The lake level is 552.44 and has dropped less than two inches in the last 24-hours with two generators running about 50% of the time 1/2 generator running about 40% of the time and nothing about 10% of the time. They are talking about rolling blackouts here and millions of customers are out of power in Texas and they have free electricity here and still will not generate. I guess they are worried about the crops downstream growing in the snow. Think what it will be like when fossil fuel is eliminated and everybody has to plug in their cars. They better think things over before just raising fuel prices and closing pipelines. Gas prices have already gone up about 40 cents since the election. This global warming is really getting to be a problem. You cannot even buy any heaters of any kind here in Mountain Home now. Many home generators run on propane also. With one more night of frigid cold here tonight anybody on a well pump will not be able to drip water to keep pipes from freezing if the power goes out. We are fortunate to be on city water here at Blackburns and do have water even if the power goes out. The weather is to really improve starting next week and is to be near 60 again. The snow is very dry and will not make much water for runoff into the lake. We have received about 10-inches total here and most things were closed in town yesterday including most of the hospital annexes. The main roads are clear now. The ice line on the lake continues to increase out toward the main lake and the smaller creeks are iced in. A south wind, a little sunshine and 50+ degree ambient temperatures with get rid of it quickly. This is about what it was like the last time this happeded and it was gone quickly. With most docks frozen in we do not need any big winds until the ice is gone. It has been miserable but I have to count my blessings. My good friend Jim in in a St. Louis hospital after open heart surgery and is on a ventilator. I wish him well. After things like that you learn not to sweat the small stuff. People griping about little things just have not had anything really bad happen to them yet. The cold and snow have really hampered the on-going improvements here at Blackburns and with it being nearly the end of february we are really going to have to get with it to get them all done. Fishing starts just after the 15th of March in earnest here and it is not even 4-weeks away. There will not be much time for fishing but the days are getting longer and I will be able to go out after work most days and keep you abreast of what is going on here.I do not know what I will find when things finally thaw out. All I know is it is not beautiful out when your pipes are frozen and you are stuck in the snow and cannot get to work. That is not me but is many other people and I am grateful.
