We got another 3" or so of lake effect snow last night. The forecast calls for much warmer temperatures, in the twenties and low thirties for the coming week, with a wintry mix of overcast, clouds and snow flurries. Warmer sounds good.

   It snowed most of the day Saturday; fine, icy flakes, that the biting wind whirled and swirled around in the fog.  I went to the recycle center but that was it.  Buddy has a bout with the cough he gets occasionally and I am trying to get ahead of it with cough syrup and antibiotics, and am keeping him (and me) mostly inside until he gets over it and the weather improves.  So far so good, I don't want a sick dog.  

   The brutal weather continues. Basswood Island, usually easily seen from the casino at Red Cliff, was barely visible at noon, as was a feeble sun, viewed through the big hemlock across the street. 

    On the plus side of the ledger, the artistry of Jack Frost has appeared on a kitchen window pane, the storm window of which had been left up so the window could be easily opened, if need be, for ventilation.     

   Jack Frost seldom visits us in these days of modern double and triple glazed windows, but my bedroom window was his constant winter canvas when I was a kid, and I remember looking at fascinating scenes of his wintry artistry, which my imagination turned into a frosty panorama of mountains and forests, and villages populated by fantastic creatures.
   Modern heating and construction  has banished Jack Frost to higher latitudes and poorer places, I fear.

JACK FROST

By

Francine Roberts

Jack Frost paints portraits 

on the window panes

...graffiti artist

RUSHING THE SEASON

ICE FISHERMEN ON CHEQUAMEGON BAY AT ASHLAND

Saturday, 8:15 AM.  9 degrees F at the ferry dock, 7 on the back porch.  Wind N, mostly calm with light to moderate gusts.  The sky is cloudy and light snow has been falling after 4" to 5" of new snow fell last night.  The humidity is 87%, the barometer 30.0" and rising.  The week ahead is predicted to be cloudy and somewhat warmer, with little or no snow (thank you very much!). 

   We ate Friday fish fry yesterday evening at Checkers, a nice little family restaurant in Washburn.  They had bluegills on the menu, which is unusual, maybe unprecidented.  I asked if they were fresh and the answer was yes, from a local source, and we tried them. I don't believe I have eaten bluegills since I was a kid.   It sure brought back pleasant memories of fishing with Dad and of Mom cooking; nothing better than bluegills pan fried in butter (the fish fry was breaded and deep fried, also very good).

   We were in Ashland yesterday, and spotted ice fishermen far out on lower Chequamegon Bay.  I didn't have field glasses along so couldn't tell whether the two objects in the photo were tents or a tent and a snowmobile, or whatever, but it certainly would have been a long walk out there.  

   The Bay has had ice for only a few days, and that covered with new snow, so I can't see how it would hold a snowmobile.  In any case I think it is rushing the season.  The worst recent spate of deaths that I remember on the Big Lake in our area was January, 2013, when there were three consecutive deaths in the South Channel, between Long Island and Madeline Island.  Those were snowmobiles going through the channel ice, which is unpredictable and often unsafe, due to swift currents.  

   Looks to me like they're rushing the season, but what do I know.

NOT NOME

ICE BEGINNING TO FORM ALONG MADELINE ISLAND SHORE

Friday, 8:00 AM.  2 degrees F simultaneously at the ferry dock and on the back porch. Wind SW, mostly calm with light to moderate gusts.  The sky is cloudy and overcast, the humidity 76%.  No fog this morning, which means the surface water has cooled to approximately the same temperature as the air.  The barometer is falling, and is currently at 30.15", predicting snow today and tomorrow, with a possible accumulation of up to 8".  It should warm up to around 30 on the weekend, with a wintry mix of snow showers and partly cloudy days thereafter.

   Yesterday was very cold and windy, but it did turn out to be a sunny day, which was welcome indeed, and a contrast to Nome, Alaska, where one friend suggested we emigrate to in order to escape our miserable weather (yesterday Nome was cloudy, with a temperature of 29).  Nope, I couldn't take the long winter nights and days that last an hour or two.

OFF THE CUFF

   The pitiable attempts by the Left to delegitimize President Elect Trump continue, now with a campaign by so-called celebrities (most of whom I, at least, have never heard of) to sway the Electors to not vote for him.
   Don't they realize that he is the ultimate celebrity?

A REALLY BAD SPELL OF WETHER

HWY. 13, SIOUX RIVER FLATS, YESTERDAY AFTERNOON

8:30 AM.  0 degrees F at the ferry dock, -1 on the back porch. Wind variable from the W, light to moderate with stronger gusts.  The sky is partly overcast, with fog over the channel, the humidity 83%.  We got several inches of lake effect snow again last night.  The barometer is beginning to fall, currently at 30.38".  We can expect snow on Friday and Saturday, with a possible accumulation of up to a foot of new snow.  It should then warm up, with mixed skies.  It is cold this morning, the snow crunching under foot.  I have been putting his jacket on Buddy; he is a short haired dog, after all.

      The truly awful weather continues, with bad roads and hazardous walking surfaces.  Even Buddy doesn't want to be outside longer than to raise a leg.  On top of that my internet is giving me trouble.       The photo was taken at about three o'clock yesterday afternoon while heading north on Hwy. 13 on the flats between the Sioux and the Onion Rivers, with blowing snow, heavy fog, oncoming headlights dim as lanterns, the road slick.
   This is really a bad spell of wether.

LAKE SMOKE AND LIFE IN A SNOW GLOBE

"LAKE SMOKE" YESTERDAY MORNING

Wednesday, 7:30 AM.  7 degrees F at the ferry dock, 4 on the back porch.Wind WNW, mostly light with strong gusts.  The sky is overcast, with fog over the lake. We got several inches of lake effect snow during the night, and we now have six or eight inches of snow on the ground.  The humidity is 75%, the barometer 30.01" and rising.  The forecast calls for a wintry mix, and continuing cold for the next week, then warming into the twenties.
   The weather has been wild; extreme cold, snow, wind and of course "lake smoke," the fog caused by evaporation of the open water of the lake, which continually rises and condenses into lake effect snow, which falls almost constantly under current conditions.  Once the surface water and the air temperature are pretty much the same the cycle will diminish.
   Wind velocity, direction and temperature also play a big part, but we are likely to have "lake smoke," lake effect snow and life in a snow globe here by the shores of the Big Lake for some time to come.

LOWER BAY FROZEN; GEESE GONE

LOWER CHEQUAMEGON BAY, FROZEN AND SNOW COVERED

Tuesday, 8:00 AM.  -2 degrees F at the ferry dock, -4 on the back porch, and -7 at neighbors up the street one block.  Buddy, the short-haired dog, shivers and says Brrr. Time to find his jacket.  Wind WSW, gusty at times. The sky is partly cloudy and overcast (it was clear at dawn) and it is snowing; fine, crystaline flakes, and dense fog covers the waters of the channel. The humidity is 82% and the barometer is falling, currently at 30.11" of mercury.  The week ahead is forecast to be very cold and overcast, with intermittent snow showers.

   The lower Chequameqon Bay, at Ashland, has suddenly frozen over and is snow covered (I wouldn't venture out on it, however).  The water is shallow a long way out there,  and must not have received the wind, waves and restless currents that have been prevalent further north.  New snow on thin ice will make for treacherous ice for a long while, I fear.

   The geese have left, perhaps gone south, or perhaps to the Saint Croix or Mississippi Rivers down around Minneapolis/St. Paul. I doubt they will return any time soon.

LEGENDS AND LIES

CRISPUS ATTUCKS
 

 THE MASSACHUSETTS 54TH AT YORKTOWN (Google file)

Monday, noon.  19 degrees F at  the ferry dock, no back porch reading as a gust of wind dashed the thermometer to the deck last night and broke it.  Wind SW, light with stronger gusts.  The sky is clear and mostly sunny with a few clouds, the humidity 74%.  The barometer stands at 29.94" and steady for now; we got about 4" of new snow last night.  The coming week will have snow showers and mixed skies, with low temperatures around 0 and highs mostly in the low teens.
   Sunday, after the Packer's rout of the Sea Hawks, we watched a new segment of Bill O'Reilley's Legends and Lies series, about the mostly unsung black heroes of the American Revolution.  More than 5,000 black soldiers served in the Continental Army, and in many ways were crucial to the American victory, including the battle at York Town, in which the famed  all black Massachusetts  54th Regiment played a pivotal role, and which ended the war.
   Additionally, the first person to die in the Boston Massacre, and perhaps in the entire conflict, was Crispus Attucks, a black American Patriot.
   This is a wonderful way to teach history, to adults as well as children.  The story of Crispus Attucks is well known now, but frankly I don't remember it being told in any American History course I ever took, much less the rest of the stories presented. Much of our national history has been forgotten or poorly told, and it is time to tell it fully and correctly.  Properly taught, history is a unifying and uplifting subject, no matter when we learn it.

TREE BOARD CHRISTMAS PARTY AND A WOLVERINE SIGHTING

TREE BOARD CHRISTMAS PARTY AT THE ODE'S...

WOLVERINE (Google photo)

DITTO

...IT WAS A GOOD TIME!

Sunday, 8:30 AM.  19 degrees F at the ferry dock, 13 on the back porch.  Wind E, mostly moderate with some stronger gusts.  The sky has a low overcast and it has snowed lightly off and on.  The humidity is 74%, the barometer 30.13" of mercury and falling.  It is significantly warmer today than yesterday but will cool down again tomorrow and continue getting colder, with more of the same clouds and snow.  We did see the sun yesterday, which was a very welcome releif from overcast skies.
   We hosted our annual tree board Christmas party yesterday evening and everyone had a very nice time.  Joan worked hard getting food prepared and the house ready; I helped, but the credit is hers.
   The conversation eventually trended to observations of wildlife, what it was in the past and what it is now; the general consensus was that years ago bears and coyotes were seldom seen, and are common now and lots of fun to watch.
  Jim and Sarah, who own a small acreage immediately north of the city limits, are regularly seeing a wolf pack; they seem to stay pretty close to the lake shore but make themselves visible on the edges of the woods and ravines.  Of great interest was their recent  possible sighting of a wolverine in their yard, just outside the back door (behind which they stayed until whatever it was it left).  Wolverines are creatures of the far north and not supposed to be here, but they are sighted by reliable observers from time to time. The Wisconsin DNR reports three possible wolvering sightings in northern Wisconsin in 2014, but considers the species long exptirpated from the state, as does neighboring Michigan.  It is fun to speculate, though.  Now, about Bigfoot...
   I have read that in the old days in the UP of Michigan, which is close by, when a wolverine was sighted the school was closed until it was dispatched.

PHRAGMITES

REED GROWING ALONG FRIENDLY VALLEY ROAD AT THE SIOUX RIVER BEACH...

...REED FLOWER PLUMES

Saturday, 8:45 AM.  7 degrees F at the ferry dock, 6 on the back porch.  Wind SSW, mostly calm with light gusts.  The sky is cloudy and overcast, with fog over the channel and fine crystalline snow falling lightly.  The humidity is 77%, the barometer 30.51" and falling.  The next ten days are predicted to be more of the same and somewhat colder.

   Reed, Phragmites australis (synonym P. communis) is a very aggressive, tall (to 20') invasive grass that spreads by runners and stolens and can form large monotypic colonies in disturbed wet areas. It out-competes other species and has little, evidently, to offer in the way of animal and bird habitat. It has become an almost universal species, with several varieties that are more specific to some locations (var. amricanus is considered native to North America).  It is very moisture loving and is used to de-water sewerage sludge at morew advanced treatment plants, such as at Bayfield, Washburn and Red Cliff, and has  escaped from those sites.   The native ecogtype is rather rare, and is considered non-invasive.  The State of Wisconsin and the federal government have eradication programs targeting the escaped foreign species.

   I find it rather ironic that one environmental actor plants Phragmites  while another attempts to destroy it.  I also find it highly improper that a favored method of control of reed is Roundup, a glyphosphate toxic to fish and which should not be used where it can contaminate water (such as at the beach, where I am sure it has been applied).  

   I have been wondering if the native ecotype could not be used in sewage treatment plants rather than the supposedly invasive species.  I have also been concerned that there are no warning signs or flags posted when spray materials are used by governmental entities, since they are mandatory for citizens and businesses. 
   These are the types of issues that most folks know nothing about and that are left to the bureaucrats to regulate, and their track record is not particularly good.

   We are often our own worst enemy in this environmentally complicated world we live in; as the comic strip character Pogo Possum used to say, "We have met the enemy, and he is us."

A RANDOM ACT OF COOKIES

WHAT'S THIS, LEFT ON OUR FRONT PORCH?...

...A BIG, BEAUTIFUL CONTAINER OF COOKIES!

Friday, 8:45 AM.  16 degrees F at the ferry dock, 12 on the back porch.  Wind WSW, calm with light gusts.  The sky has a low overcast, it is foggy and snowing, the visibility very poor, the humidity 85%.  The barometer is steady at around 30.55" of mercury.  The ten day forecast is for more of the same, and becoming very cold, 0 and below. We have about 6" of snow on the ground and it is rather slippery.  We had errands to run in Ashland yesterday afternoon, and as the snow picked up again it became quite slippery,  and it was an unpleasant drive back to Bayfield in the early darkness.
   We were saddened by the passing of John Glenn; astronaut, senator and quintessential American hero.  I was twenty six years old and working high on a scaffold during the construction of a new hospital in Milwaukee when he orbited the earth.  Our earth-bound crew listened to radio accounts of his flight high above us as we worked, proud we were at last catching up with the Russians.  It was a great time to be an American.

   Yesterday, while scraping snow from the front walk I noticed a container sitting on the Aldo Leopold bench by the door.  I don't know when it arrived or how long it had been there, but upon opening it I found it chock full of home made cookies.

   Now it might have been left by Saint Nick, as December 6th is his saint day; that's what Joan thinks.  Anyway, it reminded me of the long ago tradition in our family, when the kids were little, of hanging small treats..cookies, oranges,  children's books, etc...in their stockings on the fireplace mantle for St. Nick's Eve, as a prelude to the real Christmas.  St. Nicholas was celebrated in both our families when Joan and I were children, a charming Old World tradition now pretty much abandoned, I fear.

   I thought it more likely to be one of those Random Acts Of Kindness we hear so much about these days, as there was no note with it to identify the giver.  Maybe it was left because we are on some organization's list, as oldsters in need of encouragement and cookies.

   I am going to cover all the bases, and call it A Random Act Of Cookies, and much appreciated.

PIPELINE PROTEST

INDIAN ENCAMPMENT AT STANDING ROCK RESERVATION, NORTH DAKOTA (Google photo)

STRAIGHTS OF MACKINAC BRIDGE (Google photo)

Thursday, 8:30 AM.  24 degrees F at the ferry dock, 20 on the back porch.  Wind NNW, mostly calm with light to moderate gusts.  The sky is overcast and cloudy, with heavy "lake smoke" fog, the humidity 88%.  The barometer is now rising, currently at 30.21" of mercury.  The ten day forecast is for more of the same, with much colder temperatures.  It is snowing heavily, with four to five inches of lake effect snow already on the ground.  Biboon, it is winter.
   Most folks have heard  of the Dakota Access protest,  the standoff between Indian tribes and crews of the Enbridge Corporation project trying to finish the last leg of a pipeline from oil fields in North Dakota to refineries in Illinois.   It is a good example of the hazards of trying to simplify very detailed and complicated issues.
   The Indians and their environmental supporters are protesting and trying to block the completion of the pipeline project on the basis of it being inherently hazardous and likely to be subject to future damage and a catastrophic oil spill into the Cannon Ball River.  The countervailing argument is that there are thousands of similar pipelines criss crossing the North American continent; that their safety is very great and in any case far safer than shipping oil by rail.
   My initial opinion has been to support approval of completion on the basis of the more logical argument, and the fact that the project does not go through Indian Reservation lands (one would assume that fact would reduce, at least, their standing in the case).
   The problem with my initial opinion is that one doesn't have to read more than a few news articles to understand that many of these pipelines were built half a century or more ago and are actually becoming prone to failure.  Today's protest is really more  about the past and the future than the present.  This doesn't usually fit well with our (read "my") "get 'er' done" typical American attitude.  The Indian attitude, it seems to me,  is as much based on off-reservation treaty rights signed a century and more ago as it is on immediate environmental concerns. So we have here an inherent conflict between a dominant culture with an attitude of "do it now and fix it later if we need to," and an ancient culture that values tradition and caution.
   We have crossed the Straights of Mackinac on the marvelous bridge between the UP of Michigan and lower Michigan many times. The straights separate Lakes Michigan and Huron.  In each of those times I thought more about the beauty of the bridge and the water than about anything else.  Now that I know that there is a fifty year old oil pipeline at the bottom of the straights I will be thinking about a possible oil spill as well.
   We are a nation of laws.  Treaties are laws.  We need to respect the treaties we have made with the Indian nations, and respect their cultures.  They in turn are obligated to protest peacefully and to respect the judgement of the courts.  If this slows things down a bit, so be it.