Mostly Summer

The temperatures last week started off summer cool. Highs were in the 70s°F and lows, with one exception, were in the 40s°F and 50s°F. That changed with the weekend. The hot was back. The 80°F air pushed the lake temperature back up to 74°F. Diving, swimming, and other lake play was back along with an unusual amount of pontoon boat traffic.

Along with the summer heat at the end of the week came sun, no rain, and nuptials. Congratulations, Tory and Paul! May your union be blessed with as much fun as Mrs Nemo's and mine, but without as many muscle pulls and cramps (don't underestimate the importance of stretching before sprinting, skiing, or getting out of a particularly comfortable chair).

Before the weekend, one morning fell to 39°F. The lake steamed.

During last week's celebrated cooler times, a little tennis in Crandon would have been nice, but the Cardinal Park Courts caught a bad case of the racket sport equivalent of eurasian milfoil, pickel ball. The invasive sport has yet to infest the courts in Rhinelander, but it's just a matter of time. We are [thinking of] working with the DNR to set up an equipment check (no oversized ping-pong paddles or underripe avocado like balls allowed!) before entering the Rhinelander tennis emporium to try to slow the spread of this invasive sport species.

During the cooler and then hotter parts of the week, plants seem to be doing well. Some were spikey.

Others were more burdockean. It has not yet become its ripe, clothes clinging self yet, but it soon will.

The patches of fall have started to grow.

They're not everywhere, but they are getting easier to find.

Autumn tree color is still pretty rare. The hills to the east of the lake are still almost completely shades of green.

The hills to the west are more of the same.

The NCC golf course is in great shape, and just in time for the annual Knott Lake Open next Sunday, September 1st!

We did get one short rain event last week, but there was not enough accumulation to hold the high lake and water hazzard levels.

Putting can be a little challenging with all the fawn munching sounds.

The not so little anymore bumper denters seem more plentiful this year.

All during the warmer parts of the week, the lake proved to be a great escape from the day's heat.

Late Sunday, clouds and unstableness started to move in from the west. Looks and feels like the weather could be changing in a wet and aggressive way.

In addition to hot, the weekend also saw the return of the haze. It was not as bad as last year's, but it was back. The coming rain should rid the area of its Air Quality Index rating of Moderate by pulling the tiny particles called PM2.5 from the sky. Until then, it might be best to limit outdoor activity to sedate, unathletic events like tanning, slowly shuffling along, and pickel ball.

-Nemo prefers his air clear and his courts tennis.

Mostly Summer

August 19th through 25th, 2024