Bacteria feeding on decaying vegetation at the bottom of the lake release methane bubbles. The bubbles rise to the surface and become trapped, one over the other, in the newly frozen ice.
“In the stillness of a frozen moment, we can find the magic that life has to offer.” – Unknown
The trees and animals weren’t the only ones with icy feet, but we still enjoyed walking around and seeing the frozen lake and cypress trees during the latest arctic blast.
“January brings the snow, makes our feet and fingers glow.” ~Sara Coleridge
During the recent arctic blast, Reelfoot Lake froze over and ice formed around the base or foot of the Cypress trees which stand out in the water. This usually happens once or twice each winter, and is a beautiful gift of nature that shouldn’t be missed.
“To appreciate the beauty of a snowflake it is necessary to stand out in the cold.” ~Aristotle
“[W]hat a severe yet master artist old Winter is … No longer the canvas and the pigments, but the marble and the chisel.” ~John Burroughs
… Winter is the king of showmen
Turning tree stumps into snowmen …
… And spreading sugar over lakes.
Smooth and clean and frosty white,
The world looks good enough to bite …
~Ogden Nash
“Winter giveth the fields, and the trees so old, their beards of icicles and snow.” ~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
“If you listen carefully, the silence is beautiful.” ~Unknown
“There’s something very magical about water and what happens to it when it freezes. I don’t think there’s anything else in the world, perhaps in our universe, that is quite like ice.” ~Ira Flatow
On one of my morning walks last week, I noticed these feathery ice crystals covering the blades of grass along the road. They created quite an interesting, magical little world of their own.
“That’s the whole problem with science. You’ve got a bunch of empiricists trying to describe things of unimaginable wonder.” ~Bill Watterson
walking on a country road 