Monochrome

In person it looks more gray than blue, but there is very little difference between the sky and the Lake today.

This photo doesn't show it, and my weak camera really can't, but there's also a lot of lovely duck action on the Lake today. They are very busy swimming, diving down, and occasionally flying as a flock, low, skimming the water. The cuteness of the little duck bottoms sticking up in the air cannot be adequately described with words or a still photo. Must learn how to do video....

Ice Cubes and Gull Islands

Amazing thing yesterday afternoon: the ice out on the Lake started drifting toward shore and then breaking up in the waves. For about 15 minutes, you could hear the big chunky cubes of ice rolling into shore and piling up against the rocks. And at the same time....

The ice that remained out on the Lake was the temporary perch of hundreds of seagulls, congregating out on the ice, taking a rest and enjoying the warming weather before all the ice melted. That the two conditions existed at the same time was weird. The shoreline was loud and violent, and the ice islands, just a few yards away, were peaceful oases. Amazing.

Thin Ice

This is yesterday's daily pic. You can see the little patches of ice and the rippling open water. Birds love the open water, but as you'll see in the extra pics from yesterday (next post up), some of them love the ice. too.

Bonus Birds

Just as I was leaving the office today, I noticed these guys huddling there in the tree. It's about 2 degrees outside, so you can try to imagine how cold it must be up in that tree, but it would be pretty hard.

Steamy

There was mist rising off the lake again this morning. The air was crisp and cold, but the water was rolling so it couldn't freeze.

Calm, meet Storm

This is from the morning, when it was still cold enough and calm enough that there was a light layer of ice on the Lake. The patterns remind me of a paint-by-number kit. And then....

The waves have been picking up speed and ferocity, and are now audible. It will be interesting to see what happens in the next few hours.

Hint of a Half Moon

If you were here, you could have seen it. If you look at that white-ish spot of ice on the water, and then look directly above it, you can see the hint of the half moon, which was visible here at NOON. I can still see it now, but it is too high to get a pic of the moon and the Lake. And that's why we are here, people, to give you pictures of the LAKE, not some random satellite.