The temperature was 93 degrees Fahrenheit.
There were pontoon boats beached on the sandy shores, with people lounging in the hot sunshine, kids swimming and dogs running around having a good time.
There were dozens of people camping, using large camper trailers, small pop-ups and tents.
There were power boats zipping across the water, and all types of recreational watercraft coming and going from their docks and slips.
Just another typical day at Norfolk Lake and Jordan Marina in north-central Arkansas, on the south end of the 40-mile long body of water.
Except for one thing: It was all taking place on March 21, only a couple of days after the last day of winter.
Welcome to the topsy-turvy, yo-yo-like weather that has become the norm in the Ozarks during the early portion of 2026. But that can happen in a location near the center of the huge piece of real estate known as North America, where air masses can come from the Gulf of Mexico to the south, arctic Canada to the north or the Western portion of the United States’ Lower 48.
It’s a constantly changing situation, and one that isn’t common to many (if any) other places on Planet Earth. Nope, you just don’t find the temperature changing from 90 one day to 50 the next, and then going back to 90 a few days later.
I think if you asked residents of the region if they find the climatic fluctuation fun or annoying, you’d probably get a fairly even mixture of answers. You might even hear a few folks say it’s both.
But to elaborate on the story, the unusual circumstances I described took place when my wife, Wendy, and I took a two-day trip to Jordan last weekend. With the help of a nice man named Zach who owns the marina operation (which includes several cabins and a large campground), we stayed in a cleverly-designed little cabin for two nights and rented a pontoon boat for a few hours on Saturday.
It felt surreal being out on the lake at that time of year. And I must say the air was drier than it would be during the hot-and-humid days of summer and the water hadn’t yet warmed up to its summery level, so even though the temperature was in the 90s, a cool breeze was coming at you as we cruised around the lake.
I got in at one point, but the water was definitely still pretty cold, and I chickened out and only went in up to my neck and didn’t submerge my head as I normally would in the clear water of Norfolk Lake. I also spent far less time in the water than usual – for good reason.
Our two dogs – Scotty (the Scottie) and Lilah, our daughter’s Welsh Corgi that has recently joined us – enjoyed the heck out of themselves on the boat and everywhere else they went. They’re great travelers, and they’re small enough to easily fit in a vehicle but large enough to offer ample space for all the hands that gravitated toward them when they’re out and about among the humans.
All that said, I really want to mention something that happened on Saturday night.
We went to nearby Mountain Home for dinner on the square at Rapp’s Barren Brewing Company.
When we were finished and walked outside, there was a loud sound of music coming from nearby, and we went toward it to determine its origin.
That’s when we discovered a small establishment called The Square Piano. Believe me, the place might have been small, but the experience of being inside was huge.
At first, we didn’t go in, mostly because we weren’t sure if the dogs were welcome. But a female employee came outside and said they were “dog friendly,” so we went in – thankfully.
It turns out that Saturdays are Dueling Pianos night. There were two pianos facing each other (I think one grand and one baby grand), and a drum set in back.
And there were three consummate musicians who took turns playing each piano, as they absolutely nailed rock and roll song after rock and roll song.
The trio featured a mature man with a white beard and a long ponytail, a slightly younger man with bushy hair who resembled Sammy Hagar, and a young man with long brown hair and a dapper fedora on his head.
All three were fantastic piano players and singers, and they were each incredibly talented.
We watched the ponytail guy closely when he was at the grand piano, which was in our line of sight, and were amazed at how his hands and fingers moved like it was second nature. He also was a nice drum player.
I really liked the young guy’s high register voice, and it was wild hearing him do Queen’s “Bohemian Rapsody” as if it didn’t have the high level of difficulty it has.
And the bushy hair guy was maybe the most energetic, and he obviously loved revving up the audience and was clearly having a great time. He played some drums, too.
The pony-tail guy’s son also played drums on several tunes, and even successfully used a flute in one song. And all-of-a-sudden, a big guy comes out of the audience, sits at the drums and delivers the goods in a totally professional manner.
It was wild. At one point, Wendy said, “can you even believe this is happening?”
Maybe one of the best things about the whole scene was how these guys interacted with the audience, and basically had about 40 people singing at the top of their lungs to classics like Styx’ “Come Sail Away” and Elton John’s “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me.”
Maybe this term gets overused, but it applies in this case: The show was epic.
And to top it off, Scotty and Lilah were huge crowd favorites. We unleashed them and they wandered around getting more “hand time” than most dogs get in two weeks. The people absolutely loved them both and they were the night’s “other stars.”
Anyway, I expect we’ll have more hot days and more un-hot days this spring, and we’ll have the heater on in the morning and the AC on in the afternoon.
Because that’s the way the weather rolls in the Ozarks.