Madison, WI

Started walk at 6:25 a.m.

The weather was brisker this morning. Still no snow, however, some is expected later today.

The skies were still overcast. Few birds. It was very quiet except for the wind howling through the bare tree branches. How I long for a few clear mornings like the days that immediately preceeded the Winter Solstice .

I could see a few Mallards on the far shore and a few paddling lazily around the island. The wind was blowing hard on the open water so it looked like there was a thin layer of ice. But there wasn't. It will take more than a couple of really cold days to start freezing again. According to the newspapers, the Madison lakes have never NOT frozen -- even in an El Nino year. The record late freezing date for our lakes is January 21. It's possible that we might break that record this year

The coffee was good. I redeemed my coffee card for a Grande Latte-extra shot. Muffin -- back to cranberry -- it was good.