It’s June, the start of summer. Ideally, winter treated you well and your utilities are prepared for higher-demand irrigation and tourist seasons.
As I write this in the waning days of March, the ice on the lakes across northern Wisconsin still looks pretty solid, but longer sunnier days will soon take their toll. The ice on the lake behind my house has gone out as early as the end of March and as late as the second week of May in my time here. As spring gets a stronger hold, the ice will get darker, south-facing shorelines will open up. Pockets of open water will grow, the remaining ice will shift around the lake and finally there will be a day when sunrise reveals a wide-open lake.
It’s been a dry winter here, so it didn’t take many of those warmer days for the snow to melt down. Walks across the lake are on hold until fresh frozen cover returns next winter. Gambling on good ice this time of year is a dangerous game.
Several years ago on a warm April afternoon, I watched in horror as three deer carefully tried to pick their way across the bay’s weakening ice. One made it to shore, one fell through near shore but easily made it to high ground, and the third, trailing behind, fell through a soft spot farther from shore. The surrounding ice was just solid enough that it couldn’t swim through it. I watched with binoculars for a minute before I ran across the street to grab my neighbor’s canoe, thinking I could at least break open a path for it. I got back just in time to see the honeycombed swath of ice in front of the deer give way and offer a route to safety. When it finally got all four feet on solid ground the deer stopped still and stared back at the lake for quite a while before slowly walking off.
It’s hard to say exactly what level of cognition a deer could have of the consequences of such a situation. It no doubt felt panic, and likely some sense of animal relief after escaping a horrifying death, but there certainly wasn’t any deep existential thought. It may have learned a lesson — ice isn’t dependable — but it likely didn’t craft a stronger, more resilient plan for the future.
But when it comes to weather — storms, ice, snow, rain, drought — strong plans and resilient systems are exactly what you need. You can’t count on the weather to bring you what you need, but you need to plan for whatever it might bring.
In most of your areas, you’ve hit the heat of summer, literally and figuratively. Demand is up. Maintenance and improvement projects are in full swing.
It’s as busy as it gets, and snow and ice likely aren’t at the front of your mind, unless you were depending on it to fill your reservoirs. Or are you counting on the rain? Or maybe praying for storms to skirt your area so that you can avoid flooding issues?
Regardless of the weather that threatens your area, good planning goes a long way in mitigating the potential damage.
Here’s hoping you make it to shore.
Enjoy this month’s issue.
