As we start a New Year we can look back at the one just finished and appreciate a rather mild winter with little snow, nice for folks who must be on the road – such as mail carriers, school bus drivers, work commuters, etc. Somehow it hasn’t felt like a “Wisconsin Winter.”
Folks may disagree – are we experiencing “global warming” or just s normal warming trend? It does seem winters of the past were colder – with more snow. Recent winters have not been kind to folks who like to ride snowmobiles.
A tour of Progressive files seems to indicate winters of the past may have been colder – with more snow than those recently experienced. As January was coming to an end in 1966, the main front page headline in this newspaper declared: “Weekend of Cold Freezes Pipes and Cars” The following noted that Sunday morning the thermometer registered 36 degrees below zero with Lone Rock claiming to be the coldest in the nation – but with a “warm heart” of course. The Progressive was short on local news items, probably because most folks were staying home.
That may also have been the time when I let our young beagle dog go outside at bedtime and he suddenly began to scream. I found that he must have licked the fuel oil barrel stand leg and his tongue was frozen to the metal.
Dean Volenec, area DNR warden, wrote a weekly column for us. That week he noted: “This the time of the year when our feathered friends can use a little help. If you throw your bread crumbs and meat scraps out onto the snow, the birds will find them.
It’s interesting to watch the birds feed during below zero weather. They seem to prefer eating on the ground. There they can sit flat on their little legs and keep them warm as they feed. As soon as everything that is out of reach is gone they will move to another spot. Of course if you have cats around, you must be very careful about where you feed on the ground.”
Folks may disagree – are we experiencing “global warming” or just s normal warming trend? It does seem winters of the past were colder – with more snow. Recent winters have not been kind to folks who like to ride snowmobiles.
A tour of Progressive files seems to indicate winters of the past may have been colder – with more snow than those recently experienced. As January was coming to an end in 1966, the main front page headline in this newspaper declared: “Weekend of Cold Freezes Pipes and Cars” The following noted that Sunday morning the thermometer registered 36 degrees below zero with Lone Rock claiming to be the coldest in the nation – but with a “warm heart” of course. The Progressive was short on local news items, probably because most folks were staying home.
That may also have been the time when I let our young beagle dog go outside at bedtime and he suddenly began to scream. I found that he must have licked the fuel oil barrel stand leg and his tongue was frozen to the metal.
Dean Volenec, area DNR warden, wrote a weekly column for us. That week he noted: “This the time of the year when our feathered friends can use a little help. If you throw your bread crumbs and meat scraps out onto the snow, the birds will find them.
It’s interesting to watch the birds feed during below zero weather. They seem to prefer eating on the ground. There they can sit flat on their little legs and keep them warm as they feed. As soon as everything that is out of reach is gone they will move to another spot. Of course if you have cats around, you must be very careful about where you feed on the ground.”
