By Bob Ede

It seems like it’s been an odd winter. Very few clear skies for stargazing, warm temperatures with out any crisp -30°c days and nights.

Some people may be happy we skipped the chill. No cranky cars and big (bigger) heating bills. I on the other hand, enjoy the cold. Like I said, the stars come out twice as bright.

Worldwide, according to scientists, February became the warmest month ever, averaging 1.21° above the 20^th Century normal.

Most of the ice was off Lake Windermere by March 11.

Perhaps not surprising as there was still open water in the middle of Lake Windermere on December 13.

I can’t remember ice out so early. My father, who lived in the valley for 80 years, would say April 11 or 12 was a good date to put on a Lion’s Ice-Out Ticket. This year I knew it was going to be out early and selected March 22.

Warm weather cancelled the Rotary Loop the Lake Event and the popular Curling on the Lake Bonspiel.

During most valley winters of the past Lake Windermere has been frozen from the end of November to the start of April.

I hope this mild winter is a blip on the screen instead of the new normal.

In the first week of March the sky cleared long enough for me to snap the photo of The Milky Way being chased off the sky by dawns approaching light (lead image). I was above Lake Windermere and the lake is clear but a small amount of ice at the south end.

It doesn’t take much to squint at the photo, turn back the clock several tens of thousands of years, and imagine that very trench filled with ice.

– Bob can be reached at [email protected] and www.palliserpass.wordpress.com

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