The last two weeks of January began with extreme cold; even here in Minnesota it was double digits below zero and the wind made walking out side uncomfortable, unless one was in full-on snow mobile suit. Margy and Jeff came to visit and we did attempt to walk Lake Harriet but only succeeded in walking the side protected from the wind, then turning and running for home. We were all bundled to the max but our faces were numb and my thighs (the only part of me not under down) felt like they'd been slapped with a board. I love being outside in that stuff but not for too long.
The best part of that deep freeze is that it was making ice like crazy. The rink across the street from our house was finally skate-worthy, after watering it since Thanksgiving! On that cold, cold weekend, the rink was covered with skaters of all ages and on Friday night, there was some kind of festival going on, which included outdoor music and at least 3 different bonfires. People were having so much fun!
Then, a few days later, the temps rebounded. Not just above zero but way above freezing! It was nearly 60 degrees yesterday! It's not at all unusual to have a few days of relatively warm weather in January. When my brother got married in January of '81, it was 57 degrees. But we don't usually get a week of that stuff and we've now had close to ten days. The rink across the street, having had one weekend, is ruined. The problem is we've had no snow. None. Oh yeah, we got an inch in October and a few dustings since then but nothing measurable. It's brown and dry out there and the skating season is now over, as the sun is too high in the sky to make decent ice.
Don't expect the lunatics who live in Minneapolis to think that a little thing like the weather can stop them from doing whatever they want. We have this event called Art Sheds, every January. It's a weird little festival in which artists build a couple of dozen temporary structures on and around the ice near the band stand at Lake Harriet... They're not my idea of art but more power to them.
Well, they're out on the ice right now. We first saw them rising out of the fog that was caused because the air was so much warmer than the ice. You could literally see the ice melting but that wasn't enough to make the 'artists' think perhaps putting buildings all over the ice might be a bad idea. These people have no idea that the situation might not be perfectly safe. And believe me; these are the same folks who still wear masks while driving alone in their cars.
People are complicated.
They took down the boards that made the hockey arena today. The skating season this year was one weekend. One.
We'd better get some real precipitation soon or next summer is going to be parched.