In prior years I always waited for -30°C, or lower, to photograph the frost flakes on the ridge at Mud Lake, but with a forecast of -20°C and a clear cold day, I decided to head over before sunrise to see what I could find. I found them. Best time to photograph them is 15-45 minutes after sunrise.
(I always find it a little odd that while I am photographing the flakes (lying down, often in contorted positions) the few others up on the ridge either walk right by me, or one might stop and ask what I am doing, but show no interest)
The sunrise first rays don't reach the "real" flakes, so I settle for frost on some of the dead plant stems.
Once the sun gets high enough, I get to work on the flakes.
But then a stem with more ice-like crystals catches my eye. The lens flare adds to the photo I think
The sumacs are always interesting subjects
As are the Queen Anne's Lace that seem to gently encompass the freshly fallen snow
Some buckthorn berries had a cap of snow, as did the goldenrod, burdock (burrs) and ninebark.
A plant that was still holding on to its leaves had picked up some snow
Along with spruce and pine trees
An oak and maple leaf also had their share of snow
Dead pine needles sticking up through the snow can be attractive
The river side channel is wide open, although there is some ice along the shorelines or shallow spots
I took a few minutes to play with longer exposures to smooth out the water...
The lake is covered in snow and ice. The muskrat is well encased in his lodge
In the "back bay", a section of ice has been cleared for skating
The goldeneye (male and female) and merganser ducks weren't very co-operative in providing close up photos. (If you click on the photo you will get a bit closer view)
But a mallard duck figured it had spotted a sucker who might have some cracked corn and swam right up to the shore and nestled down in the snow at my feet...
As you will see in the video, the mallard was right
Cardinals won't generally come out for seeds you put on the ground until you have moved a good 20-30 feet away. A pair of cardinals came down when I was about 30 feet away. A female cardinal in another area, announced her presence sitting in a tree about 5-10 feet from me, hinting loudly for a handout. I put some seeds down, but I had to move about 50 feet away before she would some down.
The chickadees were very insistent as i was amongst the first visitor and they hadn't had their fill yet.
Following the turkey tracks in the fresh snow, I found the turkeys up at the front gate, one female posed quite close for me
Only a few squirrels were out in the cold morning air
A few spots with snow-covered fungus covered
