Lake ice is ‘coooooooool’...

The lake ice-changes are fascinating! I am loving having the cabin almost finished and fully heated so we are comfortably set to spend some time there. Unfortunately, life got in the way again this winter and we have not been blessed with as much time as we had hoped to spend out there BUT we are so thankful for the fleeting moments we do get to head out to camp... even on the days we can only manage to stay out there for twenty minutes or less; sometimes just the drive and a quick peek at the lake is enough to help us fight back against the horrible stresses of late with just those few breaths of peaceful.

And I wasn’t kidding about how fascinating the lake-ice changes are... on a daily basis, too! I seriously cannot wait to be out there for a few days at a time just to experience the changes that happen in what seems like the blink of an eye. Lake Superior is a beautiful very deep and very cold and very unpredictable lake... at all times of the year.

All of these pictures below, were taken within an eleven day period of icy cooooolness. So, what have I learned about this whirlwind of ice days? Tkae full advantage for fun at first take... waste no time for it can disappear in a heartbeat!

One day we were sliding down the hill toward open water with a few floating ice chunks.

The next day, not quite twenty-four hours later, we were sliding toward a full view of setting ice... which was a little safer feel than sliding toward open water.

From there the lake went into a settling, thickening of the ice which was super cool to witness with eyes and ears and feels... and the ice was safe enough for rink beginnings for our neighbours.

Because I’m not up to skating quite yet I stuck with sliding and ice strolls while our neighbours skated.

Just three days ago, our partof the lake was frozen solidly deep. I headed inside as the neighbours were finishing up on the rink for the day, before heading out to do a little ice-fishing for a nice dinner catch. One of the many great things about ice-fishing is that you don’t even need a boat to get to the best fishing spots... even a bicycle will do! Play was absolutely fascinated at watching them make their way across the ice and kept checking the windows to see that they finally made it home safely.

After being down on the ice while the skating fun was happening, I started to dream of when my own time skating across the ice might come back... my mind instantly formulated a plan to try skating with my walker for stability. Enz was not impressed by my newest, grand plan but I decided it was going to happen, and soon! It appears the universe agrees with Enz on my skating plans because our quick run out to camp last night, just TWO DAYS after all that icy fun, I spied open water as we pulled in the driveway!

It was an annoyingly beautiful view... The wind was whipping so viciously that I couldn’t stay upright in it without the treeline buffer so there was no ice walking for me!

Enz decided to chance an ice-walk but boy, did he hilariously start Flintstone-tippy-toeing it back to shore when he got to close to the open water, heard the ice cracking and felt it pulling beneath him. He did get a few neat pictures of the open water area and rink cracks, though... it is beyond amazing what a single windy afternoon can accomplish on lake ice that is over two feet thick .

I still think my walker-skating plan would have worked but maybe it’s a better plan to try it on a groomed rink in town before trying to take on the ice of Lake Superior... I sure hope we can get out to camp today for at least a minute of two because I have a feeling we willbe back to open water again today. Oh well, I’ll keep praying for more cold and strong ice so I can lace ip and give’er a good go!