On the ice today

Hit the lake today.   When I left the house it was reading 11 below zero with a slight north wind.   I was dressed for it with extra cloths in the car.    I am a bit chicken about ice I do not like cracks and one of my favorite spots to fish had some weird cracks this year.   Last time I was there had a couple spots of open water.  Well I went there to see what it was like I will not walk over a large crack in deep water and sure enough there is a pressure crack about 75 yards off shore 12 feet of water.   I fished in shallower that I care to.     I did collect 27 keepers for the day which is not bad.

The cold

I love the cold it is preferable to the humid hot weather of summer.     The ice has become safe for me to go on again caught a nice bunch of perch today.     It is also a time to use the food and fuel that I have gathered all summer.    We were lucky to have two deer this year also to add to our larder I got a small one and my son shot a good buck with a rifle.    It is not cost effective to live my life style it is what I choose