Game On!

Still waiting for the edge to firm up, but the lake looks good.  This cold snap ought to get it just right for Saturday.  The National Weather Service has the graphic correct: it will be cold, so bundle up and come play hockey with us.

Icewatch: 2/4/2016

After getting off to a slow start, we finally secured a fine rink and trails on the lake.  This week nature has graciously Zamboni'ed the whole thing for us.  And now it appears we'll have a solid 10 days of cold, with a downward trend.  Que bueno!  The only question is will we get to skate this weekend.  Stay tuned, Mohegan Lake. 

The Big Chill

Not only is it a movie old people like, but it's also a way to describe the weather for the next week.  Think cold, Mohegan Lake.  We don't want this years Mohegan Lake Ice Fishing and Skating Extravaganza to be too abbreviated.  Consulting the ice growth chart, we're estimating new ice at about 3/4" to one inch per day, based on the average temperature forecast by the National Weather Service.  With highs topping out at 34 degrees, we may be skating very soon.  New York State says 2" of clean clear  ice is safe for people to walk on; we start skating at 4".  Hope to see you out there soon. 

 

 

 

Welcome forecast.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Ice Man Cometh (Hopefully)

Mohegan Lakers,

Did the record setting temperatures in December give you the SAD's?  Me too.  Good news though.  Temps seem to be getting back to normal, with normal being colder than a witches tit.  Since I leave when it's dark and come home when it's dark, I can't supply a picture, but the lake is now partially frozen.  Yay.  Oooooh, and look at this forecast from the National Weather Service (don't trust any other):

Hope to see you on the ice soon!

Moose Hit on The Taconic In Fahnestock

This site has been dormant for a few months. Glad to be back. Expect lots of news on several subjects--very soon. In the meantime, please enjoy this Journal News piece on the dead moose. Photo courtesy of the NYSDEC:

Last Weekend

I've just begun my ice fishing career and, to date, have not caught a fish.  Skating a lap around the lake at a 6 minute a mile clip while drinking my coffee (seriously), I ran into Tom and Frank.  They are seasoned anglers and were having great success.

From top left to bottom right: yellow perch, white perch, sunny

 There's a real chance the skating may be great again this weekend, but we may have trouble accessing the ice on the edges.  Let's wait and see.  In the meantime, here's some video of last weekend.  It's kind of nauseating, but you can appreciate Jones Hill/Mohegan Highlands to the right of the screen--especially at the end.

Even?

My cursive skills are extremely limited as I stopped writing in that style when I learned to letter (architecturally speaking) in 1993.  I tried to employ GPS to spell my name on Mohegan Lake tonight, but failed (tilt your head 90 degrees counter clockwise).  For the record, I think I burned a calorie or two.

Inspiring Ice Conditions

 The last couple days after that rain and deep freeze have created a veritable sheet of glass on Mohegan Lake.  I've been sneaking out of work early (though working remotely), just to catch a quick skate in the evening.  Even got to do some moonlight skating tonight.  Expecting the precipitation event set to occur this weekend mild enough to get a few miles in this weekend. 

Hope to see you out on the 105 acre ice rink that helps define our community.

2/21/12: the huge trees you see here are on the undevelopable land the developer "traded" to Yorktown to develop the parcel that extends to Route 6.  I was surprised to learn how recently much of this area was still woodland.  In summary, we have some really big trees around here. 

 

Left to right: the Ansonia Lodge, condos, daycare center. Foreground: the most amazing ice Mohegan Lake has seen since December 2010.

Video below of a little moonlight skating this evening; it's too dark to appreciate how fast the ice is. Trust me though.

A Little Zamboni Action And Then...Boom!

At least that's what I'm hoping for.  There's still 4 inches of ice under 3 inches of slush.  After this quick freeze is gonna give us another 6-7 inches of ice just in time for the Monday holiday.  The ice gods have been good to us this year (as opposed to last).  Get your blades sharpened and your wax worms ready.

Boom.

Mohegan Lake: 2/3/13

I don't have much to add.  It was very pretty Sunday morning.  Top of the lake looking south (Stay away from the East side[left in this pic], it's thinnest).  The other photos are of Ansonia Lodge and the condos.

Wow.

d

"Nature's Zamboni"

This photo was sent in by reader Abby from the south side of Mohegan Lake with the subject "Nature's Zamboni."  I love it cause's it's true.  That warm spell and heavy rain did us ice skaters a favor.  Sure looks choppy in spots, but I'm exited to explore this weekend and next--at least. 


Be careful on the edges.  Be very careful. Take some basic safety measures (life jacket and ice claws is a good start).  Be prepared for the worst. Never go near the Mohegan Ave culvert as that is moving water.  The east side edges of the lake are thinnest, in my opinion.  One more solid week of sub freezing temps and we should be at least 10 inches.

Keep thinking chilly thoughts.  It continues to work.

Doin' It Right

Wow!  What a weekend.  I think I skated for 20 miles.  No lie.  And it looks like we will get one really warm day to hopefully Zamboni the entire lake and a deep freeze sets in on Friday.  It's really hard to predict, but I'm hopeful we'll have another weekend of pure, unadulterated, awesomeness.

Courtesy of the National Weather Service

Keep thinking cold thoughts, Mohegan Lake. Me and my cousin made this sweet ice rink in front of our house to practice on.  Just look at my 6 and 4 year olds getting the hang of it.  Not too bad.    I'm going to go ahead and call the +50K on our home value.

Hope to see you next weekend.

Conditions Are Perfect: 1/25/13

Are you ready for the First Annual Mohegan Lake Ice Fishing Derby and Skating Extravaganza that begins tomorrow?

Here's some video from Thursday evening.  There is some interesting ice on the lake; my sphincter tightens as I go over the starfish-octopus-blood vessel shaped black ice.  The previous ice never melted and the old fishing wholes opened up in that warm spell, creating those interesting shapes.  I reached my hand in an ice fisherman's hole (created late this afternoon) and it's 6+ inches in the middle of the lake.  The edges are thinner; the SOLE beach is just frozen so stay away. 

Hope to see you out there tomorrow.  I'm aiming to do a lap around the entire lake tomorrow morning with my cousin.  Under the bridge?  Maybe.

It's Colder Than A...

Keep thinking chilly thoughts.  The 1st annual Mohegan Lake Ice Fishing Derby and Magical Skating Party will begin on 1/26/2013.  It will continue as long as the weather cooperates.  The high of 31 we see today will be the highest temp through next weekend with a low of 6 on Wednesday night.


In researching lake ice,  I came across this great blog from a fellow from upstate [?].  I highly recommend you take a peek; if nothing else, at least check out the ice safety sections. This is a link to the ice growth section where I found the chart.

Many factors weigh into ice formation, such as lake flow, vegetation, the topography of the lake bed, etc...but this is a good rule of thumb for average temps. This puts us at least 5 or 6 inches of new ice (plus the existing) next Saturday.

                                                     Lake ice: It's science!

In the meantime brush up on your ice safety; if you need supplies like an ice auger to drill a hole to ice fish, shop local at the Mohegan Sportsman.  Bear Mountain will sharpen you skates for five bucks (great deal and they do a great job); a good edge is essential for a fun time on skates.

I leave you with this amazing video (also found on the Lake Ice blog) from Sweden.  It's on a lake  1.5 times as big as Lake Champlain and has underwater waves that creates this powerful display of ice sheets being crushed together like tectonic plates?  I really don't know what's going on, but check it out.

Weekend Wrap Up

Wow.  It sure is special when the lake freezes and--even if for just a few brief days--we have a very different and intimate experience of Mohegan Lake; from ice fishing to skating, it's a beautiful asset for the whole lake community. 

Alone with his thoughts, and some frozen fishes.  In the distance, the Holland Sporting Club property.

It's important that the Shrub Oak Lake Estates (SOLE) home owners are cognizant that, in addition to the parking at the SOLE beach, they have a permanent deeded right to park on another lakefront lot "at all times" and "at no cost."  When SOLE sold this parcel to the Lakeland Jewish Center (now Faith Bible Church [FBC]), it stipulated 5 permanent terms and conditions when they sold it to Lakeland Jewish, and those terms still carry the weight of law.   I only mention it because some of the legally required signage indicating the SOLE member parking seems to have gone missing.  The deed restrictions clearly state such signage should be present; just be aware it is available for SOLE members to use in addition to FBC members.   You can read the history of that parcel here.  [Click "read more" below to continue reading]

The One Hundred and Five Acre Ice Rink In My Front Yard

Can't get enough of the frozen lake.  Skating, for me, is very therapeutic and serene.  That is all for today.  Again, this is not an endorsement of the lake's safety.  Attempt fun activities on the frozen lake at your own peril.

Starting 'em early in their PJs, to boot.

Huzzah! Fish (and skate) On.

Fish on.

Spooky.

I got a good 30 minutes of skating in this morn.  Ice is perfect.  A bit thin(3"), but perfect.  Just a reminder: you take your own life into your hands when you step out there so know what you're doing and, it's a private lake--trespassing is bad.

Ice, Ice, Baby: Part Deux

It's surely been cold enough to make some nice clean ice. We just broached 32 degrees today (about 35) for the first time in over a week, I believe. Last week, the Mohegan Highlands Property Owners Association (MHPOA) made a last minute effort to retrieve our floating dock. We were too late and are now left to ponder how badly the ice will chew it up this winter.

The ice had just decended past the dock overnight.  We did note the new dock that seems to be dating ours.  If you're missing your dock, let us know, it's frozen next to our and we'll return it this spring.  Oh by the way, are you missing a boat?

Damn Geese.

Looking North.  You can see the ice descends from the north.  I sure love watching Deadliest Catch, and am reminded of the icepack in the arctic descending down and wreaking havoc on the crews' pots.  But I digress. (photo credit: Abby Luby)

We sure have a beautiful lake.  (photo credit: Abby Luby)

Just to the right of the Tulip Tree, and just below that first branch--above the two wires--you can see a couple wild and crazy guys ice fishing on Thursday.  A bit premature?  Possibly.  I'm going to take some ice cores tomorrow and report back.  Will probably break out my skates to do it.

In summary, don't go out on the ice unless you, a) have a legal right to be there--it is a private lake after all and, b) are prepared to die; it's a dangerous thing walking on ice.  It's not just the thickness of ice, but how it formed and many weather factors--not just temperature, plus the thermodynamics of the lake, vegetation, lake flow, blah, blah, blah.

Read up on New York State DEC guidelines on ice fishing safety here.  Let's pray for more, consistently frozen temps and we should have an awesome winter!