2016

Thursday October 6th, 2016

Greetings and welcome!

The fall colors really came around this week. They are very nice right now. The quilted hillside thing is coming into play as more species change. My travels took me from Silver Cliff to Wausaukee, down to Crivitz, and back up through Twin Bridge. The view was top notch. The colors will be great this weekend.

There is some interesting weather ahead this weekend. It starts tonight with some showers and thunderstorms. Once it clears out Friday morning it should turn into a cool and windy day. Friday and Saturday night bring our first real chance at a frost when both nights are expected to get into the mid- 30s. Saturday and Sunday look sunny and in the mid to upper 50s.

The corn maze on Nejedlo Rd & 141 just south of Wausaukee is open, and there is a haunted house on Moonshine Hill Rd and Camp 5 Rd this weekend. Moonshine Hill Rd is between Crivitz and Wausaukee west of Hwy 141.

We have had a surprisingly bugless early fall season. There were a few pests here and there, and the paper wasps were searching out new nests pretty aggressively, but that is about it. Last week a few dog owners were reporting a resurgence of ticks and the need for some Frontline. That will happen in the fall.

Chris has a couple of good fall events for us..

October 8
Near North Trail Riders 24th Annual Brat Fry – proceeds go to trail maintenance
11am – 4pm at Nimrod Inn, downtown Athelstane

October 8
7th Annual CL/Mountain Lions Club Oktoberfest Celebration
11:00 am at the Crooked Lake Community Center. Food and Refreshments, Pumpkin Decorating, craft fair, raffles, music, fun for the whole family.

The flashlight business has been going very well so far and the past few weeks have been very busy. I expect that with hunting season here business will be very good. You can buy my lights at Curve Inn and at Athelstane Country Mart, and that list is about to get longer. You might also catch me at Rapids Resort on Saturday night.

One of the new items that I have been working on is LED bulbs for campers and RVs. I found some that are pretty nice. They proved themselves out in my testing, and they are super-efficient. They are brighter than an 1141 bulb and use 4 watts instead of 18. This started when some friends were out-running their camper’s deep cycle battery with the incandescent bulbs. The new bulbs tested out nicely and I will carry them soon.

Time to get back to work. Check out the leaves this weekend and bring warm clothes. Have a good weekend and thank you for visiting!

RJB

Sunday October 2, 2016

Greetings and welcome!

I expected the leaves to change fast and they really did. Friday driving home from work the view was much different than it was Thursday or on the way there Friday morning. The maples are standing out nicely and a lot off other trees changed too. There was more new color in my yard this morning. The big show is here.

RJB

Thursday 9-29-16

Greetings and welcome!

It has been a wet week with the USGS gauge showing almost 1.75” since last Wednesday. Saturday was nice, but Sunday brought almost an inch of that rain. The rain continued into this week, but not as much fell. We certainly are having a wet fall. The whitewater rivers and waterfalls are roaring.

The fall colors still aren’t much. Some early maples are putting on a show, but for the most part the rest of the trees are not following suit. The theory goes that with plenty of rain and no freezing temperatures yet there are no stresses to make the leaves change. It has been an unusual year. I do not recall ever seeing this much green the last week of September.

I have seen quite a few years where just as the colors get really nice a strong storm and high winds will strip the leaves. The would have happened this week with the heavy rain Sunday and the strong winds yesterday, but the leaves are holding on and remain green.

The storm that has been lingering in the region for a few days is predicted to loop back north and west and bring a chance of rain for the weekend. It does not look like heavy rain, but the possibility of occasional showers is there. Saturday the NWS has us for a 40% chance and the rain clearing out for Sunday.

The only event that I have on the list is the Wausaukee Fall Festival. As much as I would like to, I will not be there selling my flashlights because there is entirely too much to do for fall/winter preparations. The house, plow truck, and firewood all need my attention, and that is the short list. I just can’t get away. At any rate here is the listing from Chris’ event calendar..

Oct. 1
8th Annual Wausaukee Fall Festival
from 9 am – 3 pm – Downtown Wausaukee
Crafters & Vendors, Bake Sale, Farmers Market , Food & Refreshments, Live Music – Beer Garden, Kids games
Visit website for further details and contact informtion.

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

RJB

Thursday September 22nd, 2016

Greetings and welcome!

I started an update Tue and got distracted..

Last weekend turned out pretty good with the timing of the rain, but we got a good dose of it before the weekend. The USGS rain gauge says that we had an inch and a half, and the graph goes straight up, indicating that it all fell in a short time. I know that my driveway got gouged out pretty good on the hill.

There is a lot more where that came from. We have a wet couple of days ahead and the TV says 1-4″ of rain. The higher totals are expected south and west of here by a few hundred miles, but that could change.

I am seeing a little more fall color and one maple across the pond is very nice. Someone said that the color show was under way a little farther north. Maybe it is just the limited paths that I take, but the big show isn’t here yet.

I have an awful history for predicting fall color, so take it with a grain of salt.. but right now the theory goes that we will have a lot of color happening really fast since it is so delayed.

Thursday night..

The big rains came last night and we saw about an inch here, more south and west, less to the east. With the recent rains the whitewater rivers and waterfalls will be roaring pretty good. The driveway got a little gouged up, and there is some soft ground and puddles in some places.

The fall colors have improved significantly in the past few days. The early maples are doing their thing, and adding a nice splash of color. Other trees are starting to change too. The show is starting!

Events..

The forecast for the weekend looks a little better than it did Tuesday. The all day rain Fri & Sat is gone, but Sunday looks soggy.

Have a good weekend and thank you for visiting!
RJB