Wisconsin Drama

Wisconsin is an unusual state. Though, I'm not an indigenous cheese head, my children are born and raised Wisconsin stock, therefore I'm once removed. Over the years, I've come to appreciate the opportunities Wisconsin has to offer for me and my family (this is true as long as they continue to let me escape once a year otherwise I might feel like a trapped wild animal and start foaming at the mouth, but that would never happen). It's not a state that the faint of heart can endure day in and day out. Let's take the weather for instance. Wisconsin weather is so unpredictable, occasionally, we get rain, ice, snow, and sun all in one day. The famous saying here is "If you don't like the weather, just wait a few minutes, it will change."

As you saw in my previous post on ice fishing, we were out on the ice two weekends ago. Well last weekend the weather decided to warm up to a balmy 40* to 45*. You all know that the freezing point is 32* so you can only imagine how the ice looked, black and dangerous. Since the lake wasn't frozen completely, the ice wasn't strong enough to endure the warmer temperatures. This is what happens when you don't get your shanty off the ice in time.

 Last week, we watched the little camper slowly slip lower and lower through the ice. Mother Nature must've felt sorry for this poor soul because the temperature dropped yesterday to a high of 7*. Lucky for us, today it's a crisp -6*, windchill -21*. The camper is now stuck in limbo. On the other hand, the DNR (The Department of No Results) is going to be on the owner faster than a cougar chasing it's prey. A fine will follow and the problem of removing it from the lake. This is Wisconsin drama first hand.

In Wisconsin, you have to be ready for anything. These temperatures are supposed to continue all week, but I wanted to show the open water again. I risked frost bite (not kidding, it's that cold outside) in the two minutes it took me to take these pictures. My hands were so frozen and red I was a little nervous until they warmed up.In the sake of risking my skin health for this blog, I was able to capture some pretty cool pictures. Check them out.

It was like the hot springs in Yellowstone except minus the cold weather. Though I bet Yellowstone is pretty cool in the winter too. The water is warmer than the air producing steam. Very mystical. I love taking photos of cool things. Enjoy! My favorite is the last one.