We have ice!!! This morning we woke up at 3:00 a.m. and looked out at the lake in the moonlight. We could tell that things were changing out there. The wind had died down, everything was quiet and still, and we could see snow accumulating on the lake. When the sun came up this morning, it confirmed that it was an ice-making night: the lake is nearly covered with a thin, snow-covered skin of ice. We can see open areas of slushy-looking water off to the northwest, but for hundreds of yards out from the island in all directions we have a good start on this year's ice.

Yesterday I was too discouraged to post. High winds and whitecaps on the water all afternoon put me on edge. And now, today, everything's changed: we have ice, and we're getting an all-day snow as well, to brighten everything up, including my mood.

After breakfast this morning we bundled up and went out to investigate the new landscape. As you can see, it will be a while before we can walk on the lake safely. But that's fine with us; we're just happy the new season has finally started!

Now that we're officially "stuck" on the island, I can finally start doing all the things I've been saving for this time of year. I spent the morning crocheting little loops on all our dish towels, for instance. It's a lot more satisfying than it sounds. I also made yogurt, started a new batch of ice cream -- using the non-electric methods for both, which aren't much different from the electric methods so I'm not sure why the electric methods were ever invented. And, I made pizza dough. We're celebrating the new ice by firing up the bake oven and making pizza tonite! We'll make vanilla ice cream, too. It makes sense that ice leads directly into ice cream.

Yesterday Gary finished building the benches and railings for the new sauna. It's hard to get a photo that does it justice, it's so stunning. I wish I could post a scratch 'n sniff photo, so you could smell the sweet cedar boards. (I'll post a photo of the new sauna building soon; I'm just waiting for a picture-perfect day.)

Our friend Rachel said that even though we're used to the Internet, it still gives a person pause to think about communications leaving the island while the lake is making ice. Life is so full of contradictions these days: like the fact that I have to jump up from my blogging every 20 minutes or so to throw another log in the woodstove.

Within a week we'll be back in the world! I have chores waiting on my to-do list meanwhile so I'd better get to them.