“If one has cut, split, hauled, and piled his own good oak, and let his mind work the while, he will remember much about where the heat comes from, and with a wealth of detail denied to those who spend the weekend in town astride a radiator.”
— Aldo Leopold
Photo courtesy of the Aldo Leopold Foundation
It’s the longest running rivalry in Division 1 football: Minnesota vs Wisconsin. This year, not only is Paul Bunyan’s Axe at stake, but a trip to the Big Ten Championship game as well.
The 124th meeting since 1890 takes place today at Camp Randall in Madison.
Our snowless November came to a crushing end under an avalanche of two entire inches of snow yesterday. I was kind of hoping for that Snow Free Record, but it’s nice to have the snow too.
We do have a new neighbor this week, as a grizzly has been leaving sign not far from the cabin. It’s not unusual to see bear sign in the valley, but this is the first time I’ve come across it this close to the cabin. Other than the neighbor’s sled dogs, there is nothing edible outside. Assuming the griz doesn’t have a hankering for Genuine Land Rover parts.
It sounds like there have been quite a few bears late to hibernation, due to the unseasonably warm weather we have had here in the Interior so far this winter. The last grizzly that I remember in the area making house calls this late in the year, turned out to be a very old bruin who had not put on enough weight to hibernate. He developed an appetite for stored dog food, which ended up being an addiction that cost him dearly.
Photo courtesy of Land Rover
The video is a time-lapse of the restoration of Bob Marley’s Series III Land Rover. ATL Automotive of Montego Bay is undertaking the frame up rebuild.
“In my view, to sign on to an expedition bound for the interior of Brazil is neither laudable or extraordinary but rather the reverse. Most people of my age (twenty-four) would do it like a shot, if they had the chance … it is unpleasant to be regarded as a lunatic or a hero when you know perfectly well that you are merely going to take an exceptionally long holiday.”
— Peter Fleming, “Brazilian Adventure”, 1933
As Buffalo, NY and other parts of the Lower 48 shovel their way out of a massive snowfall, Fairbanks remains snow-free for the month of November. Since records have been kept, Fairbanks has never had a November without a measurable snowfall. We are making a nice run at changing that.
There is a rumor in the wind that we could possibly see a dusting this weekend, but that is far from a guarantee.
Photo courtesy of Dave Schneider & AVO/USGS
Mt Pavlof, as seen from space in the above shot, has reached Code Red. The ash plume being tracked by the red arrows, is 250 miles long, and has reached a height of 35,000 ft.
