Isn’t it fascinating how water can take two such different forms? Amazing, and it keeps the world interesting and beautiful!
Tag Archives: pond
Another guy to identify; what am I?
Walking around the second pond, which was completely iced over, I spotted an odd shaped blueish blob just under the surface of the ice. It did not move as I approached.
I got too close to the boggy edge and one leg sank in up past my knee! Trying to hold my camera up out of the muck and reach a small stick to put under my other foot, I made quite a bit of noise, but the blueish blob showed no signs at all of hearing me. Was it even still alive?
Finally free of the muck (with the muck-&-water-filled boot still on!), I found a way to get close enough to break the ice with a stick. Even this ruckus did not disturb blueish blob. I finally poked at her tail and she stretched out her hind feet a little, then eased away from my stick and resumed her quiet wait – for a meal to pass by?
All Crystals & Glitter
Originally the pond was iced over in a smooth sheet, which then was dusted with glittery snow.
Bridger and his cousin broke the ice near the edge of the pond, thinking they might fish. The edge re-froze in these wonderfully organic crystalline patterns 🙂
Crystals Aligned
This seam of crystals divided the pond in two.
I am glad they are just ephemeral ice. No one will want to own them or steal them or mine them. They are just there for the passerby to enjoy.
Below the Sparkling Ice…
As I looked at the sparkling, cold, and very solid ice, I speculated that all the frogs, turtles, and snakes must be safely hibernating for the winter. Â Then I looked down at the clear ice near the edge of the pond, and look who I saw!
He turned and swam off, but I snapped a shot. I am glad I had the camera set to record in camera RAW, because my other settings were still for bright light, like the last photo! I was fumbling with the settings while taking a couple more steps, and another turtle swam off before I had all my settings adjusted! Were they looking for access to the air? Should I have opened a hole in the ice for them? These were good-sized turtles, maybe 8 or 9 inches from the front of their shells to the backs, so they have already survived several winters with iced-over ponds. Surely they have some way of getting air?
And a Brilliant New Year!
When the sun started sparkling in the frost, I grabbed my camera and headed for the pond. This was the first time since Buttercup was shot last fall that I felt like taking photographs.
I topped the bank of the pond, and was greeted by this awesome sight!
Play!
Copyright 2012, Kyle MacKay Rives
