Twilight for the Ice

There is now a great pile of slush atop the ice pack that is Lake Manitou. Warm weather is forecast, and soon we will return to rippling waves of water. Here is a picture as the sun sets on the last of the winter's ice.

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

It's 16 below zero this morning. The sun is out in all its glory. At this temperature, and with the bright, bright sunlight, the super-chilled snow appears as if coated with a carpet of tiny diamonds. So beautiful to look at--though I think we'll postpone the morning walk a bit.

Jack Frost

Frosty has been busy lately. Here's a view through the upstairs' window. Jack doesn't like the thermopane on the main floor--but he has a ball upstairs.

OK--Humongous

I have an old sailing buddy who was fond of saying, "Life is a word-eating contest." On my earlier post you may have noticed that I said we never had humongous snow--just a lot of accumulation over winter. I stand corrected as of last Wednesday--as you can see. Here is a picture from Main Street in town.

Snowfall

We are mercifully out of the Great Lakes lake effect snow belt--so we never get a humongous amount at one time. However, as the termperature seldom strays above freezing in the winter, we do find quite a bit on the ground about this time. Here are some pictures. The point in winter--for those of you who have enjoyed it--is a bit less hospitable this time of year, but it is every bit as pretty.

Coyote on Country Club

I would include a picture--but it would just be a black dot on the snow field that is the lake. The furry fellow was moving from the Elks toward Rain Creek--about even with Doc Fritz' place. If I had a little dog on Country Club--I'd keep him on a leash! He seemed confused as viewed in the binoculars, lots of looks over the shoulder and hesitation. We saw some tracks around the island a few days ago that we thought belonged to a dog--perhaps not. The snow creates a good record of visitors--but I'm not the best at deciphering whose feet belong to whom.

The Ice Puzzle

More like a jigsaw puzzle. The recent run from way above freezing back to freezing has left the lake in distress. The surface is carved into triangles--many not much bigger than a coffee table. The question: Do these fractured seams have the same strength as the surrounding ice once they re-freeze--or will they break again at the first opportunity? It is a bit unnerving to walk across the surface with so many cracks and with such a clear view of the lake bottom! It looks very cold down there. So far so good.