Since Thanksgiving it has been cold here. Not, Oh my how are you even still alive? cold but woodpile melting cold. Highs around 20 degrees and lows usually round 10 or so. Our New Years Trip to Eastport was marked by cold (around 0) wind and snow. The sea smoke on the morning of the 2nd was a sight to see. This week though we are in the middle of our January thaw! Today was nearly 40 with pleasant sunshine and almost no wind.
Our youngest son owns and island on a pond in Liberty and askes the old man to wander out a couple of times each winter to make sure all is well. Not a killer walk, about 3 miles total on the ice. I decided that today would be the day for that walk. One great thing about walking on the ice is that it is flat and level! Usually ice groans and cracks but not a sound this afternoon. The air was humid enough that the smell of pine and hemlock hung heavy in the air. Maybe 6 inches of pretty wet almost slushy snow on top of the ice enough to be there but not enough to make walking hard.
The only real news was that he has squatters. Beavers have built a new bank den on the side of the island. I am guessing that dry conditions last fall caused them to leave whenever they had been and take up residence on the island, I expect that they will be gone in the spring.
All in all a delightful winter afternoon on the hard water.
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