Ice Volcano

Yesterday I stepped outside to see Duce running and barking towards the lake. What got him all fired up? I wondered. Some sort of animal? Close. An ice fisherman. Wait, wait, wait, an ice fisherman? But the ice just started holding three days ago. "I've been watching the webcam, and I knew I had to try it now," he said. He already caught a couple fish! Splake and Menominee.

I was half tempted to sit and fish myself since I still haven't gotten the pleasure of that succulent meat coated with a crispy beer and herb batter fried in oil. Mmm, fresh fish. But I had a few chores to do before spectating at the Ocha Potter Terrain Park Rail Jam, which went very well, by the way.

But I sure was enamored at the fact that I was walking out on the Harbor for the first time this winter. I was on the lake! I was on the lake! Soon I will be taking short cuts to Hunter's Point and the Lighthouse over the bay. He said he chopped through 4-5 inches of ice that morning. Solid. It looked like it was here to stay, and it stretched across the harbor.

So today I had to take a stroll to see how the big lake was doing. When I got to the north shore, I was surprised to see ice caves already formed. Probably 8-12 feet high so far. I almost turned away too quickly to get out of the wind, but a splash caught my eye. And another one. And another. And another!

A symphony of waves crashed on the ice castles so hard that the water was twice the size as the ice! It was amazing! And one ice cave had a half circle weathered away, so when the wave hit it, the water shot up like an erupting volcano! That one was the most active. I forgot how cold I was as my jaw was hanging in the air. What a show!

I tried to get a video of this exhibition, but my timing was off. The show came in waves, and I couldn't quite figure out the pattern before my hand went numb. But I hope you can at least kind of see what I saw today. It is winter... maybe it will happen again!