Crystals Under Ice
We all know the cliches. "Stop and smell the roses." "Take time for the little things." We know them, but the thrum of daily life pushes them out of our consciousness. We move from one moment to the next barely thinking about what we're doing, focused instead on what we need to do next. Then something happens that brings all those cliches back to life.
It was Valentine's Day, 2015. My wonderful wife encouraged me to take my camera and go for a drive by myself. Always a great Valentine's Day gift for me. Or, maybe she was just trying to get rid of me. After all, the winds were whipping out of the north, driving the windchills to -25 degrees Fahrenheit. :)
There is some Door County Land Trust property at the Lake Michigan entrance to the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal. I made my way there, bundled up, and decided to take a walk on the frozen surface of the lake. I was looking for large ice formations, maybe even an ice volcano. Or, perhaps some views of the North Pierhead Light with ice formations in the foreground.
Waves had literally frozen, creating mounds of ice just off the shore. I saw what looked like maybe the cone of an ice volcano. I climbed over a couple of ridges of ice mountains, venturing further and further onto the lake. There was still open water, small icebergs floating just a few feet away.
The silence was so peaceful. I was wondering just how close I should get to the edge of the ice shelf. Then a splash. An iceberg was bobbing in the water. Had that been there a moment ago? I decided this was plenty close enough to the edge.
I was watching where I stepped, being careful where I put each foot. My eye caught something glinting in the low sunlight. I sidestepped it. I looked at it. Looked at it again. Walked around it. Ignored it. Looked at it again. And again. Huh.
The wind had swept the snow off a small patch of ice. Dirt and snow kicked up by the wind had polished the surface into a glass-like smoothness. Under the surface was the most intricate ice patterns......crystals really. I had never seen anything like it before.
I had gone there looking for some grand vista, some large ice formation, some unique view of a well known lighthouse. Were it not for the angle of the sun, glinting off a slight wrinkle in the otherwise smooth surface of the ice I would not have seen this. I really don't even know how to describe it. I've been thinking about what to say about it for over a month. Snow may have covered this up the next day. The ice formations may have cracked. I may be the only person on earth who ever saw this in person. It's such a little thing. It's not a rose, but I'm glad I'm glad I stopped to see it.
