February 2, 2013 Lake Superior-Freezing!

I took this photo of Lake Superior this morning on my way back from getting the mail; 11:00 a.m. to be exact.  The big lake, to some, is always "freezing" as far as temperature goes.  However, it is actually trying to set ice.  That is something it hasn't done in this area in a few years.  As a kid, we regularly went skating on Lake Superior.  And.....what fun it was!  Such a nice, wide open expanse of ice, kept polished by the winds.....always made for skating til your ankles felt ready to fall off....or something.  We would get off the bus and always head right down to the lake to get with it.  We  always remembered to have our long plank down on the ice with us.....just in case.  My dad made sure to remind us never....ever....go on that ice without the plank.  We could go out on the ice after 3 cold nights.  Then, it was safe.  I remember when we first started skating on Lake Superior....we would have a lot of false "run for shore" moments because of all the groaning and cracking noises made by the ice.  It rarely froze completely over.  So....wind action caused it to make all kinds of noises.  For a kid......they could be rather intimidating some times.  Of course, there was the evening the wind had started to blow and the ice, quite thick at this point, was starting to break up.  We were busily skating back and forth over the moving cracks.....thinking....hmmmmm....this is kind of neat.  My mother always kept a good eye on us from the house.  She did ask us, when we got in, if, in fact, that ice was moving.  Well.....it was.....so, kind of hard to say it wasn't.  Kids will be kids!
I did go on Coastwatch, just two days ago, to check the lake temperatures.  It is a handy site to have bookmarked for checking to see if it is worth going fishing part of the year.  Most of the lake was either 34 or 35 degrees.  I saw a spot by Pigeon Bay that said 33 degrees.  So, it is close.  Now....if the wind would die down for a few days......

Here is another shot I took while on the beach this morning.  Lake Superior is pretty dang low these days so there are interesting ice caps on a number of rocks that usually don't have them.  If this continues, I think I will have to get myself out of bed extra early one of these mornings and get some sunrise on the ice photos.  They can be awfully pretty.

Here's one of Toby I took this morning after our little expedition.  The place I stopped was right along the highway and not really a good place for a dog to be out.  So, he had to sit in the truck and kind of keep an eye on me, when he could see me.  He expects to get out and snoop the area when I do these things.  Anyway, we got home and he promptly went and got Casey's old hedgehog and wanted to play.  I got him one of his own, as the grunt in this one died.  However, he likes this one.  I think I have sewed it back up at least 20 times.  A favorite toy is just that!  Keep on sewing....