2/15/21 – Today, at 12:49 pm CST, we finally broke our nine day stretch of below zero temperatures. Huzzah! I’m going to celebrate by going for a walk without my ski goggles. -Jessica

2/4/21 – Last Sunday I grabbed my snowshoes and hit the lake. Although the parking lot was empty I wasn’t the only one out there…

Fishing through a hole in the ice was the activity of choice for my otter friend, and it appeared the eating was good. Don’t worry, we maintained plenty of social distance. -Jessica

1/22/21 – Tomorrow, Saturday the 23rd at 8pm central, Clare and Dan will be taking questions during a Facebook live event. I’ll be hiding in the comments section as well. See you there! -Jessica

1/11/21 – Minnesotans have been waking up to spectacularly frosted landscapes as of recent, including us. Up until now I would have described this phenomenon as hoarfrost, but meteorologists have been characterizing it as “rime ice,” adding a new term to my vocabulary and prompting some research into the difference between the two.

Most of what the state has been experiencing lately is called rime ice, which is caused when liquid water, in the form of clouds or low fog, comes in contact with something solid (such as trees), which it then freezes onto. Rime ice is generally on the heavier side and can look like frozen droplets.

Hoarfrost, on the other hand, is formed under clear, cold skies. The moisture in the air goes from a gaseous state straight to its solid form, skipping the liquid (i.e. clouds or fog) in between. Generally this type of frost is light and feathery and can be easily blown from whatever it clings to.

In the words of the great Bill Nye, “Did you know that…Now you know.” -Jessica

Source: CBC News article “Here’s why you need to know the difference between hoarfrost and rime ice” from February 11, 2020.

1/7/21 – Crew member Brian Henry (AKA Mongo) sent along a picture of a broken paddle handle he skillfully carved and repurposed into another handle for a bifold door. Pretty neat! -Jessica

1/1/21 – As 2020 came to a close we were rewarded with a winter snow storm just before Christmas. We now have about 15 inches of snow in the woods and between 11 and 13 inches on the lake. As a result, we’re now able to take advantage of the ski trails, but lake travel has become a bit trickier with the added snow and resulting slush. I ventured down to the lake yesterday afternoon and found I really couldn’t go very far without sinking into the dreaded sloppy stuff, however it seemed like some folks with larger wooden snowshoes were able to mostly stay above the fray. -Jessica