Sunny skies and ice melt...

This week was definitely an interesting one for the inhabitants of Oak Ledge. The ducks must have been confused to see their icy oasis of Lake Champlain transform into a tropical paradise and then go right back down to freezing. I would have liked to go to my spot on Friday, when it was pushing 50 degrees! But alas, I could not and can only imagine the puddles I would have had to sit in while at my spot. When I visited a few days later, it was frozen over again. This time, it was even more slippery because the ice melted and then refroze. Combined with the wind, I'm surprised I didn't slide right into the water! But it was still a beautiful day and though cold, my spot was filled with sun. The walk there was a little different because the snow wasn't as deep and it wasn't as much of a hike. Other than that, though, everything looked pretty much the same on land. The lake itself looked a little different. The iceberg chunks had shrunk in size and only sheets of ice, though not completely covering the lake, remained. I sat down and drew a little birds eye view map of my place. Here it is:

And here are a few photos:

A sheet of ice with Burlington as a backdrop.

The old chimney that is located on my site, as seen in my map.

All in all, a successful visit! :-)

My first visit to Oak Ledge

Today I went to my spot in Oak Ledge park. Though not my first visit to this spot, it was my first time going with a specific goal on my mind: patterns. As I trudged through the snow and debated whether I was actually standing on rocks or just a sheet of ice that cracked every time I took a step, I noticed patterns forming all around me. My spot was covered in snow and ice, and I could barely find the trail I take to get to my little rock cove by the water. Here are three of the patterns I noticed:

• There was a layer of ice covering the snow, and with every step I took it cracked to reveal fluffy snow underneath. The layer of ice was about half an inch thick (and the snow underneath was clean and tasty - yes, I judge snow quality by how good it tastes).
• The water had ice patches all over the surface that looked like little snow mounds. The lake was not frozen over, though. I could hear the water making a constant splish-splash against the ice.
• The sun was shining and it illuminated the ice in a way that made the ice look wavy. Another cool thing was that when I looked the other way in the, I could see the moon facing the sun.

I had some animal sightings as well! Mostly ducks floating through the water in formation, which was exciting to see! Also, I saw what looked like little deer tracks in the snow!

My phenology spot seems like it's going to be an exciting place to watch transform! I can't wait to see if I'm actually sitting on my rock or not as the snow melts, since I can't tell right now. 

Here are a few pictures!

:-)