Friday January 13th 2023

Today’s high temperature was at midnight before the storm front arrived. There was heavy rain overnight. I slept through most of it, but the puddles on the ground this morning provided plenty of proof of the deluge. It was a very windy day. Clouds dominated the sky most of the day. The sun tried to make an appearance a few times, but it was soon replaced by more dark clouds. The daytime temperature made it briefly to sixty. It was more than fifteen degrees cooler than Thursday. Tomorrow is forecast to be even cooler.

The cool weather had an impact on my activity today. I had intended to drive into Gainesville on a grocery run, but stayed at home instead. It turned into another two hike day, but I needed to bundle up a little more than usual. In the woods of the campground and along the trail the wind doesn’t reach the ground. It is clearly present in the tree tops. They are waving back and forth along with a howling sound. In the open, near Lake Wauberg, the wind is at ground level and very uncomfortable. There were very few people enjoying the day use area of the trails today.

On my late afternoon walk there were a few brave soles out on the lake. Across the lake is a University of Florida recreation area. Students can checkout kayaks, sailboats and other recreation equipment. This afternoon there was a couple of people in a sailboat that really got moving in the strong wind. There were also a group of three kayaks on the lake with the sailboat. I think they could have picked a better weather day for their fun.