Inevitable

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The bitterly cold weather at the start of the week resulted in the river finally having its first freeze.  I walked down to the dock and noted there was a good 2 inches of ice.  A slight warm spell was coming, and a light rain had coated the ice with a thin layer of water.

The light rain and warming temperatures had left a few inches of water over the ice.  It was enough for the mergansers, geese and ducks to paddle about.  Unfortunately, it was not enough for me to paddle in.

I decided to go to Seneca Meadows to see what I might find.  The rain had let up and the temperatures were well above freezing.

The ponds were still mostly frozen.

Though the plants are all mostly brown and withered, there are a few snatches of color.  The berries of the horse-nettle stand out (note that they are poisonous).

The redstem dogwood also add a splash of color to the other drab meadow,

The cattails are now mostly great stalks of fluff.

I followed the train to the creek and went upstream a short bit to check the beaver lodge.  It was not obvious that the lodge was active.

The creek is well frozen.  With the warming weather, I expect it will become ice-free very soon.

I came across a large freshwater mussel about 2 meters from the creek in an exposed muddy area.  Muskrat?  Raccoon?

It is a dreary day.

A few of the muskrat lodges at the pond near the ADA trail looked fairly new.  It was midday and I was not expecting to see any muskrat lurking about.

The world is all brown.  Now is a time of texture, not of color.

I went home to the river house.  The geese were walking about the ice near the shore, but it was now so thin they would break through.

It continued to rain overnight.  The ice is now gone.  The mergansers are still about.

Though the first few weeks of winter have been quite warm, it is inevitable that the river will freeze again, maybe for many weeks as we head into the heart of winter.