the magic of winter

Winter has always been my least favorite season. The combination of cold temperatures, winds, and darkness was never my idea of fun. When you add the lack of color, winter just felt dismal and best when ended. But this year, something happened to change that. And I guess that something was a steady snowfall. It’s been a while since we’ve had so much snow. In the past few years, it’s been cold, dreary, and snowless.

The whiteness of the ground and the dramatic ice flowing in the river have been enough to help me see winter in a different light. Instead of dreariness, I am seeing beauty. I am seeing winter as a magical season, as an inspiration for my imagination.

The high winds propelled the large chunks of ice over the ice boom in Lake Erie to the Niagara River, where it flows freely toward Niagara Falls. The collection of chunks of ice looks like a landscape that glitters and glows in the sunlight.

Close up, the ice looks to be of random sizes and shapes as it floats through the fast-running river. With more very cold days, it is possible that the Niagara River could freeze. Niagara Falls itself rarely freezes but, when it does, the images are spectacular. They include ice formations and rainbows on the falls. If you’re lucky enough to visit Niagara Falls during such a weather event, you will get incredible photographs and you’ll have an unforgettable experience.

This is another view of the ice flowing in the Niagara River.

There were a bunch of deer on the frozen Woods Creek in Buckhorn Island State Park in Grand Island. My friend stopped the car, and I took pictures. Even with the window open, it was hard to get a clear picture. My zoom isn’t zoomy enough to get anything closer than this, and I cropped the picture. But you get the idea. Deer playing on the frozen surface of the creek. They are obviously having fun.

The birds are also busy in the river. This is just off the eastern side of Grand Island (the East River), with a view toward Tonawanda. Here, the water is very clear of ice. What I see in the river are geese, tundra swans and canvasback ducks. Geese are here year round. Canvasback ducks spend their winters on the open Niagara River and then, when the weather gets warmer, they travel north. Tundra swans also are found in the Niagara River during the winter, but, with warmth, they migrate to… where else? The tundra far up north.

Ice in the Niagara River on the west side of Grand Island (the west river), with a view of Navy Island, where, on a good day, you can see a bald eagle perched on a tree.

What do you like about winter?