Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Thin Ice
Ice is a wonderful thing. It's especially appealing to those of us who like to ice skate, ice fish, ice sail, etc. For most of us, however, it is something to slip on, fall on, or fall through. Minnesota started turning to ice in late November, and four months later it is melting. If you haven't seen a lake shedding its ice, you have missed a wonder. The sun does its job, of course, but then the wind pushes sheets of ice to the far side of the lake, stacking it into solid waves on the shore. Then the ice waves degrade into wet cubes that drop onto the next layer below, tinkling like small wind chimes as they fall.
Today I visited Lake Harriet, one of the city lakes in the heart of Minneapolis. I was happy that I hadn't missed the ice melt spectacle. In the photos you can see the beach with waves of ice crashed on the shore and a closeup of the smaller cubes. Suddenly I'm thirsty.
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2 comments:
Believe it or not, I have never actually seen a good ice melt on a lake even though I have lived in Minnesota my whole life. I've just never been in the right place at the right time. Or, maybe it's because this time of year is usually still chilly enough that I stay indoors.
This is also the time of year when you see your neighbors again after the long hibernation.
Thanks for continuing the Buzz and Patty blog! Yea for the rites of Spring, ice melting, hooking up the hose, putting out the patio furniture, cooking on the grill :-)
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