December 21st means more than just three shopping days left till Christmas, at least it does here. It means that the dive in daylight hours has hit bottom. I can't quote exactly which week or days they are but we go through a period when we are losing almost 5 minutes per day as we build up to this day. That may not strike you as much, five minutes, but when you consider that number by the week it sounds more like between 35 & 40 minutes less time to get anything done (including fish) next week than you have this week and etc.
The upside is that you have only to hold on through the darkness until January 20 and you will begin to realize a little more daylight, a little earlier and later each day. March 20 you are feeling pretty positive about things because you are back past 12 & 12 and gaining nearly 3 minutes 55 seconds each day
Did I mention that by May you'll need to stay up past midnight to see total darkness again?
It's been a tumultuous start for winter here where I'm at. Before Thanksgiving things were relatively cold, cold enough that I could no longer launch a boat due to ice. The wood stove was put in service before Thanksgiving and we had some single digit nights, I was eying my wood piles hoping I had cut and split enough. Then came a big thaw, almost 2 weeks worth of weather where we were seeing high 40's day after day, all the snow on our property melted and spring flowers began to sprout and some Viola's bloomed just a week ago. All the ready work I'd done preparing for an early December run to the cabin proved premature as the winter trails melted and turned to overflow and slush.................. But hey, it's the twenty first and this morning was 19* with an incredible blazing red sunrise so hope springs eternal. Don't be fooled, 19* isn't cold, I can hack that wearing just a fleece and cap. Cold would be -19 and holding for a couple weeks or longer. That would be a good base to go forward from. I mind a 26* day more than I do a -11 degree day because the -11 will be dry while the 26* day will have dampness. I like a good cold day.
What will do to celebrate the Solstice? I'll install a new receiver for the hitch to my freight sled on the Skandic and put another set of angle steel cross members on the bed of that same freight sled today and hope for a little snow. The past couple years have been hard on the freight sled as I hauled tons of railroad ties and many full drums of fuel on it. With loads right up to 2000 pounds strapped to the bed and 75 miles of rough trails to negotiate the sled takes a pounding. The snowmachines are full of fuel and sitting at the north end of the house just waiting for enough depth to get to work. I brought them out and put the Mokai's into the shop over a month ago.......................
Those are hump day thoughts from here folks, it's a great day for me and I feel good about the projects that lay ahead at that cabin on the lake
The upside is that you have only to hold on through the darkness until January 20 and you will begin to realize a little more daylight, a little earlier and later each day. March 20 you are feeling pretty positive about things because you are back past 12 & 12 and gaining nearly 3 minutes 55 seconds each day
Did I mention that by May you'll need to stay up past midnight to see total darkness again? It's been a tumultuous start for winter here where I'm at. Before Thanksgiving things were relatively cold, cold enough that I could no longer launch a boat due to ice. The wood stove was put in service before Thanksgiving and we had some single digit nights, I was eying my wood piles hoping I had cut and split enough. Then came a big thaw, almost 2 weeks worth of weather where we were seeing high 40's day after day, all the snow on our property melted and spring flowers began to sprout and some Viola's bloomed just a week ago. All the ready work I'd done preparing for an early December run to the cabin proved premature as the winter trails melted and turned to overflow and slush.................. But hey, it's the twenty first and this morning was 19* with an incredible blazing red sunrise so hope springs eternal. Don't be fooled, 19* isn't cold, I can hack that wearing just a fleece and cap. Cold would be -19 and holding for a couple weeks or longer. That would be a good base to go forward from. I mind a 26* day more than I do a -11 degree day because the -11 will be dry while the 26* day will have dampness. I like a good cold day.
What will do to celebrate the Solstice? I'll install a new receiver for the hitch to my freight sled on the Skandic and put another set of angle steel cross members on the bed of that same freight sled today and hope for a little snow. The past couple years have been hard on the freight sled as I hauled tons of railroad ties and many full drums of fuel on it. With loads right up to 2000 pounds strapped to the bed and 75 miles of rough trails to negotiate the sled takes a pounding. The snowmachines are full of fuel and sitting at the north end of the house just waiting for enough depth to get to work. I brought them out and put the Mokai's into the shop over a month ago.......................
Those are hump day thoughts from here folks, it's a great day for me and I feel good about the projects that lay ahead at that cabin on the lake
