Reflections

Observing the changes in the sky as the sun went down was very calming.  I loved the combination of the colorful sky, silhouettes of trees, the symmetry created by the reflections in the water, and soft waves slightly distorting the reflections.

Receeding ice reveals reflections

I was happy to see this effort to encourage people to not leave their fishing line where it will endanger wildlife.

It was so neat to observe the first signs of spring as the ice started to recede from the shore and reveal the reflective water surface.

The border between two states--of

H₂O

Like drawing back the curtain of winter...

Sun beating on ice

Geese walking slowly along, while ducks float by.

The sun was shining brightly on the ice sheet that covered the lake.  The seam in the middle of the ice is a crack where the sheet started to split.

 The sun's warm rays shining down.

  The melting of the giant sheet of ice from the heat of the morning sun produced a strange, almost rhythmic, drum-like beating sound.  The whole area echoed with the sound and the entire sheet of ice shook with every beat, creating waves in the little bit of water that was exposed at the shoreline.  It seemed as though the lake itself was coming alive, or perhaps as though there was a being under the ice trying to break through.   I tried to capture the sound and essence of the experience on video, although it is very hard to hear the beating.

 

At the edge of the lake the ice had melted.  When I looked closely I observed a small bug moving through the water and saw a spider quickly moving along the shore.  When the spider got to the water it stopped and changed its course slightly--avoiding the water.

A soft carpet of dried grass covered the ground near the lake.

These plants reminded me of an army--standing tall, spread out, and evenly spaced.

A cardinal was in a tree nearby, singing to a female who answered his call.

A clip of the cardinals communicating.

Bubbles of air frozen in the ice sheet that covered the lake.

Patterns of ice crystallization.

Leaf frozen in ice, notice the wide border around the leaf--I wonder what caused that to form.

Branch patterns and textures.

Standing tall.

The white tree in the middle was standing in a swampy area.