Shake, Rattle, and Roll

Hard but bumpy ice. Brisk wind. Nites 10 and 351 took advantage...for a shakedown sail. And shaky it was. On one tack I was running downwind at a high rate of speed with ice chips pinging off my nose when a yellow/red/black bullet whizzed past me so fast I could hardly see it. (351 is going to be rather competitive.)

We didn't stay out long, thinking it would be prudent to keep the boats from breaking apart.

And after the sail, we finally got in our long longed-for Sports Dock tuna melt. (But, being prudent, we ordered only one of the gigantic things, and split it. Still, quite a bit of yum.)

Back To Bare Ground...

...except for the odd pile of hailstones in shady places.  And, reportedly, almost back to bare ice. I predict we will be sailing Sunday.

Gutters de-clogged today. And were they ever clogged—mostly leaves from Vi's big Bradford pear which doesn't lose its leaves until December. But also birch, oak, and maple; along with thick bundles of red pine needles.

I have a certain fondness for gutter photos, because, if I remember rightly, a gutter photo graced my first ever blog post.

And, speaking of gutters, they feature in two sights I find less than appealing—one, rain running down a roof and sloshing over the gutter as if it wasn't there; and two, eavestroughs festooned with luxuriant verdure—forbs, grasses, and saplings more appropriately found either on the prairie or in a deep, dark wood.

Reveling in the Past...

...otherwise known as recuperating.  (No, we really didn't over-do it.) (But no chance of a timely, original photo today, either.) After a lovely breakfast at the top of the Pfister we stopped in, on the way home, to say hi to Becca, Ben, and James. (All doing well, btw.)

Still got a few blues bars rattling around between the ears.

Pax had a good time too. Last night he slept on Will's bed.

I tried to count the goldeneyes.

Night on the Town

Doing Milwaukee with the Habes. Pfister Hotel, Milwaukee Art Museum, Harbor House restaurant, Caroline’s Jazz Club for exceptionally great blues (Eddie Taylor, Jr. )

Throw a Blanket On It

And we were so close to perfect ice.  

Lots and lots of moisture, in just about every possible form. I had thought that the temp-drop would happen after the precip was gone. But not quite.

There is, however, another warmup on the horizon, and still plenty of hard ice below the snow.

Thunder! Lightning!

Fog! Heavy rain! Hail!  We've got it all.  And the ground is frozen so hard and deep that absorption is out and runoff is the only option. 

Oh dear climate, please stay sane.

Slippery Sidewalks

Very cold ground combined with a damp mist, puddles of melt water, and a temp just above freezing make creepers a rather good idea when out walking, which all of us did several times today.

An interesting batch of chili made up, using available ingredients, now bubbling softly and smelling pretty good, though untasted as of yet. That, combined with some corn bread will be our football fare as we watch some of the Vikings game. What the heck...its a dim, damp, chilly Sunday evening in January.

The Still Life...

...is a venerable tradition in photography, so why not a few quick kitchen shots.

Some things accomplished: garage swept out, truck vacuumed (not by me), dog walked in the Kettle-Moraine, lunch (mediocre) had in the odd little town of Eagle. All in all, pretty much the still life.

Above Freezing

All the way up to 40.  To Zenda (no prisoners sighted) to have the numbers on the newest sail changed from 10 to 351. (Number 10 doesn't need a fast sail.) Dinner and sequence with the neighbors.

Cheesecake...

...is tasty...and Sue bought a fine, big piece of semi-homemade perfection from our favorite breakfast place  in Milton. But, when we popped in a bit later for a few quick items at a nearby grocery, Pax took pity on us and removed the temptation. I normally never think about leaving food items in the car with Pax. Cheesecake, however, is cheesecake. No lunch for Pax today by way of reprimand (not that he wanted any).

Still windy, but now from the south. Even though the meter got up to 30, it was hard to ignore a lingering cold. Almost nothing of significance accomplished.

Check out this parenting advice from Ellie: https://www.tmj4.com/news/local-news/greenland-elementary-offers-ounces-of-advice-for-new-mothers

Ferocious

Southwest wind, with a high of 19.  

To Fox Point for tacos, among other things. Mimi helped out in Katy's PE class—ice skating.

Clear, Cold and Quiet

Quiet nights of quiet stars, quiet chords from my guitar
floating on the silence that surrounds us
Quiet thoughts and quiet dreams, quiet walks by quiet streams
And the window looking on the mountains and the sea, how lovely.

Um cantinho, um violao, Este amor, uma cançao, Pra fazer feliz a quem se ama  
Muita calma pra pensar, E ter tempo pra sonhar  
Da janela, ve-se o Corcovado, O Redentor, que lindo.

Snowed Out

Light but steady, maybe three inches by now. Great ice never lasts long.

Mimi helping out in Oconomowoc, with me goofing around with the kids in Fox Point.

Olde-Tyme Ice Boating

The way it used to be.  

I chickened out again. Bri was busy. Tony got in five races and did well. 

Chickens**t, But No S**thole

Couldn’t face the cold. Great ice, and good wind, but too cold for me. Bri and Tony did it though, and got in five races. Mimi and I had plenty of fun hanging out with the Nies kids (mostly indoors).

No Iceboat Setup Today

Too cold and too windy. Some of us around here are actually starting to develop cold-avoidance symptoms and warmer clime infatuations. Interior projects (of limited scope and duration) ruled the day.

Steep Drop

From 53 to 13 in a matter of hours.  Light rain most of the day. Should be nice ice tomorrow on Pewaukee, where lots of boats—including 65, 351 and 10—are planning to set up.

Ice Improvement

Foggy,  misty, and a little drizzle—nature's Zamboni. With the temp soon to drop, there could be good ice this weekend.

Desultory...

...to some degree.  Sue in Oconomowoc for a few days helping out with the twins, leaving me with what would seem plenty of time to get some things done. Alas, no—simply not enough time. I may have to eliminate one dog walk, or the nap.

One incomplete project has been shifted from lacustrine concerns to those of a more aerial variety—in other words, birdhouses. I've been assigned a story about birdhouses.

Here is a rather sad example—poorly designed and poorly built. (You might think college students could do better?) But what I wonder about is all the excavation around the opening. Pooh Bear stuck and trying to claw his way in? Certainly not a woodpecker? Squirrel? Porcupine? College student?

Unzip The Coat...

... pull off the gloves.  Actually pleasant to be outside.

     On one of our walks today we ambled along Whitewater Creek for a while—until Pax sensed quarry on the far side. He then switched into pursuit mode and  took off at Pax-speed across the erratically frozen water. Luckily for him, when he's moving that fast his feet don't really touch anything, so he made it across just fine. 
     A sharp whistle brought him out of his trance, and a reprimand made him feel contrite, but a problem remained—that of dog getting back across stream. Pax considered this complex situation for a good bit of time while I visualized where, when, and how I'd have to go wading in order to pull him out when he fell in.
   Oh, me of little faith. Pax eventually found the perfect spot and scampered across without moistening a tone-nail.

Also of interest.........When I went out to run an errand this afternoon I found quite a flat flat on the right front tire of the truck. Running the compressor for 15 minutes got me enough inflation to make it to the Chevy dealer,  and repair. Apparently someone ran over something, sometime.....and I don't think it was me.