Greetings and welcome!
Wow do we have a lot to talk about today!!
First up the warm weather has brought the Peshtigo River almost to the highest that I have ever seen it. I have lived here since 1999 and for many years made money doing whitewater rafting pictures on the river. In my 24 years here the highest that I ever saw it get to was +54″. By my figures we are at 52″, a flyspeck of difference. This isn’t big water, this isn’t high water, this is legendary, once in 20 years water. If you get a chance to run the river this high or even close you will not only understand why the Peshtigo is world famous, you will have bragging rights.
This unbelievable water level was brought to us by a week of much above normal temperatures. For the most part the temperatures got close to the 80 degree mark and two or three days got into the mid-80s. What an incredible transformation that brought. A week ago my brush pile was under 18″ of snow and ice. Now it is on wet thawed ground.
Here are some of the changes..
The ice is completely gone from Caldron Falls Flowage.
The spring peeper frogs are out and singing.
There are buds on some swampy area bushes, maybe pussy willows or related?
I saw my first green grass today, something that wasn’t there two days ago. Now it is widespread and common in sunny areas.
The chipmunks are active and so is whatever digs big burrows in sandy hillsides. I’m not sure if it is ground hogs or badgers, but they are digging.
We have been seeing a lot of geese flying north in a V formation.
The deer are insanely active up by the roads. I saw at least three dead ones between here and Crivitz Saturday, and it is not uncommon to see 20 or more in a 10 mile trip.
The loons are back. When I was at Boat Landing 9 Sunday afternoon I ran into a migrating group of them. The were two pairs in the little bay, a pair off of the beach, and 10 more off of the point where people beach their pontoon boats. They were all paired off and yet together. They are fairly territorial and I have never seen that many together so I have to guess that they were a migrating group.
There are a few bugs out. The other day I hit one in my motorhome that left a 2″ across yellow splatter. I have no idea what it was but my first thought is that I was glad that I wasn’t riding a motorcycle when I hit it.
The big thaw will bode well for people anxious to get out onto the ATV trails. We did several weeks worth of snow melting and ground thawing just last week. With the big snow and ice build up that we had I was expecting a late opening to the trails. Now I don’t think so. The frost is out of the ground in most areas around here and the ground is wet but firming up. There are still sheltered areas that have a ways to go so don’t get too excited.
In true northern Wisconsin fashion Mother Nature has done a 180 degree about face on the weather..
Saturday night brought thunderstorms with the waves of rain and lightning moving north in a training fashion. It rained off and on all night and Sunday too. We got a lot of rain in the past 24 hours. The slow moving low pressure area will bring snow and mixed precip today, and a high of just 33. That is a big drop from 85ºF on Friday. The next couple of nights will be in the mid-20s, and we could still see a little snow.
From about Wausau west there are winter storm warnings for significant snow and 45mph wind gusts.
We get a little break on Tuesday when we could clear up and go into the upper 40s, though there will be some wind. After that we are in for more rain and cold, and I don’t see high temperatures hitting 50 all week.
That is going to throw a lot of the great outdoors for a real loop. Hopefully it kills the breeding population of the nasties like the gnats, mosquitoes, and ticks, but that is just wishful thinking.
I will remind you again to really watch for deer up by the roads. The roadsides have the first grass and it is really drawing them out. They are acting stupid too, running in front of the cars. Friday night I took about a 10 mile trip and saw at least 20, and even going slow, slammed on the brakes 3 times. Be careful.
Next weekend is PeshFest at Kosir’s and Rapids Resort. A lot of people come for the whitewater games, live music, and whitewater camaraderie. There is no question that the river will still be high for the big event. I don’t see it being in the 40-50″ range then, but I’d be surprised if it went under 30. A lot of people are going to have a lot of whitewater fun.
I think that’s all for this morning. Have a good week and thank you for visiting!
RJB