In early February, we had some very mild weather. That warm patch caused the creek near Frank's place to flood as it occasionally does through almost any season. The previous weeks had been typically cold so when the creek swept over its banks and onto the wooded areas and walking paths, it brought with it great chunks of ice.
Most of these giant ice cubes settled along the shoreline - like this but some of it obstructed my usual pathway.
This is what the path looks like in summer. It can be difficult to navigate in winter because these paths are never cleared of snow. The snow, melt, freeze process can make walking quite precarious.
But add giant ice cubes and a light dusting of snow to the icy path, and walking becomes a lot more difficult. Benny doesn't seem to be too bothered by it though.
Some landed on top of one another.
These are actually rather small compared to some I've seen in the past. They're also fewer and more spaced out than other times. Four years ago, some of the ice blocks were piled about four feet high.
Still, there was some heft to these.
And some places were totally impassable.
You might remember this spot from late last summer though it looks a bit colder right now.
A few days after this photo was taken, it snowed rather heavily. This made it easier to get around because the snow raised the ground level to meet and even surpass the height of the ice blocks. Much of that has since melted and walking is precarious once again. This mother is hanging onto her child though I'm uncertain whether it's to keep him upright or her own self.
As the weather warms, these ice chunks will reduce in size. Until then walking these paths is more like navigating an obstacle course.
And now, without further delay, here are the Posts of the Week. The icon below is yours for the taking if if your blog post is named as a POTW.
FUNNY
Dear Technical Support
by BoxerMama
at Boxer Bootcamp
Overheard....
by Ursula
at Friko's World
***
A GOOD READ
Black or African American
by Anita
at Beyond the Diapers and Spills
Triggers
by Joe
at Cranky Old Man
Lessons From a Squirrel
by Leah
at The Goat's Lunch Pail
***
CLEVER THINKING
Making the Best of What You Have
by Janie
at That Janie Girl
***
PHINE PHOTOGRAPHY
Red Umbrella
by Daryl
at Through My Eyes
Psst... Take a Look at This
by Daniel
at The Pixel Collective
Graylag Goose
by Bob
at Birds and Nature in the Forest of Dean
Roadrunner Wrap-up
by Theresa
at The Run*A*Round Ranch Report
Stepping Into A Magical Realm
by Tammie Lee
at Spirit Helpers
Please drop by their blogs for a visit and leave a kind comment if you have the time. Also, please feel free to add your own choices (for any blog except this one) for a specific blog post in the comments section below, where others can see them.
Thank you
51 comments:
Great walk through ice cubes !
Best regards from France,
Pierre
Hilary: I am amazed at the appearance of that ice as boulders! Great shots and congratulations to the POTW winners. Will be making rounds! :)
That is amazing.....I miss proper winter.
After that bout of wet snow (then the freeze) it's been a bad winter for walking.
A lovely walk from the comfort of my own kitchen!
Benny's sure-footedness is fun to watch, i'm sure.
WOW...that really portrays how frigid your winters must be!
Those cubes are massive. We have a snow day today although it's not doing much now. Supposed to change, though, and if it does, it will be the only significant snowfall we've had all winter. Crazy weather.
congrats to the posts of the week...
how cool on the ice cubes...they are huge...and we are getting snow here today!!!!! woohoo!
okay first, thank you for liking my 'red umbrella' shot its part of a series i am shooting called 'under the canopy'
second ... where the heck do those ice blocks come from, they sure arent falling from the skies or trees ... eh?
Wow, that walking path is unrecognizable as the same! What a difference in winter and summer you have. Our grass just turns brown and it's a bit colder, but you can still recognize the surroundings. I believe I would be disoriented and get lost! lol I admire you for being able to find your way home.
I love the contrasting pictures of the same place. hard to believe that is the same path! Now I'm off to visit a couple POTWs. :-)
I am pretty well over winter right now so it is your summer photo that I am really drawn to right now. ;) Still those ice chunks are something, aren't they? We get huge ice bergs at the lake that are pushed up onto the sand. It is something to see.
Off to visit the POTW! :)
Ya gotta be a risk taker to take this path. The little guy is okay because when he falls down nothing gets hurt.
Super posts of the week again. It will keep me busy tonight.
Love those huge ice slabs!
I wear spiky soles all winter in order not to slip.
those are huge ice cubes! whoa!
thank you for sharing all these wonderful posts and including me in the mix!
My goodness! What enormous ice blocks. I'm sure you are chomping at the bit for spring to arrive. Makes me cold just looking at it. Congrats to the POTW winners! Two of my faves won! Yay!
It is interesting to see what other folks have as winter. Here in the city in the desert, I have never seen anything like your ice blocks. It's fascinating to me. THanks for sharing.
And I've visited some of the POW thusfar and you're always so good to send me to new and interesting blogs.
Oma Linda
Wowee, what ice do you get there, I wouldn't have the nerve to go out. Lovely I must say. Thanks for putting my photos Hilary.
One year I was met with huge ice chunks coming up on the land while hiking,and always waited to see it again. It was amazing to watch,pieces the size of cars almost heaving over the bank.
The ice cubes make a very good picture. They're fascinating as we never see anything like this here.
Maggie x
Nuts in May
I love getting to experience winter in Canada without getting too cold! Congrats to the POTWs - I actually have a few minutes this morning and I'm off to read...
I'm holding my breath just looking at the photos. Hardy souls, all of you who live in such harsh conditions. But then, this is how we moved about and colonized the world, one challenge at a time.
Bryły lody ciekawie wyglądaja na bardzo ładnych zdjeciach. Przysypane śniegiem mogą być jednak niebezpieczne przy chodzeniu. Pozdrawiam.
Solid ice interesting look very nice pictures. Covered with snow, but can be dangerous when walking. Yours.
Those ice cubes are magnificent.
Thanks for the POTW. The squirrel says he is beside himself.
POTW!! I am honored...thank you!
What a difference there is between the summer and winter photographs of that path! You couldn't even rightly call it a "path" in winter.
Thank you for POTW, Hilary. It is such a slight post, I am quite surprised that you were kind enough to honour it.
You lumps of ice are amazing. Your average English chap (my B. for instance) thinks a bit of frost on the grass is something to get breathlessly excited over. He wouldn’t survive a Canadian winter.
Yeah! Bob's Greylag Goose was AWESOME!
And Friko is our wise woman.
I love this post, including my gratitude in not having to walk on ice anymore. I'm not as agile as Benny (never was :)
ALOHA from Honolulu
Comfort Spiral
~ > < } } ( ° > <3
> < } } ( ° >
Thanks for the recognition, Ms. Smitten.
Water in all its forms is both beautiful and treacherous.
Benny has an advantage, he's got claws and doesn't have as far to fall should it occur. :))
Some of those chunks look quite large.I know that I would not want to walk there among them.
Love your icescapes, and I look forward to checking out the blogs on your list.
I'm not sure I've ever seen such thick chunks of ice outside of a glacier before. This is pretty neat!
I was like a wide-eyed child looking at your photos! I also linked back to the previous posts that you refered to. I've seen photos of massive ice blocks on TV in the Alaska area, but have never seen anything like it in the rest of the U.S. - photos or in person. How fascinating that must be to take a walk and there they are; although you and Frank are used to them/it. :)
Also, "Thank You" for the POTW recognition! A few comments from new readers were in my inbox this morning which led me back to you. It's always fun to meet new people; who also left interesting and heartfelt comments.
Hilary, thank you for taking us on this lovely, icy walk (without the precariousness, in our case!).
It looks nearly like a quarry in places!
Beautiful photos,as always.
Now I'm off to check out some potw.
Wow, those are some big slabs of ice. It's fun to see your favorite haunts in different seasons; you always find something wonderful to focus on.
thank you, dear hilary! :)
and WOW those ice chunks are dangerous looking! go, benny, go!
Those ice blocks are really something. They look like they were intentionally placed.
It's amazing what a little glazing will do to a walk. Your photos are great.
Your own mini glaciation.
OOf! Like giant icy gameboard pieces. I would be a drivelling snivelling mass of wah! if confronted with such perils in my path. Our steep driveway is sometimes more of a challenge than I can face. Thank you for putting things into perspective for me.
Not sure that I have ever sen such ice chunks! And hoping I don't!
Wow Hilary, those are large lumps of ice. Another bloger I read, Helma fron Holand, also showed ice like this on her blog. Must have been a lot of force to break this up - Dave
I don't relate, but am amazed by the ice blocks. Incredible how a simple path can change so much from summer to winter. I'm impressed that you venture out on the path - with camera. Now that I do relate to - always looking for a new angle to shoot a subject.
Gosh, that path looks treacherous! I've never seen ice blocks like that caused by a flooded river so found your photos fascinating. Congrats to POTW and I'll enjoy checking them out.
wow Hilary, I've only ever seen big hunks of ice like that on lake Erie, near where my husband grew up... I so love seeing different parts of the world on my computer screen... though traveling might be a little more fun:-)
I missed your post about Kingston - very, very nice. Looks like you and Frank had a nice day. Most interesting town.
And the images of the ice blocks, etc. are very interesting, too.
Down here in the Midwest part of the states, we are being told all our snow will be gone within a few days. That is hard to believe as we have quite a bit of it right now.
But I guess it IS March, so ....
Always enjoy stopping by. Take care.
Ha - I thought they were rocks at first! Must be hard to navigate those chunks of ice. Unless you hop from one to another. LOL!
That mother and her child almost look like winter cardinals with their stunning red jackets. I don't think Mama will lose sight of her little one if he/she decided to dash off through the trees.
I clicked back and was fascinated all over again by your salmon pictures.
Is it spring yet? Will the ice melt soon???
Hugs
p.s. - people still walk on the ice outside my window. I wonder that they don't worry about breaking through. It's been hovering at the freezing mark this whole week.
Wow, beautiful and weird! Strangely enough, we don't have to navigate past massive chunks of ice when strolling around in San Diego.
And if my blog ever needs a "giant ice cubes" label, I'm thinking I'll have to add a "giant mojito" label right about the same time.
wow, those are some big ice chunks!
it was interesting to see that walking path...how much it can change from summer to winter.
i thoroughly enjoyed your post/photos.
big hugs~
I'd forgotten about those huge ice blocks 4 years ago! As impressive as they were, I prefer the lesser damage of the smaller ice blocks.
No doubt these POTW will provide great reading this weekend. :)
wow! those ice chunks are really interesting individually and together in a pile. i've never seen that before so i enjoyed this series.
I have a submission for your post of the week. Loved this one! http://fearlessnesting.blogspot.com/2013/03/new-england-baked-beans-sacred-ritual.html
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