Click on any image fora larger view.
My rental car’s thermometer says it’s 10°. I let the car warm up before taking off on my
photo expedition. Thankfully the car has
heated seats, but they seem to take way too long to warm my butt. Warm air will not pour out of the vents for
another 10 minutes. I’m still going.
My extra layer of clothing and the ‘heavy NM winter jacket’ barely
keeps me warm, don’t ask about wind. But
I’m still going
It’s cold enough that snow, other than what is already on the ground, won't make an appearance;
smarter than me, you are probably thinking.
Arriving at my first destination I am reminded on how cold
10° is. Snow crunches underfoot, I
immediately question my sanity “Why am I out here in 10° weather.” My answer… “There certainly won’t be a lot of
other people out here shooting the ice and snow.” I was right, there wasn’t anybody else out
shooting.
I do not normally plan on visiting Northern WI in March, up until
a few days earlier it was pretty much the furthest thing from my mind; but a hospital and
surgery was involved; I wanted to be there to help where I could. Once everybody was back home and the routine reestablished I felt comfortable with going out for a few hours one
afternoon. Update: I’m happy to report
that all is well with everything back to normal.
The snow is still here from the first snow of the season; making
its appearance just before Thanksgiving.
I remember because I was here for that snow storm. You can read about it in my Dec 24, 2016 blog posting. I’m glad I only have to deal
with the snow on short terms. I don’t
want to think about having to look at a white blanket from late Nov through
early March, possibly longer depending on when warm weather decides to make an
appearance. The lakes are still frozen
over, however there are no fish shanties dotting any lakes. I did see a couple guys walking across one
lake pulling a sled behind them. Not
knowing how much ice is needed to support me, or how thick the remaining ice is,
I decide to observe from the shore.
Even in the cold, people are going about their regular
routines: grocery shopping, buying gas, and stopping at fast food
restaurants. There was even a crew of
loggers cutting down trees, picking them up with their behemoth vehicles, then
stacking the logs on trailers for delivery.
I have a few favorite locations to shoot, all involving
water; the Wisconsin River outside of Eagle River being the main one. Ponds and streams alongside roads are my
other favorites.
Sections of streams all have some open running water; where
water stops ice forms. Arriving at the
Wisconsin River I regularly hear ice cracking.
Small pieces of ice flow under the large sheets making up the top layer
of the river. I have been to this
location several times at different times of the year. A few years ago I got poison ivy somewhere in
this area. I don’t believe I can get it
from frozen sticks protruding through the snow but I am not taking any
chances. I also notice that the normally
spongy ground during the summer is frozen solid; it feels like walking on
uneven pavement. Walking along the shore
I spot a couple metal desk chairs overlooking the river waiting for summer.
It was a good day.
Thank you for stopping by,
Mark
LOVE these shots!!! Very pretty pieces of winter. Just an FYI, there is still ice on our lake and others, although there were some reports of people falling through this week. Most of the snow has been reduced to icy puddles, but the shady areas still have dirty piles of icy snow.
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