Snow is expected to begin overnight so all of this newly frozen water will be covered. And most likely covered until it thaws in the spring so this would be the last opportunity to photograph clear ice. I decided to take advantage of a nice afternoon, although the wind was picking up making it feel a bit colder. I was hoping to capture some interesting pictures of this glass like ice. A nice black and white picture was still a goal of mine this fall I would like to achieve. But more than that a beautiful sunset reflecting off of this ice would be great. As the afternoon wore on clouds moved in hiding the sun. With about 30 minutes to go before sunset the skies were just a dull grey. Disappointed I was debating on weather or not I should just head home as there would be no colorful sunset on this night. I ended up talking myself out of calling it a day and going to warm up as I was cold and shivering. I’ve spent all afternoon outside walking and searching for interesting subjects hoping to end the day with a sunset. It was only a few minutes more until the sun falls below the trees. I should stick it out until then. And thankfully I did as the clouds began to break up near the horizon giving an amazing sunset. You just never know. Often times the sunset can be a bust with grey skies turning to darkness but sometimes a little light peaks through and rewards those who are paying attention with almost magical colors.

Earlier I came across a shell frozen to the top of the lake. How did that get there? An interesting contrast of summer and winter I thought. Also, the ice had an interesting jaggedness to it. From above the ice appears almost smooth and was quite slippery but closer to the surface you could see all these different grooves and bumps. It was anything but smooth. I spent a little time trying to compose some interesting pictures capturing these different aspects with only moderate success. I like the photo above because it shows the shell frozen to the ice along with the spirals. The photo feels like the shell is stuck there for all eternity. In the next picture you can really get a sense of how rough the ice is. Most of the bumps in the shape of a rectangle which really was intriguing to me. Why did the water freeze in these patterns? Was it because we had some very cold weather freezing the water very quickly? Would there be different patterns if the water freezes more slowly?

Scouring the ice near shore, as it was not thick enough to walk on safely yet, I saw this trail of footprints left in the remaining snow near the shoreline. I like how each footprint is turning a different way as the goose waddled further onto the ice. For me it’s just a fun pattern in the snow.

Winter on the calendar is just around the corner. We’ve been experiencing winter conditions for several weeks now which is way too early for me. I’m not ready for another round of snow and cold yet. Getting out with the camera lately has been difficult. I would much prefer staying inside where it’s warm right now which is a change from the last several years. I’m trying to remind myself that I just need to dress for the weather to enjoy our winter landscape. Snow brings with it some very interesting subjects. The difficult part is those interesting subjects usually don’t show up on my schedule. I need to take advantage of a situation when it arrives. Hopefully I will begin to enjoy this season once the holidays have passed and daylight begins to increase again. This may be the year I take a week to escape to a tropical destination.