stars on ice

Another interesting feature of winter on the pond is the 'ice star'  or 'lake star'.  In my search for information about these patterns, I found many theories -- all related to the physics of temperature, moisture, pressure, and ice formation.  One of these theories is that patterns are formed in early winter when a hole allows water to swell up from beneath and spread over the surface, leaving dark fingers of melted ice radiating from the hole.

ice holes on pond

Cold, grey, blustery weather on the pond.

The water is covered by a thick layer of ice and snow drifts. Where the ice is visible between the drifts, a few holes break the smooth solid sheet. These seem to form where plant matter floating close to the surface or a submerged rock interrupted the process of liquid freezing to solid.

log in snow drift

We call the log near the shore of the pond  'turtle log'.  

Now it is buried in a snow drift.  It is curved, and usually emerges above the water or ice at least 18 inches.

Twenty inches of snow fell on the pond in this one early-winter storm. 

mud nest on maple twig

Walking in the winter always brings surprises!  Without leaves on the trees, secret nests are revealed.

This tiny mud nest (smaller than a dime) was perched on a low branch of a maple tree near the pond. It seems to be a Potter Wasp nest left over from earlier in the season.  The Potter Wasp Eumeninae builds a nest of mud on a stem or twig, then hunts larvae of other insects to stock the pot. She lays a single egg in the pot and seals it.  The egg hatches, feeds on what mom left in the pot, and grows through larval and pupal stages. The opening you see is the exit hole made by the young wasp emerging from the nest.