3 December Photos: On the Ice at Swan Lake

I stopped by Swan Lake today just before picking Rowan up from preschool, I also took her there after getting her. The lake is quite frozen, and after several days of cold weather, Swan Lake is just getting frozen enough to safely walk on, so Rowan and I went to the lake to spend a little time at the edge of the ice. (We were a little more cautious than some who ventured out into the middle, despite the fact that the fire department had not yet declared it deep enough to skate on.)

Weather: Quite chilly today with a pretty good breeze at times. Highs were in the teens at the house, with lows around 10. Clear skies have persisted. Swan Lake had several inches of ice. I saw one man ice skating this morning, and three other guys went out in the middle for awhile when Rowan and I were there. I figured it was best to stay in the relatively shallow parts, just in case. I heard from someone later that the fire department might have been discouraging people from going on the ice since there was not anyone out there later in the afternoon. It was interesting to hear the ice ping and resonate when the man was ice skating.

Birds: Not much was left at the lake as even where the water stays open longest near the inflow was frozen solid. There were three Mallards, three of the domestic mallard breeds, and the Cackling Goose. While Rowan and I were at the lake someone scared the birds. The domestics stayed, but the Mallards and Cackling Goose flew off. I’m not sure if they came back, as we were leaving right about that time.

There was a dead Herring Gull on the peninsula. It’s body had been eaten, but head, wings, and feet were still intact. I heard from the ice skating man that the gull was there yesterday morning with just a few pecks in its chest.

Connor said he saw three swans flying over when he was walking home after getting dropped off by the bus. He said he also saw a snipe fly up from a yard when he was on the bus.