2014

Wednesday May 21, 2014

Greetings and welcome!

Wow what a nice day!

It is 73 in Athelstane and 72 in Crivitz as I sit down to type this out Wednesday night at 5:30pm. We had a high of 79 today and even the wind couldn’t make it feel chilly. Most of our warmer days this spring have been knocked down when a cold breeze would come and put a chill on an otherwise nice day in the 60s. Not today.

The world is finally starting to really green up. By my estimation we are at least a week behind the typical year for the green explosion to really take hold. Surprisingly you can still see a good 50-100 feet into the woods. The underbrush and slower hardwoods are just starting to get leaves. The popples are coming along with their leaves, but they are the early ones. The cherry tree on the west side of the yard is nicely in bloom today, and I spotted some marsh marigolds yesterday. While we are behind what I consider typical, I think that we are to the point where a guy can spot significant new growth daily.

The insect world has awakened, but so far it isn’t bad. I haven’t had a mosquitoe bite yet. When I was working on the car out in the driveway last weekend I got to know a dozen wood ticks or so, but that area is a hotbed for them every year. There were a few gnats too, but again very few. Like the greening of the land, that can change fast, but I am enjoying it while I can.

It is time to cut the grass, but it isn’t out of control yet.

We had some significant rain Monday night into Tuesday morning. The USGS river gauge by Kosir’s measured 0.8″. That seemed a little understated.

The Peshtigo River is going up as a result of the rain, and it looks great for whitewater rafting and paddling this weekend. Right now it is at about +12 and rising. I am predicting +9-10″ for Saturday morning and only a little less for Sunday. That is a good level where you can take a raft or funyak, and it is a very fun river.

The Menominee River looks big right now. It is running in the 5-6,00cfs range. Between 4-5,000 that river gets pretty big for the kind of rafting that they do , and they don’t run it much above that. I expect it to settle down into a happy range for the weekend, but I’d also expect top notch water levels of 3,500 plus. That river will be a great run this weekend.

We are looking at a really nice late week and weekend for weather. High pressure will bring bluebird days in the 70s. The first chance of rain comes Sunday night and there is a better chance Monday.

In events I have the Lakewood Loiness Faire, the Post 66 Picnic and Memorial Service at the Silver Cliff picnic grounds, and an auction in Crooked Lake at the Sportsman’s Club. I will work on the list and try to get more events and details.

Well there are two hours of daylight left, not many bugs, and it is 70 degrees out. Time to head outside. Have a good week and thank you for visiting!

RJB

Friday, May 16, 2014

Greetings and welcome! Just a quick weather update on the weekend. It was below freezing here last night and we are expecting more of the same Friday and Saturday night so if you are visiting the area, plan accordingly. Anyone planning to camp this weekend will want to make sure they have plenty of warm bedding. Also of interest, St. Mary’s Church in Crivitz is hosting a car show on Saturday. This is being held in the public lot on Main St. where they hold the flea market in the summer, right across the street from the church. That’s the short report from the north woods. Thanks for visiting and have a great weekend. RJB

Monday May 12th, 2014

Greetings and welcome!

It was a very nice weekend last weekend. Temperatures got up into the mid-70s, and we had nice days. Saturday we went for a ride and hit 5 different waterfalls, getting pictures and video at each one. Even though it was 75 degrees out I still managed to find a few spots with snow remaining in their little micro-climate. We also saw falcons, deer, a Momma bear and cubs, and more. It was a very fun afternoon.

One thing that we couldn’t help marveling about was the absence of bugs. No ticks, gnats, mosquitoes, nothing all day. It was certainly appreciated.

So far this spring I have had 3 ticks, no gators, and no gnats. One fisherman said that he found some skeeters down by the water but I haven’t seen one yet.

Sunday was nice too, but toward sunset the wind started kicking up and the skies grew increasingly menacing. Overnight we ended up having some pretty good rains move through the area. We are not flooding or anything but the wet weather has low spots holding water and the streams are a little swollen.

The grass has greened up and some of the popples are coming right along in their first leaves. The maples have flowered and are dropping the red things. Next come the little helicopters and the leaves. The rest of the forest is still pretty thin, but the forest floor is greening up and the trillium can’t be far behind.

I have a feeling that the rain over the past few weeks will bring some dramatic changes in the next week in how many leaves and underbrush emerge. Today’s new sighting was the pussy willows and some swamp dwelling shrub flowering.

When I was out Saturday one of the little lakes that we visited was starting to get the first few lilly pads. There were only a few soda can sized ones, but that tells me that it is time to go fishing. The bass and panfish should start getting good the next few weeks.

On our waterfall tour I took 249 pictures. Ooops. I shaved it down to 79, but that is still a lot. Instead of photo bombing the page I made a gallery page for them. I will share one or two here too.

Check out the gallery page, there are a lot more really nice pictures.

That is it for this visit. Have a good week and thank you for visiting!

RJB

Thursday May 8th, 2014

Greetings and welcome!

Last weekend turned out pretty nice for weather. Between the sun and warm days the lakes around here were opened up by Sunday. Sunday was nice enough to start the BBQ grill for some burgers. It was a little windy and the grass was dry and only a little hot ash started a burn spot. Until it greens up last year’s dead grass is a fire hazard, at least when it isn’t raining.

We have had some rain.Wednesday morning brought some really dark skies and thunderstorms. Last night we had a couple of big lines of storms come through with torrential downpours and even some hail. It was really jamming on the roof. There were two distinct lines of storms ( the ones that woke me up anyway..), and each lasted for a while.

The USGS gauge by the river by Kosir’s  says that we have had a little over an inch of rain in the last two days. It seemed like we easily got that last night alone, but that is mostly a guess from the noise on the roof.

As I type Thursday night the atmosphere is loaded with warm air and moisture, and there is more rain on the way. That is expected to clear out by tomorrow afternoon and give way to a nice weekend. I am expecting  a sunny and mid-60s day for Saturday, and about the same for Sunday, with a storm moving in for Sunday night and Monday. The timing on that could change, so Sunday afternoon bears watching.

The ATV trails open up this Saturday. Like the lakes, the trails came a long way last weekend and this week. It was a slow spring break up, but the ground has thawed for the most part.

The grass is starting to green up nicely. It isn’t ready to cut, it is just getting started. The first leaves were spotted this week on a few popples. It won’t be long until more pop up.

That is news for tonight. Have a good weekend and thank you for visiting!

RJB