The mystery of the kite-skiers is solved - sort of. We know it was NOT Jay Chatot. Kate called this morning to let me know. We actually had a little conversation about the intelligence factor involved in being out on the ice . . . but that's not important. Nothing bad happened, and we think they were probably not local folks; and they were probably professionals. Managing those big sails is tricky, I imagine - sort of like sailing on water. You have to know what you're doing or you'll just end up someplace you don't want to be.

Gretchen Farnsworth sent these pictures. She said she might have gotten better ones, but no way was she venturing out onto the ice. However, she said there were ice fishermen later in the day in back of the islands. There was open water there less than a week ago. I guess with the really cold temperatures we had for several nights, the ice formed pretty solidly - and would be safe in most spots, but then, there are the unknowns that most of us don't want to take chances with.

The temperature today had remained around freezing - a little below early in the morning and a little above later on. We didn't see much sun, but it did break through a couple of times. I measured a little over an inch of new snow that had fallen overnight. It's very pretty - everything is a nice clean white. Perfect for the holidays. 

This is the final countdown - only a few days left to do your holiday preparations. I think just about everyone is looking forward to the New Year. We're all hoping for so many things to improve in the coming year. There's lots of room for improvement - so even if just a few things change for the better, I expect a lot of us will be grateful. It's not hard to think of things we'd like to change, starting with the pandemic and the terrible toll it has taken on so many people; and wouldn't it be nice to have some civility returned to our government in Washington? Less violence, less need for demonstrations, and more consideration for  our fellow humans?  It can happen, and I believe it will. 

By the way - Happy Solstice! Tomorrow we will have a tad more daylight than we did today! I don't think we can see the conjunction of the planets Jupiter and Saturn - too many clouds in our sky. But it's good to know these things are happening on schedule - in spite of all the chaos here on earth. Be warm and safe.