Just a quick note, covering the things that I forgot to mention in yesterday’s CRYSTALNEWS.  Saturday snowshoeing at the Land Conservancy dune in Elberta.  9 AM.  Also the Good folks at Dinghy’s are hosting a buffet fund raiser and silent auction Tuesday, starting at 5.  I’ve seen some of the auction stuff and it looks good… (Dinghys buffets are always a treat….)

For today’s picture, I was out looking for my pier group but couldn’t locate them….so took the picture instead

be well,  Jay

Below is Bertha and she currently resides on Betsie Bay… The other picture shows Ed Moody, Bruce Harwood and Mike Elwell with a days worth of ice production last Sunday.

The weather this weekend is looking warm and sunny.  Come out and play Saturday and Sunday anytime after noon.

We’re looking at a 4 or 5 day thaw next so we’ll be out of the winter mode for several days….Get out and enjoy the sunshine….

Be well,  Jay

 Todays picture is the start of the decorations for downtown for the winter celebration.  There will be work parties Saturday and Sunday afternoons on the Bay. Everyone is welcome to come out and help harvest ice. (feel free to come out and socialize if you don’t feel like working)  If you are artistic and would like some ice to play with, we can make it happen….There were six dump trucks in town today hauling snow from all of the piles around  town and dumping it in the open space.  It will be used to build the snow cross track, for the snowmobile races…. The winds have been light the past few days and the big lake is trying to freeze out from the beach….The ice on Crystal  is a solid 10 inches   all the way across.

    Be well and stay warm,  Jay

Thank you all,

The bird in question is a male White Winged Crossbill. They are a boreal forest dweller, and feed on pine cone seeds.  The crossed bill is used to extract the seeds from the pine cone. They are found all over Canada and in Winter come down into the Northern US hunting pine seeds. I’ve heard from several folks, who tell me that this year they are all over the place.  (except in my woods)….( a bird, migrating South, to Northern Michigan for the Winter just seems wrong somehow….)Thanks for all the help and we all learned something new.

Be well,  Jay

We had a wonderful change in the weather Saturday.  Blue sky, calm winds and moderate temps……There was only one thing to do.  Put everything else on hold and walk the beach..It was actually so comfortable that I took off my hat and gloves….Something I normally don’t do until April..I,m always amazed at how the beach can change, from one day to the next.  A stretch can be all sand today, and tomorrow be nothing but rock. The second mile of beach , North of Frankfort, is exactly that, nothing but cobbles…I was able to get several interesting pictures on my walk and will send them along in future newsletters.  The one for today is a  Whatsit.  I found him at the top of the beach with his head tucked down for warmth.  I thought that he was dead.  Not so, only resting.  A first I thought “woodpecker”, black, red and white markings…. Then he lifted his head to show me his curved beak..(not woodpecker). I would guess he’s a juvenile, as the red on his chest didn’t look like it was finished.  I’ve looked at several bird ID sites on the net  to no avail and my local “bird guy” is out of town. If any of you serious bird people out there know his name, please let me know, I’m curious.
Be well,  Jay

Happy 09.  I trust everyone had a good New Years…The bonfire was great fun and we were treated to a wonderful sunset that came out of nowhere.  Complete with the Winter magenta streak.  Thank all you hardy folks who came out…It is still snowing, every other day we get a small addition.  The good thing is that we haven’t had any bitter cold…..

    Be well and have a positive 09.   Jay

I trust everyone had a pleasant Christmas and are preparing for New Years Eve. There is just so much going on this time of year that it’s hard to keep track of it all.

Someone pushed the reset button on the weather here. Friday we had 3+ feet of snow pack. Saturday it was 55 degrees and rain. The snow pack was gone by the end of the day. This morning we had 3″ of replacement snow with 35mph winds….Then tonight we had a break in the clouds and actually had a sunset. The first in about two weeks. Never a dull moment….For those of you who are not familiar with it, there is a picture of a roof rake below. It’s used to pull snow off of your roof. Particularly if you have lots of it and rain is forecast. The snow holds the rain and the weight can become dangerous….One of the lesser known joys of living Up North….. I’ll be putting up some video tomorrow, that I took today. I need to go to the library and use their high speed connection to up load it however.

Everyone be well and have a good new years.

Jay

HEY….Guess what?   It stopped snowing this afternoon and the sun came out…The second time this month.    We had rain last Sunday, which knocked down the snow pack, but the snow started up again Monday….It’s going to be a long one this year. The road commission in Honor has recorded 62 inches so far this year….    I forgot about taking the CRYSTALNEWS annual Christmas group picture this year.  We can go for one at the New Years Eve bonfire instead.  I plan to do chili and hot chocolate at the bonfire this year.  Sunset, New Years Eve at Point Betsie for the new folks..( “circulation” is now well over 300 people world wide).    More details later, but I will be looking for help, starting in February, with my end of the Winter festival, Shiver By The River.  (ice  fabrication, snow blocks, an ice mountain, sled track and golf course ,etc.)  If you will be in the area and would like to play (work) with us let me know……  The festival is shaping up to be a real event.  Something for all ages and it’s starting to look like we will draw crowds similar to the Fall Festival…. There will be a Snow Cross all weekend in part of the open space.  A snow cross is a small, closed course, snowmobile race.  With lots of moguls.  There is a regular circuit of riders and they come from all over the Mid West. There will be a parade, food, activities and all manner of things.  It all happens Feb. 2    A real hoot the other night.  Traverse City was part of a question on Jeopardy. (It had to do with the two guys in Honor who told the clerk that they would be back in two hours to rob the place, and then did…)  I guess we will do anything to get our name out there.    Tonight’s picture is of the sunset close to the winter solstice.  I’ll keep trying for a good clean sun set for the next week but this one will have to do for now.  This is the one time of year when you can photograph both the lighthouse and the setting sun in the same picture.