Open Water!

A U.S. Coast Guard ice cutter broke the ice on the Kennebec in front of my house today. If it wasn't for the fact that this is done to prevent ice dams and flooding, I would far prefer that the ice go out on its own. Natural ice-out can be quite a stunning, thunderous display.

In any case, I welcome the open water! After months of still, vast white, now there is flowing blue again. Tonight I heard ducks out there. How did they figure it out so fast? :-)

In the above photo, the thing that looks like a black navigational marker is actually my neighbor's Christmas tree. It's a tradition to see how far into spring the tree stands before being carried away on the tide. All that dirt around the tree gushed out of a stream and out on top of the ice during the pouring rain we had about ten days ago.

That red thing (above photo) is a real navigational buoy.