Pond Ice
When the cold weather finally moved on, I took a quick look at the pond which was frozen over. My hope was to see some of the fish beneath the ice...
...but as I got closer I realized that would probably not be possible.
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The bubbles and ripples and cloud banks made it impossible to see through to the water, but just because I couldn't see the fish didn't mean that there was nothing to look at. A clear ice layer had formed above the milky patches, encapsulating some of the remaining anacharis, an impermanent Lucite paperweight for the pond.
The patterns and textures are just what my wintering eyes needed -- find beauty everywhere around you!
It looks to me that as the pond froze water was pushed out through a crack, freezing as it flowed. I think it's the only explanation for the bumpy surface:
The weather has really warmed up now and we had a decent rain, so maybe this will be melted enough that I'll be able to check on the fish soon?
Growing up near Chicago there was a pond at the park that we would skate on (and play hockey of course) every winter. One thing I learned is that smooth, skate-friendly ice is not as common as you might think -- bumps and ripples and waves can really ruin your pond-based fun!
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Loved the Lucite paperweight. Interesting how water freezes in such turbulent ways.
I find it difficult to see the beauty in the ice without thinking of the poor fish. I hope good news will follow soon.
I put my de-icer on the pond a couple days ago - now that the deep freeze seems to be over! - and discovered the ice is almost 6 inches deep. That's a record for our pond. But it was interesting to find that beneath the very opaque ice was a layer that was crystal clear. Ice is so interesting!
Wow, these are really beautiful photos. But I feel awful about your fish.