For Now at least the ''Big Freeze is over, the thaw began on Sunday and today there is very little ice or snow left on the ground. 
It remains bitterly cold with wind that cuts through you, but the ground is free from ice and the risk of falling and slipping greatly reduced. 
The best part about the sub zero conditions was the utter beauty of it all. 
Not sure why but the late afternoon sky was pretty spectacular at times. 
There were other times when I could see almost nothing from my window due to the blizzards raging outside. From indoors it all looked very pretty though. 
Even the garden looked quite nice with its winter coat on. 
The sadness though is that ALL the fish I put in my pond last year died. Today I have the horrible job of getting them out of the water, yesterday I could see them floating under the surface of what was left of the ice, today the ice will be gone and I'll have to get them out. I won't be replacing them, I feel so guilty about putting them in there. My little pond is obviously not deep enough to withstand such awful winters and if it can happen once it could happen again. Next year I'll find frog spawn and toad spawn and leave it a as wild life pond. At least the amphibians won't stay in the water and freeze next year.
gorgeous photos-when you get lots of red in the sky in early morning-it is a storm warning-we had a gorgeous red sky last week before our storm hit
ReplyDeleteyou've captured the beauty of this season very well..... sorry about your fish..... but I love the idea of a wild life pond..... now you have me thinking of a pond as well...... hmmmmmmm.....
ReplyDeletethe photos are lovely. i am so sorry to hear about your fish....HUGS
ReplyDeleteBeautifully captured.....but my heart goes out to what you face today.Hugs
ReplyDeleteI think frogs and toads try to dig holes under the pond to ride out the winter. If your pond is a bathtub, you might need to take them out before winter so they can dig into the garden. Lovely lovely pictures. Especially the one out your window.
ReplyDeleteWonderful pictures Loretta, beautiful skies. Our snow and ice are melting, now that the temperatures are heading up to normal, above freezing during the day.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that any wildlife will winter over in a container of frozen water. Even if only the top of the water is frozen, the oxygen will be cut off.
Frank is right. People around here - whose ponds experience 2-3 months of below freezing temps - keep their water pumps going all winter. This assures the fish a supply of non-frozen, aerated water. There may be 3 inches (7-8 cm) of ice on top, but as long as the fish have that small bit of aerated water they are ok. As for the turtles and frogs, they need to have a dirt bottom to dig into.
ReplyDeleteLovely photos. We had quite a bit of snow come down starting on Sunday evening. When I went to my last class yesterday evening, I was wishing I had my camera with me to take a photo of the snow covered bullring, which is a beautiful building anyway, but alas I didn't. Now we have rain so it's all melted.
ReplyDeleteSorry about the fish.
ReplyDeleteThe ice has come here now...
Thanks for all your advice, think I will have to investigate a pump of some sort next year..............maybe I can get a solar powered one cos really not sure how I would manage to get a power line out there to the pond. BUT......................The good news is ....................I THINK I SAW A FISH STILL ALIVE
ReplyDeleteyou do have a great eye with a camera
ReplyDeletewould it be possible to get a heater for the little pond
i think they sell them at home stores
that also helps the birds to get a drink in the winter months
:)
Lovely photos as usual Loretta. The skies are so nice.
ReplyDelete