Wickedly cold temperatures in abeyance

Another snowy day in Muskoka. The birds and squirrels have nearly cleaned out the feeders. I tend to fill them at dusk, in order for them to feed in the frigid dawn temperatures. By 7:30 a.m. they are well on their way to filling their faces! They must be hungry as they eat the sunflower seeds right on the spot.

The raccoons wisely remain in their winter hibernation. The wolf, who walked across the ice a few days ago, has not left any new tracks. The fisher walked across the lakefront yesterday, but there were slim pickings on our lakeshore.

We have gone from -32 degrees a few days ago, to single-digit minus zero temperatures. With anticipated above zero temperatures, everyone must be careful.

In his Globe & Mail article

"On perilously thin ice and not realizing it"

Reinhart informs us that to be safe a human being needs 8 cm of ice to safely support us. A snow machine needs 10 cm. With the freeze-thawing that we have had appearances are deceiving. As I walked on the ice in our little bay, my feet sunk into the slush. I went back the next day and the slush had frozen, but slush remained on either side.

I recall an experiment when I taught at an outdoor education center in which we measured the temperature of the snow at various depths of snow cover. The snow at ground level remained at zero, while only the snow nearest the top sunk below that temperature.

I feel for the families of those who are losing loved ones to accidents. They are so easily preventable. Check the websites for the snowmobile clubs. They are quite vigilant in checking and reporting on conditions. This is a preventable catastrophe.

Ollie plays it safe under the cottage. He is venturing further afield, following in his big sister's footsteps. She remains vigilant in keeping vermin out from under her cottage. The 3 cats are happy when we feed the critters on the deck. We say we are "turning on the TV" for the cats!