Typical January Day

 Today is a pretty normal January day, weatherwise. We didn't get any snow yesterday or during the night, and the nighttime temperature in the teens and today in the mid-20s. We are expecting a little snow beginning late this afternoon and lasting for the next two or three days, but not much accumulation. Fine by me!

Here is a photo I found on the Caledonian Record e-edition this morning. It shows that 4-wheeler pretty well submerged. This photo was taken by Stephen Garfield.

This shows just how risky it is on the ice, especially this year because of the erratic weather patterns we've experienced here at Joe's Pond. Even experienced local folks can get into trouble.

After reading my previous posts about this accident, Andy Rudin sent me an email with a very interesting photo taken on September 19, 2000, of what he called "towers of mist." He said on cold, clear, calm nights in the fall he has observed these "towers" and once took friends in a boat to see them close up, providing them with blankets to keep warm. 

Here's part of what Andy wrote: "As we approched the towers, we could see that they

were very distinct, rising straight up on that windless, moonlit night. I steered the boat right through one of them.  The mist was relatively warm and covered our blankets with droplets of water."

 Andy said he believes the towers are caused by warm underwater springs. I firmly believe that is the case. I have also seen the unusual fog patterns over the pond in the fall as the air temperature is getting colder. Logic tells us that where there is a spring such as that the ice would logically be thinner than where the water was colder. It is impossible to know where these springs are and as Andy said, nobody could visually determine where the ice is thinner because of them.

I also recall one spring when Fred and I were living at camp year around, a very large hole opened up some distance away from our dock. It was not near the culvert that empties into the cove or any of the brooks - or the runoff from our drilled well, so the only thing we could imagine that might have caused such a large hole was perhaps a fishing hole that happened to be over a warm spring opened larger during the spring thaws. The hole had smooth, slanting sides all around that would be treacherous if anyone walked too close and began to slide towards the open water, and it was plenty large enough for an adult to slip through. I remember it was chilling just thinking what might happen if anyone inadvertently got too close or if even someone on a snowmobile might not see it in time and plunge into it. Fortunately, it was late enough in the spring so there were no people on the ice - but seeing that gaping hole, I wondered if there had been thin ice there earlier. I suspect the action of the water under the mass of ice created the smooth, curved sides and enlarged the fishing hole, if that is what it was. We never knew - and it was only once that I saw anything like that. But once was enough to keep me very wary of going out onto the ice.

Stay safe, everyone - on and off the ice!