Tuesday May 18th, 2010

Greetings and welcome!

It is a spectacular day outside today. There isn’t much wind, it is sunny, and temps and humidity are very comfortable. Call it sunny and 74, and call me late for skip out of work day.

I am not too worried about it, the whole week and even next weekend look great for weather. There is no rain in sight for a week, and temps will be in the 70s most of the time. Later this week we could have a few days that get into the low 80s.

The area is greening up very nicely, the weather is getting spectacular, it might just be that summer is here.

The critter world knows about it. Wildlife sightings are way up this week. While shooting pictures on the river last weekend I spotted an osprey. Later there were a group of butterflies that swirled up around me and out over the river as I walked toward them. Chris is out in the driveway now trying to catch a picture of the Momma deer and just born fawn that she spotted on the way to the mailbox. There is a new nest of the black & white bees under the back step this week (not for long..), and the general insect world is thriving from the ticks to the moths and butterflies. The exception is the mosquito, who needs water to breed, so numbers are down a little.

It is a very cool time of year in the great outdoors of Silver Cliff.

I don’t have any events for this weekend, but there is one Wednesday.

Events really pick up for Memorial Day weekend and beyond.

A passing thought.. This is the week that will make the lakes and rivers a lot more comfortable to swim in. With upper 70s planned as well as some outside work, it will likely be the week of my first swim of the year. It might even be today.

This is also the week that I go about coaxing my old lawn mower back to life. The grass is now well overdue for cutting and between the ankle and knee in some spots.

Some dark economic news.. Last Wednesday Cramer’s Brown Jug closed down. Rumor has it that there will be new people eventually taking it over, but as of now the bar is closed. The gas station remains open for the short term at least.

Things are getting thin for a lot of places up here. Deer hunting is way down, the snowmobiling has been way down, both for a few years, and now tourism in general is down. It has been a rough couple of years for the area, and now a quiet spring. A lot of people are looking forward to the summer season.

Well, there are bees to freeze and a whole day to tackle outside, so I am off to jump into it. Have a good week and thank you for visiting!

RJB