No Cormorants

Those gray posts you saw in the thumbnail are usually the favored resting place of cormorants at Lake Padden, as seen in this earlier blip, but the lake has been frozen for more than a week now, and all of the resident water birds have moved to more salubrious temporary locations.

We stopped by after yoga this afternoon to watch folks of all ages enjoying the ice-covered lake (see also the extra photo), whether skating, playing hockey, sliding across its surface, or heaving large rocks in hopes of cracking the ice (not a good idea).

 The fun is likely to end early next week with the arrival of higher daytime temperatures and rain. Our temperatures won't begin to reach those seen in Austin, Texas, where my sister lives -- it was 81F/22C   today, a record high for the date...

... which brings to mind a poem by Robert Frost.

Fire and Ice

Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate 
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.

Blip 1723