The beautiful snowy Niagara River

Yesterday, it snowed like crazy, which was something interesting to photograph. My pictures were very hazy. They came across as looking mysterious. Today, the sun shone on all of that snow. So I went out for a bit of a photography tour. I visited a marina and a creek and other places near the Niagara River. I found it very interesting to see how the ice is forming and how the snow is accumulating.

At the marina, I saw an ice fisherman drilling a hole in the ice. Once he drills the hole, he has to sit and wait for something to bite. It can be a very slow process so he has to dress for the occasion of sitting still in cold weather.

Spicer Creek is located next to Whitehaven Cemetery, which is where John Nice, the first town supervisor of Grand Island, is buried. He became town supervisor in 1852, when the town was established as a jurisdiction. Prior to that, the Whitehaven settlement was its own community, and the main business of the community was a giant sawmill and gristmilll. The white oaks on Grand Island were clear cut and were shipped to shipyards in Boston and New York down the Erie Canal, which opened in 1825. White oak is a hard wood that has been traditionally used to build ships. It is a strong wood and is very durable. White oaks grow at a moderate pace and can live for 350 to 500 years.

The Whitehaven Cemetery is a very quiet and peaceful place in winter.

This is the ice that is forming in the Niagara River.

And another view of the river in January. It feels inhospitable, but there are bird that are very happy with these conditions, including tundra swans, canvasback ducks, and buffleheads. A bald eagle was sitting on a tree on Navy Island, quite comfortably and happily.