Monday, August 31, 2009

The Wood Pile


After last nights cold temperatures this pile of wood takes on some importance.We might be in for a cool fall if the jet stream keeps coming out of Canada. The forecast for the winter is a El Nino. What does that mean? Perhaps a warmer then average winter?If I recall correctly the last time there was a strong El Nino it was a very mild winter but the Lake Effect snows in the U.P of Michigan were record setting. I also recall people tunneling into their front doors in Hurley Wisconsin. Now if I could only recall the year?? Winter 1997-1998?
Some Googling found this:
January 1998
January saw a shift in the anomalous warmth from the upper Midwest to the eastern
Midwest. The month began with very warm temperatures as record high values occurred
throughout the Midwest during the first week. Chicago reached a maximum of at least 50°F on
four consecutive days beginning on January 2, only the seventh such occurrence in 125 years of
record keeping. Figure 16 depicts the number of daily temperature records set in January 1998
for three locations in each state. Among these 27 stations, 26 record high temperatures were set
during January, and 39 record high minimum temperatures also were set. Figure 17a shows the
average maximum temperature departure from normal for January 1998, and figure 17b shows
the average minimum temperature departure from normal. Higher than normal, maximum
temperature departures ranged from +1 to +5°F across the western half of the region, and +6 to
+9°F across the east. Average minimum temperature departures, on the other hand, were almost twice the magnitude of the maximum temperature departures across most of the region, ranging from +5 to +7°F in the west to +10 to +12°F in the east and across northern Minnesota. The abnormally warm minimum temperatures were the major contributor to the record warmth in January 1998.
The largest mean temperature departures from normal (>+10°F) were centered over
eastern Indiana and western Ohio, with most of Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky experiencing mean
temperature departures from an average of at least +8.0°F (figure 18). Except for north-eastern
Minnesota, where temperature departures averaged +8 to +9°F, the strength of the positive
temperature anomaly in the western third of the Midwest was only +3 to +6°F. January 1998
ranked from 5th to 22nd warmest among the nine Midwestern states and was the 10th warmest for the entire Midwest.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Restoring living history


Just up the street from the slips and Marina are a couple old fishing boats.They are being restored this summer in the parking lot. New steel plates being welded in place and over all restoring. These old fishing boats could be used again or just some living history. Not sure what will be in store for them or how they will be used. The owner of Boat Works restores and builds boats. It's always interesting to walk by and see what is being worked on. One should walk around Bayfield and see all that is going on.


Sunday, August 23, 2009

Marine Museum


Right across the street from the Sailboat slips is the Marine Museum. Take in some history of the area fishing industry, boats and ships. There is quite a variety of information to be found. Well worth the small fee charged.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

This is beach time!


It's right now you want to make use of nice weather and get down to the pristine beaches in the Bayfield area. Lake Superior beaches are the cleanest in the Great Lakes. Bayview Beach just south of Bayfield is very uncrowded and clean. Wonderful sand and a nice shallow beach for kids to play. It warms up in the shallows so it's not too cold. It's very refreshing when it's 85 degrees. This young guy thought it was more fun to dump the kayak over then to paddle it.




Tuesday, August 11, 2009

The other harbor


Bayfield has two harbors. Everybody knows the harbor next to City Dock.On the South side of Bayfield is another harbor. It gets very little attention but is also very nice. It has a nice exposure to the sun in the afternoon.


Saturday, August 8, 2009

High Season boating time




It's now or never for the boating season. The sailing and motoring season is short in the Apostles but you have the benefit of boating in the most pristine waters of the entire Great Lakes reports the news this morning. The beaches on Lake Superior are the cleanest of the entire Great Lakes.
When boating it's common to see down to the bottom in 30 feet of water. You never see any litter on the shorelines or beaches. All of which are good reasons to visit the Apostle Islands if you prize these things. So sure the water is cooler and the season shorter, but the quality of the entire experience is much higher.

Monday, August 3, 2009

What is that pink building?


Bob Dylan sings he ain't going to work at Maggie's farm no more. But he can certainly eat at Maggie's Restaurant in Bayfield. A interesting funky place with funny decorations inside. The pink building gets your attention if you're new in town driving down Manypenny Avenue.

http://www.maggies-bayfield.com