May Ice Art

We had plenty of cold weather this winter, with several visiting arctic air masses and a decent amount of snow.  But somehow I let winter pass without any posts about ice art.  Yesterday there was one more opportunity.  Temps dropped to 10º F early in the morning and that brought Jack Frost back out of retirement for one more exhibition.

So while others are reveling in greenery and flowers, we have ice art to enjoy.  It’s fascinating.  There always are new patterns to check out and photograph.  Even mud puddles are intriguing.

Our spring plants are tough, and can put up with Jack's doings.  His icy decorations won't last long anyway.

"No worries, we've been through this before."

The cottonwoods still haven't leafed out.  Good thing -- we had 8" of wet spring snow the other day.  It would have piled up on leafy branches, probably enough to break some.

This is the tree I'm following this year -- it's wisely waiting for spring.

Recent snow and wind had knocked male catkins off the tops of the trees.  The ground was littered with males ... spent, but pretty in their frosty outfits.

Click on images for a better view of these guys.

The river was ice-free, but the overflow ponds had frozen on the surface.  As always, there were neat patterns I hadn't come across before.

Indeed, it can take a really long time to walk just a short distance through an ice art exhibition -- there's so much to see!

Since my first photographic exploration of ice, Jack and I have worked together a lot. For more collaborative exhibitions, see these posts.

From Central Park in Winter by Thomas Nast, 1864.