Snow Beautiful

 Winter arrived, for a short time anyway.

 The snow was still falling this morning as the sun attempted to shine.

 Big, wet flakes clung to every tree branch and rock.

 Fence posts were topped with pure white mounds of snow.

Most of it is gone from the trees at 2pm, but it was beautiful while it lasted.

Mysterious and Rare Precipitation

The snowflakes were so large and slow on this day that I was able to capture them on camera. This is the only substantial snow we've had in February, and it totaled about 3 inches. Most days are above freezing, and traffic to the Iceberg Hoax post has slowed down considerably from years past. Strangest winter I've ever experienced. From 2/10/12.

Winter Lake Swimming

I posted about this phenomenon before, but here's some footage of WINTER Lake swimming off Promontory Point in Chicago.  I've never done it, I doubt I ever will, but I can't help but admire those who do.

Extra Wonders

Nothing to say here.

And this is best enjoyed by clicking through to make it larger.  Those ice islands are brilliant on that steel blue water. From 1/24/12.

Iced Donuts

 See those little islands out there?  They are like these, only sparser. We had our first substantial snowfall of the winter, about 6 inches (and it's January 23rd!)

 When they get to shore, they pile up in these giant banks.

Bank + ice rounds. From 1/23/12.

More Winter

Brown, angry waves. From Wednesday, 3/23/11.

Winter Redux

After last week's springlike weather, winter returned with a vengeance this week, with sub-freezing temperatures, harsh winds, and a few dustings of snow. So the Lake was looking pretty brown most of the week. From Tuesday, 3/22/11.

Row, Row, Row Your Berg...

...gently down the Lake!
This is from Door County, Wisconsin.

Tempestuous

That is an angry lake out there. From noonish.

What a Difference a Day Makes

To quote guest photographer MT directly. Same Sheboygan view, different Sheboygan weather. From today, 2/20/11.

Erosion

As you can see here, the "cliffs" have eroded a lot, due to warm temps and/or pounding waves. From Thursday, 2/17/11.

Ice Floes

The ice/snow floats that had drifted out in the Lake were washed back in and looked like this. From Wednesday, 2/16/11.

You Want "Icebergs" in Lake Michigan?

This is the best we can do (unlike this). Big, huge chunks of snow washed into the harbor channel by last week's big storm/waves.
The second "iceberg" (in back) is piled up along the concrete breakers.
For scale.
Here's one giant non-eroded pile of snow on shore. There are piles like this all along the shoreline. And all this after several days of melting in the warm (40 degrees!) temperatures.

Rosy Overkill

Way too many colorful shots lately. Pretty romantic visions suitable for Valentine's Day.
That rosy glow is just too much.
I can never decide which one is better, so I put them all up.
Hence the title, "Rosy Overkill," which would also make an excellent name for a band. From Monday 2/14/11.

Lithe Light

Somehow just enough light is sneaking through those clouds...
...to make the icy surface glorious.

Paging Mr. Tumnus...

From Tuesday, 2/8/11.

Silvery Blue

This looks really different than it did in person, darker and less delicate (perhaps because I was trying to control the camera with gloves on?) but still, the Lake cannot take a bad picture.

How to choose?

So many pretty pictures, I just couldn't do it. Which is your favorite? From Saturday, 2/5/11.

Cliff Notes

Yesterday's "ice fields" have now been pushed into shore, where they have formed messy, sandy cliffs of ice.
Extending all along the shore.
And the remaining ice has drifted back out to sea...

No Lifeguard On Duty

Have you ever wondered how Lake Michigan would look after 2 feet of snow and 15 or so hours of huge winds/waves? Well, wonder no more dear readers!
It looks very similar to a plowed field after a heavy snow. Very bumpy and white. But with piles of snow on the periphery.

Here's a closer look. Click on it to see the larger and more impressive version. All of these were taken from the beach near my home, where we spent our day shoveling 6 foot drifts off our driveway and waiting for the power to come on (it did after 17 hours). The next few days, depending on wave action, should reveal some impressive piles of ice on the shore. Come back and see!