A relatively mild winter turned wicked a few weeks ago, and I find myself ice-bound and snowed under. Temperatures haven’t topped freezing in three weeks, and a winter storm just dumped 18 inches of snow on us.

I’ve been itching to get out and paddle, but there’s nothing but solid ice for miles. This photo was captured this afternoon from a webcam 3.5 miles offshore. The downtown Cleveland skyline is visible in the background.

Frozen Lake Erie

There’s nothing like a snow day to bring out the kid in all of us, so after a morning of digging out, I decided to take the 7-0 for a run on the local sledding hill — strictly Class II stuff! It was fun and all, but no placebo for the real thing. I’m anxiously awaiting the spring thaw and the arrival of my new CETUS ! Until then, I think I’ll stick to snowboarding.