Barnhouse -1, penguins- 0
The chimney is up, although not quite functional yet, (still have some bracing to do), and this warm spell is supposed to last for a few more days. It's amazing how much a mid-winter thaw improves my mood. When the temps hover around zero I tend to hibernate next to the TV a lot more, and any ambitions I have seem to leave. I'm far enough North of the equator that going somewhere warm for a weekend is out of the question, and I spend a great deal of my day working outside, so winter sports just seem like more of the same. Luckily there are some interesting things on the horizon - Feb 6&7 is the Super Swap at the NYS fairgrounds, a huge motorcycle swap meet with tons of bikes, parts, live music etc. the week after that the fairgrounds hosts the biggest boat show in central NY, even though it's indoor, walking around checking out yachts I'll never be able to afford makes it feel like spring. And toward the end of the month there's an ice fishing derby at my favorite Adirondack lake, I don't fish, but I've got a camp up there, and I like to watch everyone else freezing to death while I'm inside next to the TV, and people always stop by to warm up. I did have an idea to make ice fishing more fun, a sort of ballistic tip-up that would launch the fish right out of the hole, shouldn't be too hard to build, I wonder if it would be legal to use?