When Debbie Jarve was out and about near Eagle Harbor, she captured a bit of the ice capades in the area. This ice show doesn’t actually travel around entertaining, but it does change up “costumes”, sometimes by the minute and you have to admit, this show is always entertaining. The ice in Lake Superior comes and goes and comes back again, depending on the direction the wind is blowing. Then the ice melts with the sunshine we get during the day and refreezes with the cold nights and splashing from the winds whipping the Big Lake up on the shore. It’s a beautiful dance and one that we all know will be coming to an end in the not so distant future. Then the changes will be the rocks and sand moved about by the power in the waters of Superior. Each season has it’s own beauty and we’re lucky to get to see them all in action like we do.

Speaking of action, Don Afman a.k.a. D.A.(Midwested) created today’s video from the Michigan Technological University webcams in Houghton. He said this sequence was taken from time lapse recordings created daily over a few years. As Spring arrives the temperature and winds needed to create these conditions can be infrequent. Don added that he finds it very mesmerizing, watching the ice waltz back and forth. I would have to agree, Don!

These are beautiful pictures. And you're right
about how lucky we are to see the different
seasons in all their glory. But I'm ready to move
on from this justification season now, lol.

Loved the ice dance :-)

Nice ice…these bytes me likes!


And a well done, entertaining video D.A..

This is so cool....the photo options are
outstanding now...it's amazing what you "see" out
there!

These beautiful ice-cycles are the most observable examples of an approaching Spring warming or moving water along the shores of The Lake. But these ice flows do not happen like this every year. It takes the perfect combination of simultaneous thawing and wind. Without the time-lapses of the webcam recordings our eyes would not naturally pick up the subtle changes on the surface.

What is it about the seasonal changes or Autumn and Spring that seem to last such a short time? Compared to the Summer and the long deep Winter they signal changes I think we are drawn to. The beauty of Autumn prepares us with one last blast of color. Spring is different. It's messy with piles of slush and mud, but it is a welcome relief to the often depressing feelings towards the end of a long and dark Winter.

Another sign of Spring, sometimes very unwanted and caused by extra quick temperature changes, are these terrible thunderstorms spawning tornadoes we are now seeing. We had a big storm pass through last evening. The temperature was in the 30's in the morning. Then warm, moist Gulf air poured in, raising temps more than 40 degrees. But by 6pm a cold front chased it all out spawning deadly tornadoes all around us.