Noctiluca North Ice Classic 2021.

Forgive me, friends, for I am about a month late in posting the start of the Noctiluca Ice Classic this year. I have been recovering from a three-level, cervical spine fusion (I’ll post more about that later), and I hope that is a good enough excuse for being a wee bit late this year. At this point all the newbies are sheepishly nodding and smiling, so as not to let on that they don’t know what the Ice Classic is. Let me explain real quick:

Each year, I take your bets as to when our compound will be completely snow- and ice free. This little game we play with our family, friends, and readers is of course a nod to the Alaskan staple, the Nenana Ice Classic (we Alaskans sure do like to gamble). Unlike the Nenana, our game is FREE! All you have to do to participate is guess the date and time that our grounds will be free of ice and snow completely. Our prize is a small, handmade gift and has in the past included things like my home made mosquito repellant cream or a small piece of art.

Our winter this year was a lot milder with far less snow than last year, This is a good thing, both for the moose and for literally everyone who lives here. We felt collectively violated by Old Man Winter last year and the moose were literally dropping dead in the roads. I personally was about two days away from going full blown Jack Nicholson in The Shining.

I had a bit of a panic yesterday, as it was so warm and so melty I felt that perhaps I had waited too long to make an Ice Classic post and would have to cancel the game for this year.

I even snapped a cute picture of Batavus the cat chilling in the sunshine with a giant deathcicle.

I should have known better. I should have known Mother Nature would not let us off that easy. It started snowing last night and did not stop until this afternoon. John got our car stuck trying to get to the post office and everyone besides me (I’m in a neck brace) got some good exercise shoveling the evil white fluff. At least now I don’t have to feel guilty about posting so late.

Let’s hope, for my sanity, that this was Winter’s last hurrah. You never know out here. Without further ado, let’s go over the rules of the Noctiluca Ice Classic again:

The Rules.

• Pick a date AND time that you guess our compound will be completely ice and snow free.
• Post your guess as a comment on THIS blog post. You can post it elsewhere too, but those guesses will NOT be entered. If you post a date without a time, your guess will NOT be entered.
• Sit back, relax, and wait for the announcement declaring our Victory over The White Shit.
• The winner will be the person who guessed closest to the correct day and time. They will win a small, handmade gift, plus Eternal Glory ™ and bragging rights.

That’s all, folks. I look forward to all the guesses this year. Good luck!