First Ice

It’s happening. Cold nights are settling in, and cold days follow close behind. Where we could get away with just a jacket a couple of weeks ago, we now need a hat and mittens to travel outside comfortably. Winter is making its way in!

Last weekend, the girls and I went hiking at Lapham Peak in the southern Kettle Moraine State Forest here in Wisconsin. No plans, just needed to get outside, so we took the trails that felt right.

We were led to a small pond on the edge of the park boundaries that was just a side trail away. Hiking paused to make room for exploring.

The pond was not what we had expected, however. It was iced over! Nothing thick enough that a strong stick couldn’t poke through, but definitely solid enough to hold smaller sticks skated across the surface. We admired the patterns created, the bubbles trapped under the surface, and the clarity with which we could see directly down to the leaves and mud encased in the ice.

Keep an eye out for these first signs of winter - frost on our windows and plants, light flurries without accumulation - and look for changes in the water you have around you. Pair your observations with the book Here Comes Jack Frost by Kazuno Kahara. Beautifully and simply illustrated, it takes the reader from being dismayed by winter to being amazed by it.