April 2016

Tuesday April 26th, 2016

Greetings and welcome!

The weekend was mixed for weather. Saturday was pretty nice for April, but Sunday and Monday brought plentiful rain.

My various sources showed totals in the 0.8-1.6″ range. It is hard to say what spot got how much because a lot of the rain came in small cells with heavy downpours. In one case there were thunderstorms about 4 miles south of here, and only a little rain here.

The storm was a strong one. It had a lot of energy, a lot of warm moist air, and a big contrast in temperatures and humidity between the two air masses.

I recall seeing on the TV news how our friends on either side of the WI/IL border were in the upper 70s and even 80. In Wausaukee the bank clock near work never got above 37 on Monday. It was a cold, rainy damp day. That is a big contrast to 80 degrees 200 miles away.

We are still in the cool air behind the cold front. I had 34 on the car thermometer this morning, and the TV said that Wabeno had a low of 29 last night. We got up into the mid-50s with the sun out today, about four degrees below normal.

The rain will do big things for the whitewater rivers. I just checked and the Peshtigo has crossed the 1,000cfs mark, probably about +16″. That is huge fun. The Menominee is at 5,700cfs, right on that razor’s edge between insane fun and too high.

I was up in the upper Peshtigo watershed today and I saw full swamps and swollen rivers. Boaters have some good water to look forward to for a while. The weather is supposed to be about 60 this weekend, so you should go rafting/paddling.

Last weekend was the first annual Peshtigo River Festival (aka PeshFest) at Kosir’s and the Rapids Resort. It was good to see so many people taking to the river, and especially good to see so many hard boaters. There were a lot of old friends and familiar faces, and some new folks too.

They had a couple of bands outside during the daytime and evening, and another inside at night. There was a cookout, including some really tasty smoked ribs and J-Man making BBQ chicken on the big grill/smoker.  It was a laid back good time at Kosirs. I like.

Spring has been springing in the green world since late last week. Cut lawns are greening up and more trees are getting their first leaves. The maples have their red flowers, and I saw some pussy willows along the road.

The early week rain seems to have accelerated the process, and I am seeing new growth just about everywhere. At one stop I spotted some field grass about 4″ high already. It won’t be long before I have to start cutting grass. It is my thought that any cleanup of rocks along the driveway or brush clearing that is easier before it gets overgrown should be done soon.

ATV Trails..

I was up by Hwy 8 today and got a look around at how the ground is drying out for ATV trails. Between Laona and Armstrong Creek it was pretty sloppy. It got better by Goodman and and Dunbar but it was still soft. It was my thought that if it were my call I’d wait one more weekend.

Apparently I am on the same page as the people that actually make the call. After I got home I got it on good authority that the Marinette Co ATV trails will not open this weekend, but they expect them to open April 30th.

However.. If you want to get out on the trail, Dun-Good Riders are looking for volunteers to help to get the trails back in shape. http://dungood.com.

My wildlife sightings are way up this week. The rain moved the deer and turkeys around a lot Monday. I think that the green grass by the road had the deer in ditches.Some of them ran in front of cars and got biffed, attracting the scavengers.

In one case there was a bald eagle feasting on a carcass. I saw him both going to and coming from work Monday, and pretty close up on the way home. Those are some magnificent birds.

That is about it for tonight. Have a good Wednesday and thank you for visiting!

RJB

Tuesday April 19th, 2016

Greetings and welcome!

Curt reminded me that I never got to the ATV part of my update yesterday. Here is the scoop..

I read in the local shopper that the Oconto Co Atv trails will open April 30th, a week from Saturday. Normally it is the first weekend in May, but this year the weekend is split between two months. At that point they are opening a day early so that you can ride the 4/30-5/1 weekend.

There is no word on when Marinette Co ATV trails will open. Northern parts of the county are still thawing out, and until the ground firms up the trails can’t open.

I still had soft ground in a shady spot here in Silver Cliff a few days ago. Sheltered areas 20 or 30 miles north up by Hwy 8 and north toward Florence Co probably are still pretty soft, or possibly even still frozen.

I could not find any up to date information on Forest Co. They are scheduled to open May 1, but will they?

Thanks Curt!

RJB

Monday 4/18/2016

Greetings and welcome!

We had a fantastic weekend. Friday-Monday were all very pleasant with low humidity and highs in the 70s. It wouldn’t bother me if it was like that every weekend until winter.

All good things must come to an end, and such is the case with our nice weather. We will see high temperatures drop into the 500s and 60s and a few chances of rain this week.

I checked the GFS forecast model and after some rain Friday next weekend looks pretty clear for rain. We will be very close to the boundary of some cooler northern air so that could change, but right now it looks good.

Right now my guess for high temps is around 60 and lows in the mid-30s. That isn’t bad for an April weekend.

The Peshtigo River is well into the fun zone for whitewater rafting and paddling. Right now it is almost +11 or 12. With the frost coming out of the ground up north, a saturated watershed, and a chance of an inch of rain this week, it should be +6 or above right through next weekend.

That is important because there is big doings at Kosir’s and Rapids Resort this weekend. They are having music, a downriver race, djs, big tents, raffles and all sorts of stuff. Here is the Facebook post about it.

Kosir’s is hosting its 1st Peshtigo River Festival, April 22nd – 24th! Come join your favorite crew and have the time of your… More life boating, partying, and hanging with new friends! Everyone is invited! There will be DJs all weekend, beer specials, a racing event, $10 camping (per person per night), breakfast at Rapids, food cart, bucket raffles with paddling gear and local business attire, and much MUCH more! You don’t want to miss the best festival to kick off Spring boating!

*Rafting Special (all weekend)* – Free Spray Jacket rental with purchase of trip

Friday Night “Pianoman” Bob Heckler will performing at our Rapids Resort.

Saturday during the day we kick it off with tunes from Sam Huff as well as the ultimate RACE down the Peshtigo at 1:00 PM. (Registration for the race or questions can be answered by Dale at 715-927-1909). We end the night with awesome beats from DJ Lance Maye and DJ TerrEnce Young.

Check out TerrEnce Young before the big night at:
Www.artistecard.com/terrenceyoung

*Bucket Raffles/Food cart will be taking place Saturday.*

Invite anyone you would like! We love boating and hanging with new faces!
If you have any other questions feel free to call Kosir’s at 715-757-3431

There will be a lot of people there and it sounds like a fun time.

The warm weekend brought a few signs of summer. Monday I spotted some real green growth in the grass. I have seen a few moths, one wasp, and one wood tick. The first mosquito has yet to be seen, but I don’t expect that to take long.

The frogs in the pond are good and noisy. They started late last week and are loud through closed windows.

I passed on my campfire last weekend. The grass around my fire pit was so dry that it was crunchy, and there was a pretty good breeze. With the humidity low and the other factors it was just a little too dangerous. The DNR was strongly discouraging campfires, and it was sound advice. There will be other weekends.

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

RJB

Wednesday 4/13/16

Greetings and welcome!

Winter had one more shot in store for us today. This morning started with about an inch of snow, and it kept up until there were about three of them.

On the way to work the roads were wet where there was sun and they had thawed. Areas sheltered from the south held snow. One really sheltered area had close to 3″ on my way to work.

The closer that I got to Michigan on 180 the less snow that there was. Likewise, here in Silver Cliff had more snow than in Wausaukee.

By the time that I got home there was a lot of bare ground, but sheltered and semi-sheltered areas still held snow. Right up at the north side of the house where the sun never hits there are about 3″” of pretty sturdy snow built up. A foot from the transition zone the ground is bare.

On the way home I observed that there was a good blanket of snow in the south ditch, and none in the north ditch. The sun has no mercy on snow in mid-April.

The weight limits on roads is a spring ritual. The ground gets very soft and muddy when the frost comes out of the ground. The roadbed is no exception. At that point they ban big trucks and heavy vehicles while the roadbed firms back up.

Some roads are open, some are not yet. I saw them taking down signs in Athelstane earlier this week. North and west of here there are areas still holding snow and frost in the ground. It might be a week or two before those areas are ready.

Things should move fast now. My guidance is showing (at least) the next two weeks having temperatures in the 50s and 60s. Saturday and Sunday hold the promise of 68 and 69 degree highs with sunny days. Finally winter’s grip will be broken.

I expect that with the ground warming and the snow melting there will be some soggy graound and soft spots. Sunny areas should be fine.

Depending on the wind I am hoping to spend a little time out by the campfire and grill this weekend. Often on nice spring days a cold breeze will come along and chill things off. I am kind of expecting it, but in the context of a 70ish day I am not too worried about it.

More of concern is the dead vegetation from last year. It is a fire hazard, and with the spring breeze to fan the flames it is common to have spring wildfires. I don’t want to be that guy so I am pretty cautions about the conditions.

I don’t see any significant pressure gradients that might cause a windy day in my guidance, so right now the plan is a go. MMMmmmm. Brats & burgers on the grill, a fire and some stars, and the frogs in the pond will probably start getting noisy too.

Have a good weekend and thank you for visiting!
RJB

I will work on getting a better poster picture. For now if you click it the image will get much bigger and maybe a little more readable.