beach

On Ice

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I was able to swing by the lake this morning. I’d been able to swing by yesterday, as well, and saw that the first few ice fishing sheds were being put up. Today, there were a few more.

I stayed nice and warm in the car to take this photo – I wasn’t about to walk to the beach just to get pictures in this cold! LOL

To the left of the photo is a large mound on the beach. That is sand that was dredged out of the storm drain, after the blizzard we had in early October.

The ice is now thick enough to be safe to drive on, so ice fishing season can start. The “road” to this area is cleared of snow.

I wasn’t able to get pictures, but on the other side of the ice road, I could see vehicles in the distance, and snowmobiles pulling loads across. This is the area where a track has been cleared and people could get lessons in ice driving. Police and ambulance drivers also used the track to practice on. It looks like the organizers are starting to set up with that. No track is cleared yet, but that didn’t stop one car that I saw from going on the ice and spinning around through the loose snow.

That brings back memories! As a passenger, though, not a driver. 😀

It’s interesting to think about how there are entire industries and businesses that rely on ice like this!

The Re-Farmer

Iced

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This past Sunday, the weather was mild enough that I was able to spend some time on the beach.

It was really fascinating.

The sand was frozen solid, but you could see the effects of water and ice. One dramatic visual was at the outflow for storm drains.

At the time I was there, the tide was still going out. There was ample evidence of how high it had gotten.

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Bonus pictures: a pebble’s eye view

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I was in town this morning, and had the chance to visit the beach. Since I was last there, the town has pushed all the rocks and pebbles that the storm had pushed across the entry onto the main dock back onto the beach.

The beach is still very changed in this area, from before the storm. Much of the organic debris has been washed away, but the big rocks next to the dock itself are completely covered with sand. There is no sign that they are there at all!

With every tide, a new sand ridge is created in the area, though.

Where I took this photo, the ridge was probably about 8 inches high.

New layers of pebbles are slowly being washed back onto the water’s edge. So many colours and textures! I just love it. 🙂

The Re-Farmer

Mystery critter: what are you?

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It’s been another very wet day today (I’ve read that, last month, we got triple the average amount of rain for our region; it doesn’t seem to be letting up this month, yet). We did manage to get a dump run in. Because of when it closes on Saturdays, and when my younger daughter gets off work, we left it to near closing time, then just continued on to town. After running some errands, we had time enough to hit the beach and look for interesting things.

Along with fascinating bones and interesting rocks, we found a tiny surprise.

What follows are pictures of a dead creature, so for those who don’t like seeing that, I’ll post it after the jump.

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A cool find!

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This morning, after dropping my daughter off at work, I took the time to check out the beach and take a walk.

It was really quite gorgeous.

As always, I keep an eye out for interesting things washed up by the waves and tides. For myself, I look for interesting rocks. For my older daughter, I look for interesting… anything.

And, wow, did I ever hit the jackpot today!!

At first glance, I actually thought it was some washed up, crumpled plastic or something.

I’ve found the odd jaw bone of a fish before, but never an entire skull! It’s pretty big, too. About the size of the palm of my hand. Slightly longer, in fact.

I have no clue what it is, though. That bone “sail” at the back of the skull is fascinating.

Does anyone recognize what it is?

Also, it rattles. There is something stuck inside the skull. Sounds like a small pebble.

As I write this, it is being disinfected! 😀

The Re-Farmer

A strange find

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Whenever I am able to go to the beach, I keep an eye out for interesting things. Especially for things for my daughter’s collection. We sometimes joke about her habit of picking up random things she finds on the ground! 😀

The last time I was at the beach, I made an unusual find that I thought was funny enough to take a picture to send to her.

I wasn’t actually going to pick it up, though…

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Morning on the beach

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I was able to swing by the beach after dropping my daughter off at work.

What a glorious morning!

I love these marks the waves left behind, as the tide receded.

Those squiggly whiter lines are tiny ridges of sand, left behind by waves.

The rocky part of the beach is always so much more interesting than the sandy parts!

You never know what you might find, too.

Unfortunately all the pictures I took focused on my dash in the background, instead of this amazing rib bone I found. The size of the fish this belonged to must have been impressive!

Yes, I kept it – for my other daughter’s collection.

The Re-Farmer