weatherbo

And pooping outside.

Record high of 53 today in Negaunee, breaking the old record of 50 set back in 1998. Snow mostly gone here at my place. Weird.

I was a kid living in Indiana, but I do remember this storm. A semi-truck full of milk couldn't make it down our road due to drifting, tried to turn around in our driveway and got stuck. My Dad knew that if we didn't get it out, it would be there for days. I remember using hay and shingles from the barn under the tires for traction. It worked, thankfully. I also remember the snow hanging around otg until March that year. This storm is probably responsible to a degree for me living in the UP.

That was my first winter in Marquette County, it was white. Low of 8 this morning, point now has 48 for tomorrow.

I feel like Mother Nature usually balances things out and we'll pay for all the nice weather at some point, and even if we don't, there's worse things than a mild, dry winter. It's not like we were forecast this massively cold and snowy winter, and it tanked on us. This was expected. And on a positive, with little snow I can still access the trails in the woods with my quad. Getting a jump start on next seasons firewood hauling logs out to split.

Blustery with snow showers today... right around 2 inches otg, however it won't last. Forecast for Thursday is 46 and 41 Friday with rain. Doesn't happen all that often, especially in the UP snowbelts but it looks like a brown Christmas this year. Here's some stats for Marquette.

A December soaker today on frozen ground left snow cover in patches. Colder air now beginning to move back in with a few inches of snow expected locally (several inches more just west in the favorable NW flow.) Notice the deer are still hanging around eating acorns from the oaks around my peak. They look healthy heading into Winter.

A soupy 36 this morning with around 3 inches of snow left otg. Piss poor start to winter for sure. This area running close to 30 inches below normal in snowfall. Had received over 50 inches by this time last year. Pic from last winter

I received a text from another member of Eastern with the link to the new board. I had been banned from Eastern just prior to its collapse. Not sure for what anymore but it was probably deserved.

With the lack of snow, ice on the lakes is great. Smooth, snow free, and getting thick quicker without the insolation. Some sheltered smaller lakes are thick enough to fish at this point. Although the ice is later this year compared to others.

I was 14 when I came to the group of forums a lot of us have belonged to for so long. There are no replacement troops. This type of platform for communicating is archaic and dying.

Coldest night of the season here at my house with a low of 8. Lots of hoar frost this morning.

Clear, calm, 17 degrees. Northern lights dancing.

Not in the least! They're pissy, refusing to leave the coop, and acting like it's all my fault.

Usually by the second week of May

Looks like around 6 inches in the forecast locally. Ground is probably white for the season.

Juneau area got nailed.

Was down to 23 here this morning under clear, calm conditions. High today should top out in the mid-upper 30's, which is seasonal. Slow start to the snow season. Have to go all the way back to 2012 to not have at least some snow otg on today's date. In 2015 there was just a trace but every other year there was ground cover. To date MQT has received 4.7 inches, average is 17.2 inches (-12.5"). Not complaining, actually don't really mind.

Wind howling 61 degrees. Feels wonderful.

Definitely not the news I wanted to see this morning. When I fell in love with the UP as a kid while still in Indiana, I lived vicariously through John Dee, his journals, pictures, the web cam page. I am very saddened by this, especially for his wife and young daughter. He was just about to complete their new home in Jacobsville, that he built basically by himself after surprising his wife a few years ago by buying the land and home her Grandparents owned when she was a child. The end of an era. RIP John.

New chicks arrived this morning. Will spend 16 weeks here in the barn, then can join the others in the coop near the end of March when they're fully feathered They're 3 days old.

I don't mind a buck as long as it's young or early in the season. Once they're all strung out from weeks of rut, meat is tough and tastes a bit hormonal (rutty) to me, but you can take older buck meat, soak it in buttermilk and that'll help draw some of the game out if that's not your thing. In June I hit a pregnant doe with my truck on Hwy 41 right in front of the State Police Post in Negaunee. The officer let me keep her and I was able to harvest some meat, mainly the straps, and it tasted totally different than the usual buck meat I'm use to. But yeah, a young, corn fed doe is the best tasting meat... better than beef.

12th-27th down there and 15th-30th here in Michigan. Would love to hunt some corn-fed Indiana Doe. Here in the snowbelt counties of the UP, antlerless is off the table. They're exclusively for the coyot's and wolves.

Firearm deer season.