Sunday, March 9, 2014

Trouble Letting Go??

You may think so, based on my morning today.  Letting go of Old Man Winter I mean.  It started early, though not as early as it would have been yesterday since it was the first day of our Daylight Savings Time merry go-round once again.  To celebrate the part of winter still here, I walked down the driveway before dawn, barn kitties in tow.  It was pretty out there, the snow is taking on a softer look, the points and squared off edges rounding now that the warmer temps have teased us this past week.  They will be doing a lot more than teasing over the next couple of days if the weather predictors are even close to being right.

After the short hike in the mostly dark, I came back in and put the coffee on.  Not exactly a cold-weather joy exclusively but it really tasted good early this March morning.  I'm busy doing some CAD modeling of a project for some friends, a project that I started yesterday and was anxious to return to this morning before the day got too far along.  So, with a fresh hot cup in hand, I sat down to create some more dimensioned solids on my engineering laptop, 'building' them into a couple of assemblies.

Naturally, I pulled up "Under The Mistletoe", well down really,  from the Cloud but I listened to it from wherever it was coming from.  My listening a few weeks ago to CBC 1 introduced me to the Good Lovelies, another introduction my neighbors to the north have added to a great many that I'm thankful for.  Yes, I was listening to Christmas music, wonderful Christmas music ........ in early March and almost not ashamed to say so.  Besides the 'Lovelies' holiday music, there was news about Kingston, highways, coming home, visiting Montreal, etc.  I was getting a lot accomplished along with some very pleasurable listening.

A surprised but very welcome interruption came with a call from my hiking friend Bruce.  He had lots of northern Wisconsin news, we talked of some newly learned tidbits surrounding our mutual interest in regional history and discoveries besides, machining projects along with the expected old-guy health news.  We old guys seem to find it easier and easier these days to mix a little or a lot of that in to most conversations; our news today was all good thankfully.

Almost letting time get away from me, I quickly realized that I'd promised to meet Mike and Mark at the South Fork for lunch.  They're busy putting an XS650 Yamaha back into shape but seldom (if ever) miss a chance for lunch at the South Fork. So, I quickly changed and started out a bit early so that I could visit the car wash.  These softening temperatures have left us with very dirty roads, resulting in even dirtier cars.

I went "Ultimate" today because I was just in that kind of mood.......


 I had to pull over to catch this one......I can tell you unequivocally that I am not the one making this request.

 
I took the slightly longer route to River Falls that would allow me to stop in and take a look at some trailers.  I'm thinking about upgrading my motorcycle hauling capabilities and thought I'd drop in at one of our larger dealers to see what might be in their outdoor showroom.


 
In River Falls, today's topper of rhubarb pie was enjoyed by 66.7% of us.  Those of you that follow my blog closely may remember that Mike does NOT enjoy rhubarb pie.  He really missed out on some very delicately prepared slices today, let me tell you!

Next door, I did some window shopping at the Fox Den Used Book Store while waiting for the guys to get the Yamaha off their hands........


After a long and late lunch, we split up and I headed back to Minnesota.  I just couldn't get the camera up in time, but at the intersection of US Hwy 10 and Cty Road E, there were half a dozen snowmobiles headed east on a trail adjacent to the highway.  Waving crazily at them and headed in the opposite direction were almost as many women on their Harley's, ponytails waving in the wind, only slightly more enthusiastically than their arms waving at the sleds.  It appears that my neighbors are ready for a turn of the weather.

A few miles from there......


and only a few miles further on, right next to the river and a public boat launch.........boat trailers.


These are not SNOWmobile trailers, but boat trailers......


and more......


Here where US Hwy 63 crosses the Mississippi backwaters and the bridge leads to Minnesota on the other side, we've got it all.........ice fisherman augering new holes along the edge, river ice quickly retreating and a fishing boat launching across the bay.  Note the marked pole between the groups of fishermen marking flood stage levels.  There's a very good chance that those higher marks will get 'washed' in the coming weeks.


Back home, our widened driveway after Chris was here with his skid loader last Monday.  Upon driving in last Monday evening, Peg remarked that an airplane could now land in our driveway.  Believe you me, it certainly felt that way.  Many thanks to Chris for giving us an absolutely necessary hand.  A few days of hazy sun and melting will change the looks of things around here quickly.


While I may have foolishly been in the Christmas mood this morning, that has now gently passed.  Weather Underground tells me that currently it's 46.6 degrees outside, though it feels only like 46.0 with the wind chill.

I'm officially ready for warmer weather and for EVERYthing it brings.  I think I'm going to be OK......no more holiday music until maybe October.

12 comments:

  1. Boats out already! It must be Spring!

    With the snow pushed away from the edges of the driveway, will you still be flooded?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Full disclosure, it's possible much of the winter for me to see sled trailers or boat trailers at the gas station. There are sections of the river that don't freeze, so hardy fishers are sometimes out on the water no matter the month.

      The entire valley's water has to run past our driveway so what happens on our little driveway makes little difference in the big picture.

      Delete
  2. Ice fishers and boats at the same time ... looked a bit the same along the St. Lawrence yesterday with skaters on the river where just beyond I could see open water. Coop - I think we are all ready to let go of it now, hope the sign works!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Our normal Fishing Opener happens on or around Mother's Day and there's great concern this year that some of our northern lakes may not be open, free of ice. Much can change quickly depending on the temps these next weeks. Warmer days and winds make a huge difference.

      Delete
  3. Is that Gumby disguised in red under the witness protection program?

    I could counter you with a photo of my driveway ice melting into my garage, but you will have to take my word for it. 50 degrees here and it will be very splashy out there. Bring it on.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. :) I wasn't sure at first WHAT I was seeing down there on the river bank. Some strange things do occur in those back channels of the river.

      Delete
  4. That sounds like a wonderful. Nice relaxing morning and an afternoon out too. And might I say, mmmmm rhubarb pie.

    I sure hope you get those warmer temperatures and snow melt, but not too fast as to avoid the nasty flooding.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was a great day; I managed to stuff every activity in even though not all were finished, all found some appropriate time. I got home last last night after our VJMC meeting. Almost 10PM, 42 degrees with a lot, a real lot of evaporation, settling, etc.

      So far, not a lot of running water and today, cooler temps. We may just sneak through this one.......though it's still early.

      Delete
  5. Coop, I really like your narrative about everyday life with the white stuff. I hope that flooding won't hit you too hard. But I guess that's the only way the snow will go away.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Sonja, I lead a pretty much everyday life. We're hoping for a gentle departure of the snow and it honestly could happen. We've seen some brutal changes but they aren't givens. Great progress was made yesterday, temps in the (Daylight Savings) afternoon made 50, a remarkable feat with our huge snowpack doing all it could to refrigerate the air.

      Delete
  6. I think everyone is completely done with Old Man Winter and are trying to push his slippers under his bed so he will take the hint and crawl in and go to sleep until next November. Lovely pics Coop! AS for the Christmas music, I have been known to listen to it occasionally throughout the year. Also randomly when I am out on the bike my ipod will be on shuffle and it will play one or two of them in the middle of summer, which makes me smile and giggle a bit.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Dar, it was a great day to be out, signs of spring much more prevalent than they were a week ago .....but spring is or can be like that. Timing is everything. :)

      I was giggling too while listening to music a few months past its normal prime. I see no reason to rule that out.....good is good.

      Delete