I like falling water but not the water dripping off my house roof from the ends of the icicles. I much prefer a warmer scene and falling water from a waterfall instead. Even the mallards and wood ducks in my pond this morning probably would like a less icy day.
Falling Water
Most of the snow melted overnight around my house, just leaving some drifts and snow in the shaded areas, so the creeks, streams and rivers should be running full as they carry the melted white stuff away. And waterfalls will be filled with gushing springtime water instead of the light flow during the fall, although this High Falls on the Baptism River is still iced over but will eventually come roaring back to life.
Autumn on the Baptism River
With below freezing temperatures, the snow isn’t melting and dripping off the roof yet this morning. A better view of dripping and falling water is from a warmer day like at the hidden, out of the way waterfall of Lost Creek Falls. And when the lost became ‘founded’, it was a very relaxing place to behold.
Relaxing Near Lost Creek Falls
The flowing water looks like smooth ice, and I rather see the flowing water than the slippery ice on my driveway as my vehicle slid on the slick surface the last few days.
The Upper Step of Two Step Falls
The Arctic cold air is rushing down today with wind chills predicted to be -31 this evening. I much rather see rushing water of a river than to feel the cold air blowing by me. A night like tonight might have chilled Abraham Lincoln who was born 207 years ago in a log cabin in Kentucky. But Lincoln’s birthday is mostly overlook these days with only few states recognizing his birthday as a holiday.
Lincoln might have like rivers too as he is the only president to hold a patent, which was for a flotation device to help riverboats in shallow water.
Water Rushing Over Bonds Falls
Yesterday, the end of January was greeted with an above freezing temperature, so there was some snow melting off the roofs and compacting the blanket of snow. My pond had a new layer of water on top of the old ice from the melting but there wasn’t enough melting to cause it to overflow and no rushing water like the Eau Claire River flowing over Big Falls in the late summer, especially since it dropped to below freezing over night. But this morning, the fog from the melting snow covered the trees in a pretty frost again.
Flowing Over Big Falls
The forecast calls for freezing rain tonight which is never good during January in Wisconsin as I was slipping and sliding on my path today and it felt almost as steep as this waterfall. The Native Americans, who originally settled in the area around this falls, believed they heard the voice of the Great Spirit within the roaring of the falls and gave it the name “Gitchee Manitou” which means Great Spirit, but it is now known as Big Manitou Falls.
Big Manitou Falls
My visit to waterfalls tend to be mostly in the three warmer seasons, maybe since in the winter the trails to reach the falls are icy or deep in snow and could be 100 degrees colder. In the spring, the waterfalls roar with a heavy volume of water and in the autumn, although the flow may be light, the colors are bright.
Colorful Bond Falls
The weather was rather mixed up today, with thunder and lightning during heavy rain and sleet, then a brief thirty seconds of sun before it turned dark again with more snow and rain. A flowing river in the autumn would be a more favorable sight than what was flowing today.
Cascades Before Bond Falls
While watching the snow flakes falling this morning, I decided I preferred to see water falling over a waterfall instead. A series of five smaller falls which cascade around island, make up the Lower Tahquamenon Falls, which is four miles downstream from the upper falls. You can take row boats to the island to see different views the falls as the river splits around island (which is to the right of this set of falls).
Lower Tahquamenon Falls
