It is now December and the warm days might get to 50 but are not very inviting for kayaking. Ice is forming in the swamps on the cold nights and then melting under the sun and temperatures in the 30s and 40s. The birds have mostly gone so there isn’t much activity on the lake, fishing contests don’t seem to be occurring…..
At the same time, there is always something to see around the shores. The colors are now limited to the greens of the evergreens, the grey of the rocks and the browns of the leaves and bushes. At the same time, when the sun shines it is an enjoyable sight.
In the swamps and in some of the wet places, Winterberry is showing its color. The red berries hide behind the leaves before the leaves fall but now they are the one bright color that is seen around the lake.
In the swamps, where the ice is freezing and melting, there are sometimes some pretty amazing patterns that form as the ice freezes. The patterns are probably related to the fact that there are some chemicals from the swamps that slightly affect the freezing point so the ice doesn’t freeze uniformly. The picture below is sort of an abstract art piece.
Along the beach, there are also some interesting patterns that show up. One night, there was a bit of rain and then it went below freezing. Then there was a slight breeze and the patterns in the sand were very telling. In one picture, a few leaves must have sheltered the sand from the rain so they were dry and then the leaves blew away. Likewise, bird tracks left interesting patterns of dry and wet sand.
Oh, and of course there are the rocks that will get ice on them when the waves breaking against them and then the sun melts the ice from one side of the rock, leaving one side bare and the other side coated in ice.
Yes, there is always something to see at the lake. If you spend time on the lake shore or even out on the lake, make sure you dress for it. It is December.