Black Ice – Beauty, Surprises, and Adventure

Black ice – no, not the type that forms on the roads from car exhaust on frigid winter days. It’s the kind that forms on lakes with very few impurities. So few that the ice is clear and appears black because the water below absorbs almost all of the light. Black ice is a treat to walk on and explore.

Even though I dread the onset of our long winters here in the Upper Midwest (read my mournful post and poem here), there are things my family and I look forward to every year. We enjoy sledding, cross-country skiing (read about one of our favorite trips here), snowboarding, playing board games on cold winter nights, and taking our daily walks on a frozen lake down the road.

One week ago, our family cautiously stepped out on that very lake as we had seen other footprints appear on the lightly snow-covered ice the week before. We walked out about ten feet, brushed off what little snow had blown down the lake, and peered into the ice. We were thrilled to see that the ice was clear. We could see little air bubbles trapped in the ice more than 8″ down – it was safe to walk on.

My husband and I gave the kids the okay to run and play, and we had the dogs sit so we could let them off their leashes.

The dogs’ tails revealed their excitement as they sat waiting to hear the click of the leash that would tell them that they were free to run too.

In an instant, two black fluff balls took off after the kids – running, bounding, and knocking into one another as they played along the way.

Not more than a minute later, Brook, our almost 13-year old pup, came to a screeching halt. Ayla, our 1-year old, was too late. I had to laugh when I saw her hit a glossy, black sheet of ice. She tried to dig her nails in, but that didn’t work. She tried to brace herself by getting low, but that didn’t work. She also tried to run off of the evil slick stuff, but she lost her footing. Ayla went for a sprawling slip ‘n slide across the inky, smooth lake ice.

Once Ayla found the reprieve of snow again, she stood up, looked at what had taken her for a ride, and proceeded to run after the kids again – this time avoiding each and every black ice spot on the lake.

The kids spent the next half hour slipping and sliding on the ice while the dogs played and tracked animal scents they found throughout the cattails.

After the kids had depleted their energy, the whole family began doing what we love most – exploring.

My family and I went from black ice to black ice to see what we could see. The ice held many beautiful treasures, and wonderful surprises.

Intricate fern-like patterns graced the surface of the ice.

Bubbles of all sizes sat suspended in the ice giving the ice depth and character.

Large cracks had powerfully ripped across the lake, and we could see all the beautiful ripples, fissures, and lines in these breaks that spanned the full depth of the ice.

I wish my camera had been able to adequately capture all that our eyes had seen.

Aside from the beauty that the ice held in itself, it revealed other surprises too, such as fish,

snail shells,

and weeds that expelled their oxygen in thousands of little bubbles.

My daughter also found a little honey bee curled up on the snow as we walked. She told me that she found the warmest spot to lay it on – a black rock.

Several holes in the ice that were tucked into the cattails were found by my son. We can only imagine that the local muskrats are keeping exit and entrance holes into the water open. They must stay busy!

My family has spent hours on the lake each day for the past week. We walk, talk, explore, throw tennis balls for the dogs,

slide on the ice, take pictures,

and take in as much fresh, cold air as we can.

As much as I dread our long winter spell before the cold hits, I love our cold-weather adventures once winter does finally set in.

What are your favorite winter activities? If you don’t have cold winters where you are, what would you like to experience most if you could visit our cold winter wonderland?