4/24/09 – Things are gradually melting here. We still have at least of foot of snow on the ground, although it’s to the point where it is two feet deep in some places and bare ground in others. Our official snow depth gauge is down to one inch this morning. – Bill

The ice sheet on Sawbill Lake has “floated up” which means that it has detached from the shore and is actually floating on the surface of the lake. It makes an 18″ deep moat around the shore, forcing us to use a canoe to get out on the ice without getting our feet wet.

Veteran Sawbill crew member Pat Nash watches new guy Dan Shirley drill the test hole while Roy checks out the old hole.

Nash takes over for the last few turns before the auger breaks through 22.5 inches of ice.

Given the condition of the ice and the weather forecast, ice-out should be in about 10 – 14 days. But, it is totally weather dependent, so anything can happen.