| February_1st | February in the Northern Hemisphere is the seasonal equivalent of August in the Southern Hemisphere (and vise versa, of course). February's birthstone is the amethyst and its birth flower is the violet. And contrary to popular belief, Emperor Augustus DID NOT steal a day from February and add it to August so that the length of his month would not be shorter than (hence, inferior to) the length of July (his Uncle Julius' month). That is per Wikipedia, which seems to have signficant documentation to support its opinion. |
| Groundhog's Day |
"One Groundhog's Day, an elderly groundhog crawled up out of his hole to have a
look around. When he saw his shadow, he thought, 'My what a nice day to stay
up here and play in the sunshine!'........which he did. Meanwhile, a bulldozer
came along and bulldozed his old home right into eternity to make room for
a parking lot. Moral: If you ever manage to get out of the hole, stay out!"
That was from "The I Hate to Cook Alamanck", by Peg Bracken (1976) Clear and 19 below zero this morning. If Punxsutawmey Phil was here instead of on Gobbler's Knob, he most certainly would see his shadow. |
| The Day the Music Died |
February 3, 1959, the Day the Music Died:
Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper (J. P.
Richardson) died in a plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa 48 years ago
today.........I remember it well.
Clear skies and 25 below zero this morning. Incidentally, the Farmer's Almanac says "mild with snow flurries" for this period of time. Much later......... It's 7:00 PM and 20 below zero. That's nothing drastic, of course, but it might be a tad chilly tonight. |
| February 4th | 31 below zero this morning. |
| February 5th | It's 31 below zero again this morning. And in spite of the wimpy winter we are having this year, we have 20 inches of ice at the moment, which compares to about 14 inches at this time last year. Quite a difference, eh? |
| February 6th |
The first half of winter is over......plus or minus a day or two. Here's hoping we make
it through the other half. It was 25 below zero when I went to bed last night and 17 below zero when I woke up this morning. Does that mean the cold snap is over? |
| February 7th | This lovely painting was a gift from Marie Halda from about 3 years ago. It's the view from the living room window of cabin # 6 in February. Click HERE. |
| February 8th | I'm behind so I'm skipping this one. |
| February 9th | Today we're back to 10 hours of daylight. You guys in the Cities hit that point last Tuesday and you Rochester people have had 10 hour days since last Sunday. (It was 18 below zero this morning.) |
| February 10th | It was 20 below zero this morning and there are 23 inches of ice on the lake. That's 2 inches more than last year at this time and 8 more inches than the year before that. |
| February 11th | I assume these are otter tracks but I've seem them before when they looked more convincing. These are a few days old at least......Lori and I saw them last night just as the sun was going down, so I waited till today to take the picture. Click HERE. |
| February 12th |
This 8 inch diameter hole is 20 inches deep......3 inches short of the water.
Click HERE. PS: The fishing opener is three months from today! |
| February 13th | So far this month the Farmer's Alamanac has done pretty well. They predicted the early part of the month to be mild, which it wasn't, and they predicted some snow, which we didn't get, but in general they said it would be sunny and cold, which is has been. Of course the month isn't quite half over yet so maybe we should wait a bit before we pat them on the back. |
| Valentine's Day |
Oh! Little loveliest lady mine, What shall I send for your valentine? Summer and flowers are far away; Gloomy old Winter is king today. Buds will not blow, and sun will not shine. What shall I do for a valentine? I've searched the gardens all through and through For a bud to tell of my love so true. But buds are asleep, and blossoms are dead, And the snow beats down on my poor little head. So, little loveliest lady mine, Here is my heart for your valentine! --- Laura E. Richards (circa 1875) |
| February 15th |
Shortly after I bought LBLR my oldest daughter told me that she thought
"my entire job was figuring out how to fix things when I didn't
have the right tools to fix them with". She may have been right, and
even today there are times it feels like that.
REMEMBER THE MAINE!!!! (Today is the anniversary.) |
| February 16th | It's 5 ABOVE zero this morning. This is the first morning that it's been above zero all month. |
| February 17th | I was in Rochester visiting my new grandson, hence..........no Chronicles for today. |
| February 18th | A note to Bob and Jo: It sounds like things are improving a bit and with any luck that trend will continue. Even though you're thinking you might not make it this Spring, I'm still planning on you being here. It wont seem like a real Spring without you guys being the first customers in Cabin 1, so I'm not giving up yet. |
| February 19th | Randy and I saw a flock of Snow Buntings in a field yesterday. Those were the first ones I've ever seen in this neck of the woods. |
| Mardi Gras | LBL's only permanent ice fishing house has been removed............now we have none. |
| February 21st |
Don't try this at home: When a cat is dropped, it always lands on its feet. When toast is dropped, it always lands buttered side down. It has been proposed to strap a giant slab of hot buttered toast, buttered side up, to the back of a cat and then drop it. The two opposing forces should cause it spin rapidly while hovering a few inches above the ground. |
| February 22nd | Here are my two granddaughers and their friend Peter (in Rochester). This picture was taken a while back, so Peter is a lot thinner now than he looks here. Actually, Peter is now so thin that his head fell off twice in the past two days and the girls' Dad had to re-attach it. Click HERE. |
| February 23rd | Geez, after three days in St. Paul it sure feels good to be back Up North again. But it was great to be with Lori for a few days too. |
| February 24th |
Winter Dance Party: I went to a great concert last night.......and it was right here in Grand Rapids. It was Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper, and Ritchie Valens. Thanks Dick! Click HERE. |
| February 25th | It was too little, too late........but it's better than nothing. Click HERE. |
| February 26th |
The Man in Black (Johnny Cash) would have been 75 today. He died 3 1/2
years ago. There's a lot of ski trail grooming going on right now.........the first time this winter. |
| February 27th | The ice is 27 inches thick today. Last year the thickest I measured was 21 inches, and the year before that the thickest was 26 inches........and we might still add a few more inches to it. |
| February 28th | Alas.......now even February is gone. Sigh! |
