When I’m pondering a subject for a blog post, I sometimes review relevant quotations hoping to find one that will inspire me. They’re usually by famous authors or poets like William Shakespeare or Robert Frost. I found an interesting one today, however, that is attributed to “a U.S. Army scout, lawman, professional gambler, and journalist known for his exploits in the 19th-century American Old West.” That man is none other than Bat Masterson, who was also the subject of a television western when I was a kid. Here’s the quote:
We all get the same amount of ice. The rich get it in the summer. The poor get it in the winter.
With that in mind, I dug through photos from the past week to share some of my ice with you.
Unless you’re totally off the grid, you know that an arctic vortex recently descended upon the Midwest. Some of our low temperatures were near -30 F and one day our high temperature was -10 F. I stayed inside for a couple days, but one morning, when the temperature soared up to about zero, I decided it was time to head outside. The sun was shining brightly and the sky was incredibly blue so it was not a bad day for a walk.
The temperature had bounced around quite a bit lately and Lake Mendota had already frozen and thawed a couple times. It was frozen solid now, however, so I thought it was time to head out there. A slight breeze was blowing out of the north, just enough to kick up a dusting of snow from the surface of the lake. It was about 8:30 AM and, with the exception of a distant ice fishing shanty, there was nothing else in sight. The day before, a freezing rain left everything covered with a layer of ice. The branches on the trees along the lake shore were all sparkling in the morning sun; starburst patterns danced about as the branches swayed slowly in the breeze. Farther down the shore where I took a short trail back to the street, I suddenly heard a dog barking. Between the trees I could see that I was not the only person crazy enough to be wandering around in the cold morning air. A woman had been walking her dog on the lake and, from the opposite direction, she was heading back to the same street.
My walk back home was continually interrupted by the distracting ice-sheathed trees. In some respects they looked the same, but differences would often jump out and tempt me to stop, admire, and press the shutter button. I was only out for about an hour and when I returned home I did appreciate the warmth. Later that morning, while sitting in the living room, I found I was still distracted by the icy outdoor views so I took one more photo from the warm side of the window.
Mary Christensen
19 Feb 2019Hi Michael-
Loved the photos of “My Ice” which brought back two significant episodes of my life and times in the Midwest. First was a week long ice storm when I was about 12: no electricity, heating and cooking by coal in our fireplace, all sleeping in the family room with 3 of my 5 brothers having chicken pox-AND YET-the world outside was a blaze of crystalline light with every branch and blade of grass covered in ice. Beautiful! The other event was Christmas 1983 when I brought Jeff home to meet my family. Besides the snowstorm that shut down I-5 going from Corvallis to the Portland airport and the black ice from Portland back to Corvallis upon our return, we were in a polar vortex the entire week in IL. Daytime temps were -20’s with windchills of -50+, none of the 5 cars would start, it was too dangerous to go out “for fun” and poor Jeff was stuck inside a relatively small house with my loud and crazy family. I do remember how the trees groaned from the cold and how great it felt to get outside when it “warmed up” to zero. Always makes me wonder how the Arctic tribes survive in such extreme conditions on a regular basis.
Anyway, thanks for the walk down memory lane inspired by your photos! You have an amazing ability to capture the beauty and intrigue of life in all of your wonderful photos. Keep up the good work, including your well-done website. Enjoy winter, spring is just around the corner!
Warmly-Mary
mranderson
19 Feb 2019Thanks for the nice comments, Mary. I guess an advantage of age is that many things can trigger memories, hopefully happy ones. I appreciated your closing with “Warmly.” I have to clear some snow off part of our roof later today and then I’ll be firing up our wood stove to enjoy a little extra warmth.