Not the kind of jam I like.

After a week’s absence (sorry! I’m still here!), I’m back with a few shots of the water. Well, frozen water – an ice jam choking the Grand River in downtown Cambridge, Ontario. Here’s how it looked for a few weeks – these photos were taken near the end of January:

 

 

Yesterday, after a couple of mild, rainy days, the ice jam released, sending a sudden surge of water and massive chunks of ice downstream to Brantford. There, the river clogged up again and resulted in flooded roads and the evacuation of 2000 households located in the floodplain. (There’s also a heartbreaking report of a toddler swept away in another region near the flooded Grand). This afternoon, the Brantford ice jam began to loosen and water levels are receding. Ice and debris are now making their way further downstream… here’s hoping that other communities aren’t affected by flooding.

I didn’t get dramatic shots of all this excitement, but I was able to get out today to make a few pictures of the remaining ice along the banks in Cambridge.

I’ve much gratitude for the quick and tireless actions of all the staff and volunteers in our communities. Stay safe, everyone!

 

The same rail bridge as the one in the photos above.

I’m not really liking where these stairs are leading.

That tiny crescent beneath the windows is all that’s visible of a large, (usually) open archway.

Walkway closed.

Today’s math equation.

Dead weeds (🤨) + Rain (😩) + Freezing temperatures (😰) + Sunshine (😊) =

Sparkly goodness (😍)

Iced up.

Frozen silence.

I had a dream of a winter garden
A midnight rendezvous
Silver, blue and frozen silence
What a fool I was for you

~ Rush, “Presto”

*In response to this week’s WordPress Photo Challenge: Silence.

My thighs are killing me.

All that squatting and crouching by the creek yesterday made for achy legs today, but I’d wanted to get up close to the water so I could play around with slow shutter speeds.

The sunlight glinting on the water and the flow of the creek created swirling lines and shapes when I made a slightly longer exposure.

I hadn’t brought my tripod, so the in-focus elements weren’t as in-focus as I would’ve liked, but I didn’t mind.

Mild temperatures (yessss!) meant the flow of water was melting the ice, leaving interesting bits and pieces clinging to rocks and branches.

Mental note in preparation for next time:

1. Bring a tripod.
2. Do more squats.

Thank you, once again, for looking 😊

Just beachy.

 

Silver lining.

Sure, freezing rain is bone-chilling and depressing, but…

This.

(Do you see the green fella in the background of the last one? There’s my pareidolia again 😉)

 

 

 

Debris.

 

Inside out.

Yesterday morning I was running late to get the kids to school because I’d made the foolish mistake of sleeping in. There had also been several complications during the morning routine, for example, the prolonged disappointment and resulting temporary paralysis of one child due to my insistence that she wear a hat.

Also, the cats had whacked several ornaments off the Christmas tree, requiring an immediate and frantic search for scattered metal ornament hooks (which are apparently very appealing to eat, if you’re a cat).

Not to mention that this particular Monday morning had also involved a broken zipper (mine) and inside-out gloves (not mine).

By the time we were out the door, it was too late to walk to school, since the bell was scheduled to ring in 7 minutes and it takes us at least 15 on a good day. The crew piled into the car, but we sat helplessly in the driveway with the engine running and the heat blasting. The scraper was useless against the massive coating of ice that had formed during the previous day’s freezing rain.

I gave the heat 2 minutes to kick in, then I hacked away like a madwoman with the scraper while I’m sure my neighbours looked on in amusement and pity. It wasn’t pretty, but I managed to clear the windows. And the windshield. Mostly. We made it on time, without incident.

I don’t really like being late.

But… I do like the way the ice patterns look from the inside of a car after rain has frozen on the glass. And so, here is today’s photo:

P.S.: I was happy to stumble across others who enjoy making photos of textures – in fact, over at de monte y mar, Narami collects submissions every Tuesday. Glad I could contribute this week!