June 2019

Thursday June 20th, 2019

Greetings and welcome!

Yes the river did come up very nicely from the rain last weekend and early week. I think that it peaked out at about +17 or +18″, pretty good for mid-June. It also stayed there for a few days and it is probably still at about a +8″ level this morning.

Last weekend was one of the many times that the forecast was a lot worse than the weather. Both Saturday and Sunday turned out to be pretty nice days. The rule around here is NEVER change plans because of a weather forecast. I have seen so many weekends with a grim forecast turn out really nice and the people didn’t come, totally missing out. Unless there is a massive storm with zero hope of dry weather don’t bet your weekend on a forecast, not even one of mine.

Today is the last day of spring. Tomorrow summer officially starts. It is also the longest day of the year with 15 hours 40 minutes and 25 seconds of daylight. Sunrise is at 5:04am and sunset is at 8:44pm. After this the days start getting shorter, and by the end of the month we are losing 30 seconds a day of sunlight (note to self tune up the snowmobiles). Contrast that with the shortest day of the year, December 22, when we only have 8 hours 42 minutes and 52 seconds of daylight. Enjoy those long days while you can.

https://www.timeanddate.com/sun/@z-us-54104?month=6&year=2019

The weekend forecast is still evolving. A day or two ago it was for rain Friday-Monday. Now it is for rain Saturday night and Sunday and into next week. It only has to move a little more and we have a great weekend ahead.

The black raspberry bushes have come into bloom this week. Also blooming are the daisies and black eyed Susan, or whatever the yellow daisies are.

I do not have any events on my list for this weekend. I could have missed one, it has been an intense week.

That is it for me this morning. Have a great weekend and thank you for visiting!

RJB

6-15-2019 Special Whitewater Update

Friday June 14th, 2019

Greetings and welcome!

We are going to learn a new word today. First the regular stuff.

We have a wet week going on. It is raining today and we have about 3/4″ down already. Tuesday and Wednesday we saw about 1.5″ of rain. As a result there is zero chance of dusty ATV trails and gravel roads but there might be some puddles.

The whitewater rafting will be outstanding again this weekend. The Menominee River is running at 3,850cfs, a really fun level. The Peshtigo is right around a +12″ and on the rise. Either river ( or both) would be an excellent choice.

We have more rain on tap for the weekend. There is a good chance of showers and storms tonight and Saturday night, but my NAM model is showing a break in the rain for at least part of Saturday, most likely Saturday afternoon. Sunday looks wet again.

I did see my first deer fawn last week. As usual the Mom wasn’t happy about it but the youngster was playfully bouncing around and checking everything out. I have seen a few turtles crossing the gravel roads to lay eggs. So far there have only been a couple of them and they were all smaller ones.

As far as the bugs go.. it is summer. Nothing new or unusual here. Bring Repel. I use the 40% stuff.

Ok our new word of the day is noctilucent. Nocti would mean night (as in nocturnal), and lucent would suggest light. Noctilucent clouds are clouds that are lit up 1-2 hours after sunset. They have waves and undulations sort of like northern lights, but not quite the same. It takes a very specific set of conditions for them to form, and apparently this year is a good one for them.

In short they are clouds literally on the edge of space 40-50 miles up and they look sort of like cirrus clouds. Because they are so high up the sun will continue to light them up well after sunset. Here is a link to an article that explains how they form. (New tab)

At any rate, the Noctilucent clouds were visible across northern WI and MN last weekend. Here is an article about it from a MN paper along with a lot of pictures and links. Here is a link to a Vimeo video of them along with some sappy music.

I didn’t know about this phenomenon until yesterday, though I have seen it quite a few times. I guess that there are people that chase these things like tornado hunters.

It is another cool northwoods phenomenon and I thought I’d share it with you.

That is it for me today. Have a good weekend and thank you for visiting!

RJB

Friday June 7th, 2019

Late edit; Darn it! I missed the Dockside fishing tournament & Fish Fry in my events.

Greetings and welcome!

We have a warm and sunny weekend coming up. There is no chance for rain until Sunday afternoon. Expect clear skies and a hi/lo of 82/52. It will be a good weekend for campfires with mild nights and lots of stars, and it will be a good weekend for getting wet.

We are drying out a little finally. The gravel roads and ATV trails are dusty. There are still some huge puddles on the ATV trails and the ground in sheltered areas is still wet.

The grass and underbrush are growing like crazy. The grass that I cut 3 days ago is getting a little shaggy in spots. The ferns are about to bust out with big leaves.

Bugs? Bring Repel. It is summer. Ticks and gators are very active. I saw some mayfly type bugs and the butterflies are back too.

There have been some bear sightings including one that I spotted on the way to work a couple of days ago. The deer are a little skittish and probably have fawns. I spotted a fox on the way to work this morning. I e-stopped and swerved and missed him. On the way home I saw that he played in the road too long and had a bad ending. I have not seen the turtles up on gravel roads yet but it is that time of year.

The whitewater rivers have calmed down a lot in the past couple of weeks. They are still a little above normal, making them a good choice for getting wet on a hot weekend. The Peshtigo is about a +6 or +7″ and the Menominee is running between about 2,300 and 3,300cfs, both rivers are at fun levels. Kosir’s started tubing for the summer too.

As far as events, there is a flea market at the Silver Cliff picnic grounds Saturday, there is an ATV trail ride, meat raffle and pig roast with the Red Arrow Snowmobile & ATV Club in Townsend, and a breakfast on the farm.

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

RJB