Happy New Year 2017

As it usually does, the holiday season got away from me.  We spent a total of 3 weeks in Pennsylvania and New Jersey for Thanksgiving and Christmas visiting family and celebrating the holidays, which is always nice but it takes a lot out of us.  January is here and we are home for the foreseeable future, so we are working on good ideas for winter activities.  Ice fishing, German food, and some new breweries are on the list, along with some other indoor activities that we miss during the "outside season".

November was very mild here.  We completed our last bike ride of the season on our favorite trail at Point Beach State Forest in mid-November.  December, on the other hand, brought winter in full force. So far, we have had several cold snaps with multiple days of daytime temperatures in the single digits (F) or not even above zero.  The coldest wind chill so far has been about -25 degrees (school is not cancelled for cold unless the wind chill is under -30 degrees for one hour or more...brutal).  In the event you have not experienced such cold or need to re-live it, this is an abbreviated description of what happens:  You layer up as much as humanly possible, covering all exposed skin (including hands and face).  You open the door and step out.  The cold hits you as if you literally slapped in the face.  Sometimes you need an extra second or two to catch your breath (insert muttered swear word).  Then almost immediately, your nose hairs freeze.  An odd feeling.  If you didn't take the time to put gloves on or wrap a scarf over your face, seconds later you will regret that as hands begin to ache as they start to freeze.  On these particularly brutal days, Teddy has about 30 seconds to do his business before he literally cannot take anymore.  Turns out he is lightning fast when he has to be (does not apply to rain).  I now see why people have those indoor potty mats with the fire hydrant that I deemed unnecessary.  Touche.

 Point Beach State Forest and Lake Michigan, November 2016

 Front porch decked out in fall color- grew those pumpkins and gourds ourselves!

We shoveled snow quite a few times so far this year, and even had to solicit some groundskeeping help while we were away for Christmas (Thanks, Steve!). I can't move today because shoveled by myself yesterday...twice.  The driveway is fairly long and continuous with our neighbors, so that really limits where you can pile snow.  In a couple of places, I was lifting or tossing up to neck height (ok, maybe waist height). We still do not have a snowblower...we'll see how much longer that lasts.  Now it is becoming a matter of principle to try and beat the system- take your bets now, can we do Wisconsin Winter #3 without one?



We did find time to revisit the Green Bay Botanical Garden for the Garden of Lights display and lucked out with a quieter (and snowier) experience thanks to the snow storm that came through earlier that day and cold temperatures that chased everyone away.  Later I read in their newsletter that they had 53,000 guests for the season- well worth it!

Top 2016 adventures were swimming with manatees, biking and hiking in Pure Michigan, and kayaking the Apostle Island sea caves of Lake Superior.  Stand by for more adventures in 2017!   

Green Bay Botanical Garden's Garden of Lights Display