
I was in the mood to just wander with no particular place to go, so I started off up the road from my house and walked until I came to a familiar little stream that chuckles and giggles its way through the woods. Little that is, when it’s in a good mood. I’ve seen it turn in to a roaring, road eating monster a few times since I’ve lived here but on this day it was gentle. It also had some interesting looking ice on it and that was enough to get me to abandon my walk and follow the stream instead.

The ice was beautiful and feathery in spots. In fact there were all kinds of ice here in all shapes and forms, all in a small sheltered dell. The section that can be easily followed can’t be more than 50 yards deep into the woods.

Last year I had a calendar and each month had an image of deep space taken by the Hubble space telescope, and that’s what this ice reminded me of. It was beautiful and very easy to imagine it in the night sky rather than on this stream.

This bit of ice looked like the surface of the moon, or would have if some little bushy tailed tree dweller hadn’t knocked down a bunch of hemlock cones. They’ll be stuck there until the ice melts now.

I saw fungi, frozen solid.

I believe these might have been oyster mushrooms but they had seen better days so it was hard to tell.

I’m not sure if the white spots one their undersides were frost or slug damage from back when it was warm enough for them to be roaming around. Slugs crawl underground where it’s warmer in winter but studies have shown that they can stand some ice formation in their bodies for short periods of time.

And here was an old friend. Milk white toothed polypores (Irpex lacteus) appear very late in the year and are considered “winter mushrooms.” I Look for them on the undersides of fallen tree branches. The “teeth” are actually ragged bits of spore bearing tissue. They start life as tubes or pores and break apart and turn brown as they age.

The stream wasn’t frozen over in very many places and this photo shows that it wasn’t very deep either. The ice that had formed between the stones was pretty like quicksilver. It held memories of the current.

About this time of year our evergreen ferns are still green but they look as if they don’t have much fight left in them. Winter worn and flattened low, they still grab any little bit of sunshine they can.

This one was a marginal wood fern (Dryopteris marginalis) and I know that because its spore cases grew on the margins of its sub leaflets.

As I watched it looked like dark fish were swimming under this ice, but they were bubbles, large and small.

When the dark bubbles swam under the ice it looked like windows had opened in it, but it happened fast and I had to have a quick finger on the shutter to catch it.

I liked the reflections in the stream as well as the ice. It was all quite beautiful.

The ice had me wondering about currents and flow. You can see in this shot that the water level had dropped since the ice formed and I find that to be common where there is moving water. I’ve seen it happen on ponds too but not usually. The stream’s deepest point is in the center but I doubt even that is more than knee deep. I know it’s an important spot for animals to come and drink because there were animal tracks everywhere, including turkeys, deer, and what looked like bobcat tracks, so I was glad to see that it hadn’t completely frozen over. It is their lifeline to spring.

We’re very fortunate to still have clear water in our streams. Clear enough to see the gravel bed, which is what tickles the belly of the water and makes it chuckle and giggle.

There were endless shapes and forms and colors, all abstract and beautiful. Who could despise winter after seeing such beauty? Don’t sit and wait for winter to end; get out and see the beauty of the season.

The interesting shapes were not just in the ice. I picked up a fallen pine branch that had been wounded and then had tried to heal itself. It was as if a window had opened to show its heart.

I had come to the end of my walk. From here the land to the right turns to hillside and is hard to follow even in dry summer weather. It was a short walk but I had seen so much already, I wasn’t disappointed. As it turned out this was the perfect time to have visited the stream because a dusting of snow that night covered up all the beauty of the ice.

Walking back I saw a rock that I’d guess must be full of iron. Rocks can contain minerals like hematite and magnetite and those minerals can oxidize and become rust, turning the rocks red. This one looked fine grained and sedimentary.

The low sun showed that it would be getting hard to see soon so I knew it was time to leave.

I admired the sun’s glow inside the aging snow along the road. It looked like a campfire burning in a cave.

All of nature waits patiently, knowing that spring will come. The cattails stand with their fluffy seed heads in the air and soon the redwing blackbirds will use this fluff to line their nests. They will also dig plump, protein rich grubs out of the decaying stems. It will be just the boost they need before starting their new brood.

Alder catkins hanging in the afternoon sunlight reminded me that the incredible rush of growth that is spring isn’t that far off. Not calendar spring; alder spring, hazelnut spring, skunk cabbage spring. They know that spring is here long before the calendar says so.

Before too long a warm breeze will come out of the south and it will look like someone has snuck out at night and strung the bushes with jewels. I’m waiting impatiently this year for that soft, sweet season that is my very favorite. The ice was beautiful to see but so will be the flowers.
Go to the winter woods: listen there; look, watch, and ‘the dead months’ will give you a subtler secret than any you have yet found in the forest. ~ Fiona Macleod
Thanks for coming by.
What fun to go along the stream, and see interesting ice formations. It would be great to hear that creek, chuckle and giggle!
I have been getting outside a lot lately, and have adapted to the cold temperatures. It was sunny here in Michigan today and 3 degrees this morning.
Thanks, Allen, for the walk!
You’re welcome Chris! I have found this year that real cold can really mess with COPD so I have to wait for the 20s now. That’s okay though, temperature doesn’t affect beauty. I hope you’re seeing lots of it!
As usual, you’ve found an array of beautiful winter things to share with us. Those pics of ice on the little brook are just splendid! Ethereal! Water and freezing temps have a magical partnership.
Thanks Ginny! Yes, when everything comes together just right the results can be amazing!
A wonderful exploration of ice… always fascinating!
Thanks Eliza, it was a fun walk. Almost like visiting an art gallery!
That’s the way I feel about it, too. And the exhibits change daily!
Yes! And I try to visit them every day!
A truly beautiful collection of ice pictures.
Thank you. I was glad that I stopped. there.
Such lovely images and poetic descriptions couldn’t be kept to just myself. I forwarded the link to a dear friend and a grandchild who both love nature and will enjoy them just as much as I did. Thanks for the vicarious pleasure.
Thanks very much for doing that Kay. I hope they will enjoy the post as much as you did. I’m also very happy to hear that there is a child involved. The more of them I see of them in the woods the better!
A stream of many moods to follow in all seasons is a beautiful thing. I agree with one of your commenters that your posts seem like a window into something deeper, and I am enriched for stopping by to read and look. Thank you, Allen.
You’re welcome Lavinia, and thank you for being such a loyal and long time reader.
Ice + ferns = February perfection. Really enjoyed this post!
Thank you Cathy, I’m happy that you did!
I appreciate so many things about this post – the riches of beauty highlighted in both your photos and your descriptions, the wealth of knowledge and gems of wisdom shared, the encouragement to get outside and experience for ourselves all of the wonders to behold – like your pine branch,, these posts seem like a window into something deeper, and we are better off for having stopped here awhile to read and to look. Thank you, and bless you.
Thanks very much Cheri, for you kind words. I do appreciate it and I’m happy that you enjoyed the post. It was an easy one to do with so much beauty right there in front of me. No real work at all, just play!
Once more, THANK YOU. The serenity and exquisite beauty of Father Winter.
You’re welcome Krys. Thanks for stopping in!
Beautiful images and beautiful writing.
Thanks very much Shannon, I’m glad to know that you thought so.
Oops, I forgot to forward to my friend and instead hit reply. Anyway, I love your blog with your wonderful photos and plant descriptions and love to share it. Thank you for doing it! Mimi Jost
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Thank you for your kind words Mimi, and for wanting to pass this along. I appreciate your faith in me, but I really don’t know every plant in New England. Yet, anyway. I hope you’re able to get outside and enjoy nature as well!
Have I ever shared this fellow’s blog with you? He sends it out weekly and I’ve been following him for years. He lives in the Keene area, knows every plant in New England and is a wonderful photographer. Enjoy! Mimi
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One of your best yet! 😊
On Wed, Feb 2, 2022, 3:08 AM New Hampshire Garden Solutions wrote:
> New Hampshire Garden Solutions posted: ” I was in the mood to just wander > with no particular place to go, so I started off up the road from my house > and walked until I came to a familiar little stream that chuckles and > giggles its way through the woods. Little that is, when it’s in a good m” >
Thanks Linda!
Absolutely poetic!
Thank you Kathy!
I really like all the ice photos, despite the little shiver they gave me. So many shapes, contours and colors. And a frozen fungi bonus. Wasn’t expecting that. It helps that I have a warm purring little kitty sitting in my lap as I browse this post. I’m glad to see you decided to stay near home for this one. Not sure when they got the roads clear after that storm. Get ready for the next one!
Thanks Dave. I think your sister and brother saw the worst of that storm. I measured barely 3 inches here. We got a little more where I work though, so I’ve been snow blowing for two days. From what I see in the forecast there aren’t any big storms in the near future, so I can rest up for the next one. They take a lot out of me these days. Glad you’re keeping warm!
The National Weather Service is predicting another storm later in the week with heavy snow across the midwest and into New England. The worst of it may pass just north of you this time, so you may only get a few inches again. We keep getting windy days which makes for a lot of clean up. And that takes a lot out of me these days as well.
Yes, that next storm is supposed to be a miss for us with rain instead of snow. Of course rain on top of snow means ice, and we’ve had quite enough of that. I’m looking forward to a thaw. Take it slow picking up those branches. It might be good for the abs, but not so much for the back.
Well, I was wrong about the rain. Now they’re saying as much as 6″ of snow for Friday. That will mean I’ve had to run a snow blower almost every day this week.
I’m afraid I can’t I can’t say the words that come to mind in this public forum when thinking about blowing snow. When I was a kid, it was my job to mow the grass and shovel the long driveway when it snowed. Then my dad bought a snowblower from Sears, where my mom worked. You know, employee discount and all. It was more of a toy than the real thing, the Easy Bake Oven of snowblowers. Let’s just say that it was not up to the task if it snowed more than a few inches. Grumble, grumble, grumble…
The one I use at work isn’t a lot better. It has almost no traction even with chains on the tires, so you have to lean into it and almost push it through the snow. Let’s just say I’m happy to be retiring soon.
I loved all those patterns you found in the ice.
Thank you, so did I1