Greetings and welcome!
We have a frosty morning outside today. We had some rain after sunset last night, followed by a little chunky snow.
The ground and the driveway are frozen again after a couple of cold nights. For a while I was walking in and out or taking a car that could handle the mud. The past two days have brought a firm driveway.
The spring thaw was progressing very nicely until our recent cold spell. Some sunny spots had finished with the frost-out and were firming up. Sheltered areas where the sun does not reach still hold snow. That ranges from patchy snow in thin woods up to a foot or more of remaining snow in deeply sheltered areas.
The lakes that I have seen in my recent travels still hold ice, though it isn’t very good ice. The Peshtigo River opened up at the bridge by Kosir’s late last week. I am not sure if it is open all of the way up the rapids section, but it is open by the bridge. I have not checked the levels but it looks fairly high, probably +12 or more. That isn’t bad considering that we have had no rain for a while and the gradual nature of our thaw. Kosir’s starts their spring whitewater rafting season this Saturday. People should have a good day with temps in the low 60s and good water levels.
The road bans are on most town and county roads. Those spring weight limits stop big trucks from using the roads while the base under them is soft from the frost coming out of them. Loggers, excavators, cement companies, heavy equipment operators and others with big trucks will have to take a break for a few weeks.
The ATV trails are closed for a while too. Usually they open back up in early May, but that is totally dependent on how the weather goes. I think that we might be on time this year with the limited frost in the ground, but we have a lot of snow to melt in the deep woods.
In events the Town of Stephenson VFD chicken dinner with a band and free beer is this Saturday at The Woods. It is a good deal and a good time for a good cause. Sunday is the Iron Snowshoe Banquet.
Yesterday we had an election. According to WBAY our new town supervisors are Riana Ventura Bishop and Sue Victoreen, and Bruce Weber is our town board chairman. Other local races are listed at https://www.wbay.com/elections?configID=1498.
That is about all that comes to mind right now. Time to make the donuts. Have a good week and thank you for visiting!
RJB