Well, I was out sliding around on the ice again this week. I made two trips up to the tiny reservoir north of Aurora to search for photo compositions on its frozen surface. I was not disappointed.

Some recent windy days had blown seeds of both dogbane and milkweed on to the ice, where they’d ended up perched on their comae (their fluffy parts). Wasn’t that fortuitous! They look really pretty when they do that.

Both times I visited, there was a small duck hanging out on the ice. I approached carefully and it seemed amenable to being photographed. I’m pretty sure it was my soft, comforting voice and non-threatening hat.

It was good to see I wasn’t the only lunatic walking around on the ice. Several raccoons had also been around, based on the numerous tracks I found.

The highlight of my two trips, of course, were the ice bubbles. Most of the ice looked like frosted glass and wasn’t transparent enough to show the ice bubbles that were surely trapped within it. Around the base of some plants, though, it looked like the ice had melted and refrozen, and that’s where the bubbles were. The rest of the photos here are just a few examples of the many, many bubbles I enjoyed photographing. I find them mesmerizing to stare at – like little galaxies of bubbles.

We’re in the middle of a big cold snap as I write this. I’m hopeful that I’ll get some more chances to photograph ice bubbles, seed comae, frost, and other winter wonders soon. Stay tuned!