Photo by Elizabeth Halt
Photo by Elizabeth Halt

in the land of ice & snow

May 7, 2014

elizabethhalt.com | in the land of ice & snow | big traverse

this past winter, for the first time in decades, lake superior completely (or nearly) froze over.

i live on a peninsula. when the wind arrives, in almost every direction, it has traveled over an icy cold lake to reach us. needless to say, spring comes slowly this year.

on sunday, my sister and i (and pup) set out to find breaking ice.

elizabethhalt.com | in the land of ice & snow | the tobacco river

we found the tobacco river, straining at its banks as it careened around a corner and crashed into lake superior.

elizabethhalt.com | in the land of ice & snow | lake superior

we found fishermen, in both the wild mouth of the tobacco and in the calm lake next to it.

elizabethhalt.com | in the land of ice & snow | lac la belle

we also found ice along the shore in lac la belle. there was no wind that day, so the sheets of ice were quiet and still.

the next day, i packed a picnic supper and we set out again.

this time, we made our way to big traverse bay. the week prior, a strong wind had blown ice floes ashore.

elizabethhalt.com | in the land of ice & snow | big traverse

most of the ice shelving was on private property, but the ice that we saw was glorious.

elizabethhalt.com | in the land of ice & snow | ice floes

elizabethhalt.com | in the land of ice & snow | ice floes

elizabethhalt.com | in the land of ice & snow | big traverse

and oh, the absolute stillness of the bay and the colors of sky & water.

perfectly simply completely wondrous.

elizabethhalt.com | in the land of ice & snow | big traverse

as philip pullman said, “it’s worth being cold for that.”

5 comments... (add a comment)

  1. Amy

    I can’t believe these pics are from May! Pretty but too cold.. Hope spring really hits soon!

  2. LOL!
    ditto amy.
    although what i find beautiful…
    even more than the icy water…
    the spirits of the two adventurers ~ well with atlas make that three!
    anyone still enthralled with that wintry beauty in spring deserves a medal in my book.

  3. elizabeth

    Amy: Maybe we’ve all gone crazy and it’s actually March. There was an incredible hard rain + thunder + lightning storm last night that washed away even more of the snow. There is hope!

    Tammy: I shall award us all medals!

  4. An ice picnic… I LOVE that idea! Beautiful images, Elizabeth… I’ve been offline a few days–so nice to be back and visit here. :o) ((HUGS))

    • elizabeth

      Well, the picnic was on the sand, but it was chilly out! I have a picture of my Sorels at a picnic. Hehe.

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