This is a treacherous time on the lake. We’ve had a couple of cold nights (temps in the teens F°) so there’s a layer of ice atop water atop snow atop ice, each layer at an unknown thickness. You could step on the ice and perhaps be ok. You could sink through the ice to the water and then snow, maybe to the ice below, or all the way down. Your safest plan is to stay onshore.

The woods are similar in their own ways with clear paths that can be covered with a foot of snow, sometimes with ice beneath.

It’s also mud season. On warmer days, even a small car can make ruts up to a half-foot deep.

The sun is high and promises warmth, but it’s a thin promise betrayed by the chill. In a month the lake should be open and the ground warm. In two months, we’ll see the first leaves on the trees. Spring is worth the wait.