Icy Boulders 001

This is the time of year that Lake Superior changes daily. Early in the week, the lake was ice-free except for the freezing spray along the shoreline. At Gooseberry, the rocks formed little ice necklaces from the slow movement of the water sloshing back and forth.

Moving Ice Shards 001

Today the wind brought in miles of huge sheets of ice. They are moving slowly toward Duluth with the prevailing NE winds. As they move along they collide with the rocky shore and ice shards pile up.

Ice Shards 001

This morning and again tonight I went down to listen. The ice shards are cracking and snapping with sounds that are just impossible to describe. You have to experience it yourself.

Ice Shards 002

As I was sitting on some of the shards while photographing the sun, I could not only hear the sounds but I could feel the movement of the ice beneath me. There was only about four inches of water beneath the ice so I knew I was safe, but that didn’t stop me from getting cold. One of the shards snapped and my butt submerged in four inches of ice cold Lake Superior water. BRRRRR!!!!!