Monday, March 21, 2011

Winter loses its grip

The weather was pretty nice today.  There is a prediction of rain, snow and cold for the rest of the week, so I went to see how the ice on Minnehaha Falls was doing.  After a spell of mild weather, the ice dam on the falls has begun to loosen its grasp and the water in the creek is roaring over the falls.  The first photo was taken at the bottom creek level after I skated down the stairs which are still snow packed.


A photo from the top level shows the fragmentary condition of the ice pack on the falls. The ice looks unstable and probably is.  I kept my distance from any possible impact zone, if the ice were to fall, but it is a dramatic sight.  I'd like to be there with my camera when the mass falls, but it seems unlikely that I could predict that occurrence.


I walked along the lower level of the creek towards the big river.  As you can see, there were other folks in the area.  These people were on one of the down creek bridges posing for another photographer when I came by, so I took the photo, too.  The creek was raging by under the bridge.


Down creek the water was calmer as it flowed by the snow fields towards the Mississippi.  I walked to the end of the creek where it empties into the river and found a guy and his son doing some fishing in the early spring flood waters.  It was a nice day to see the creek as it changes into its summer form.


No tennis to report today.  The first part of the week is my rest period.  There were three days of good strenuous tennis last week and I felt like I needed the time to focus for Wednesday when I get back on the courts with the gang of geezers.

3 comments:

Retired Professor said...

Those first two photos are pretty dramatic. We're set for a wintry blast here today and tomorrow. I hope you don't get that dreaded ice --

Too cold to ride here for a while, but as long as we don't get ice, I can get out and walk.

Jimi said...

The ice face will be gone soon. We're getting a lot of rain today and maybe some snow tomorrow. Winter's grip seems to be retightening.

It might be too wet to even walk. Maybe I'll find a mall to walk.

Retired Professor said...

Mall walking? Ewww. However, I may need to do the same.