SHAPES IN ICE #2

Middle Fork Little Maquoketa River, Bankston County Park, Iowa

Here in eastern Iowa we have a good number of small creeks and rivers. They all have one thing in common, their water ends up in the Mississippi River. Unless it has rained heavily and a lot of runoff from the fields comes down the valleys, their water can be crystal-clear. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) stocks some of the creeks with trout at times and people like to come for fishing. 

The Middle Fork Little Maquoketa River is such a stream. Last weekend a little bit of light got reflected by the rocks at the bottom and made for some color contrast to the thin ice at the river bank.

SHAPES IN ICE

Little Maquoketa River, Iowa

Time to calm down after last Friday’s excitement about birds and wildlife. We don’t have any snow on the ground but temperatures have ben below freezing at night and hoar frost and ice started creating natural shapes along the shores of our rivers and ponds. Let’s see if we can find some light there…