Ice has a social life. Its changeability shapes the culture, language and stories of those who live near it!
~Robert Macfarlane
I went for a walk in our cold woods on Monday and came across some remnant ice patterns left from a combination of heavy rain followed by frigid temperatures while we were away for the holiday. Our little creek is a wet weather stream, usually only flowing after abundant rain in winter when most of the trees lining the creek bed are dormant.
Our now dry stream bed held onto some beautiful ice sculptures for a few days after the rains (click photos to enlarge)
It looked a bit odd to see ice art in a dry stream bed. There was even a perched ice shelf over a depression that had held a foot of water only a few days before. With the warming temperatures, the intricate ice patterns are retreating, leaving only memories of the ephemeral beauty they added to our woods. I’m glad I was able to enjoy them for a day at least…
Ice columns on rootlets where a small waterfall forms after heavy rains
A shelf of ice suspended almost a foot above a now dry pool
I held the phone underneath the ice shelf and took a photo up through the ice to capture the tree outlines above
Self portrait from below the ice shelf (the least glamorous photo of the day)
Roads End Naturalist 
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