Fleeing from Spring

Or first daffodil of 2015 opened yesterday, and several other will follow soon. Today brought beautiful weather for Little League tryouts, and I think the temp has probably found the 60s by now. The whole 10-day actually looked fairly nice, last I saw. So what am I don't? Heading north to go ice fishing again, of course!

Sensible friends in the industry travel south to fish for bass or various saltwater sport fish this time of year -- thus bringing on the enjoyment of spring even before it arrives wherever they call home. Being far too fond of ice-fishing, I instead travel north and extend winter.

Next week's travels will take me to Indiana to chase crappie (and assorted other species) through the ice. From there, I'm headed Traverse City, Michigan. Hard to say what we'll chase up there. Too many fine options to even guess. I've been assured, however, that I will see no daffodils.

Weather Extremes

It's well before sun-up on a January morning, and the thermometer shows 55 degrees. Meanwhile, just outside our dining room window, our first daffodil of the season opened yesterday. It's strangely spring-like but I'd better not let myself get too used to the warmth. Four days from now I fly to North Dakota for a couple of days of ice fishing, and the forecast temperature range for the entire time I'll be there is -5 to 12. I suppose I'd better prepare myself for weather extremes because as I look at my calendar, the next four major trips I have confirmed take me North Dakota, Florida, South Dakota and Costa Rica.