Wednesday, December 13, 2017

Gotta Love a Good Snowfall

This morning's view from the dock just outside our field office (a.k.a. the "bunkhouse"); just a couple-few well placed
inches of fresh snow make for a pretty stark contrast, considering this ice wasn't even formed a few days ago

Part of my job (and my life at this stage, for that matter) is appreciating the things that I love the most by seeing them through other people's eyes. My partner in crime, my manager Roy, often provides the lens through which I get to see the marsh. When the business of my responsibilities keep me at my desk or at least in town, I've become pretty accustom to living vicariously through his work in the field. Despite the fact that today brought some of my favorite weather -- reliable snowfall with not too much wind and just enough cold to feel relatively confident that it's going to stick around for at least a little while -- I spent today behind glass in my home office.

Even Phragmites can look attractive under a white blanket
(as always, click to see detail)
While paying bills, updating accounting, and working through administrative and project management priorities for our grant that will fund our new West Marsh water conveyance structure is a far cry from hiking through newly fallen snow, it was a good day. It's been a good couple days, actually.

Sure, I would have loved to have been on the other end of the camera. I would have loved to have witnessed shrinking openings in the marsh ice continue to shrink while watching the icy expanse over Sandusky Bay continue to extend so far off-shore that it is now hard to see an end from our shorelines. I would have loved to have felt the cold on my face, have had to blink a few extra times to melt falling snowflakes from my eyelashes. I really would have loved rounding out the afternoon and early evening in a tree stand. To me, few things rival a late afternoon bow hunt on truly fresh snow -- especially as a "storm" is coming in (as the climaterrorists now like to call the 2-4" we were forecast to get today through this evening).

But other priorities called. And as has been the case for a couple straight days now, I felt like I was relatively efficient and effective in my work. Through periodic phone contacts with Roy, I "moved the ball down field" (to use a football analogy) on several important fronts. I continued to make progress. And just like fresh snow, that's something that pretty much always brings me joy and satisfaction.

Roy's camera is facing west/northwest from the northwest corner of our main West Marsh dike; his perspective not
only captures the dwindling open water of our "estuary" (the connection between our marsh and Sandusky Bay),
it also shows how much the ice cover has expanded in the main bay (background) over just a couple short days

Hard to believe this scene would have been teaming with dragonflies and bullfrogs just a few short months ago;
the muskrat hutch (left foreground) is a not-so-subtle reminder that there is still plenty of life busy living
even under winter snow and ice

Tuesday, December 12, 2017

Witnessing the Freeze -- "Making Ice Weather"

For a guy who loves duck hunting and ice fishing, this scene presents inner conflict -- this past week's fast freeze may
bring an abrupt end to our hunting on the marsh (as ducks push further south toward warmer climates),
but as a hardwater fisherman, I always love consistent "making ice weather"

Somehow, almost three weeks have passed since my last post. After nearly nine months of journaling online (staying disciplined and posting 2-3 times/week, on average), I slipped off the wagon. This last month has most certainly been a time of transition, not only in day length and weather, but also in my work habits and routine. Seasonal changes consistently bring a shift in my priorities, and the change from fall into winter unfortunately typically has meant less time on site.

Removing a floating blind meant
breaking an inch of ice late last week
Fittingly, this is my 100th post. Just like the weather these last few days, it represents a turning of the page from fall harvest to winter cold.

These pages have been viewed more than 10,000 times in roughly three-quarters of a year. I've tracked readers from several dozen countries, pushed myself to write on dozens and dozens of topics, and really enjoyed not only the process but the feedback we've received. It's turned out to be a two-way opportunity for education -- one of the five "pillars" of our core mission.

While winter priorities mean things like accounting, budgeting, planning, designing, and grant writing, I'm making a renewed promise to myself not only to get to the marsh at least once per week, but also to keep writing and posting updates. (Trust me, there is still PLENTY going on!) This discipline of writing is good for me, and hopefully it's good for any of you who benefit from even a "moment in the marsh."

Thanks for reading, and thanks for the ongoing encouragement. This has already been one heck of a ride!

Truth is, last Thursday/Friday's cold didn't technically cue our first freeze -- the actual first was untimely in that low 20s
happened to coincide with dead calm for one night . . . the night before the second opener for duck season (November 11th);
while that ice cover was short-lived (<48 hours), this one seems to be here to stay for a while . . .
while a few solitary holes persist, I'd call today our official freeze-up date, and with a forecast of highs below freezing
for much of the next ten days, I think I better get my ice fishing gear dusted off