Fire and ice

Happy me! We have ice!

The overnight temperature got down to zero Fahrenheit, and even with a bit of a northwest wind, the lake froze over except for a few spots off to our north. If it doesn't break up and the temperatures stay low, we might be able to leave by Thanksgiving. Not that we want to!

Right now ice is only about an inch thick, and we won't attempt to walk off the island until it's at least 4 inches, the thicker the better. I'm good just waiting until I see someone driving on it, just to make darn sure. The first time off the island after ice-in, we carry safety equipment and we ski far apart from each other, and Gary checks the ice thickness intermittently as we go along. We've never had an accident and don't intend to. But we won't be trying to walk to shore for quite a few more days yet -- it all depends on the temperatures this coming week.

For now, we're content to stay stranded. Really happy about it, in fact. With plenty of food and medicines, and our satellite Internet connection to stay in touch with the world, life couldn't be better. (So far we haven't run out of anything, so that's easy to say.)



Monday, Gary felled, cut up, and split an entire birch tree that was dying. This is what it looks like now. It's my favorite firewood, because it smells so good.



Last night we fired up the masonry oven again, which we're doing once a day now. The heat from this Finnish-designed oven warms the main room of the house with a beautiful even heat for over 24 hours, with just an armload of firewood. Those Finns know how to heat with wood. A few hours after we brush out the ashes, the temperature inside the oven is down to about 500 -- just right for pizzas!

Today is sunny -- no clouds in sight -- so our solar panels are getting plenty of juice. This time of year is the worst for solar energy: short days, lots of clouds. But not today!