Since the weatherman mentioned snow and sleet in the forecast for today, that made me a little blue and so I thought I would post more of the blue ice. I wondered why the ice in that area was more compact than the surrounding area to make it look blue. Maybe it heard spring will arrive some day and it would disappear and be forgotten and the ice was sad too.
Blue Ice
Besides the ice caves on the shore of Lake Superior, there were frozen water falls to view which might just be a little a wet trickle in the summer but it creates a large frozen falls in the winter.
The ice also appears different colors, like the yellow or pink, which picks up sand grains from the sandstone. And then in certain spots you can find blue ice, which is caused by how light is absorbed in the snow and ice and the difference in wavelength from the red spectrum to the blue. Water and ice behaves like a blue filter, which absorbs the reds and orange, and why deeper water appears blue.
Snow is composed of a bunch of ice grains with air in between them and almost all of the visible light striking the snow is reflected back and appears white. But in ice, there is less air and so fewer opportunities for light to scatter back out and light travels farther into the ice and gives the ice more time to absorb the red light so when the light returns to the surface, it is lacking red light, making it appear blue.
Colorful Ice
I will admit that I am prejudiced. And since it is the Lenten season and one is supposed to change bad habits. But I don’t think I will get over my prejudice too easily. I have seen this church in the summer and the church shines whiter next to green grass compared to the white snow and after this long winter, my prejudice against snow might not be easy to overcome.
The cold winter did bring a large crowd to this small village of Cornucopia on the south shore of Lake Superior as visitors flocked to view the ice caves so some may have seen this church, established in 1909, with an enclosed bell tower and a small onion dome. The founders of St. Mary Orthodox Church were Eastern European immigrants who settled in Northern Wisconsin because of the good farming conditions and employment in the logging industry.
And for all those who have been praying for more snow, stop it! It is time to let spring to come!
St. Mary Orthodox Church
Heck, if I could find the grass, I just might be tempted to park on it or at least park my butt on some nice green grass but no chance of that happening for a while.
Missing Grass
This dead tree is hanging on somehow without going over the edge of the steep cliff and dropping into Lake Superior. Just like this winter is hanging on and on and on. Time for the forces of nature to turn and let spring come and someday this tree will become driftwood on some beach.
Hanging On!
In this cave, you don’t have to worry about icicles falling down on your head, but you might want to watch out for falling slabs of rock instead. Plus you have to remember that you are walking on ice which you hear cracking and you wonder if you will drop into Lake Superior. Even though it was a three mile hike and you listened to the creaking and moaning of the ice under your feet, it was a grand area to explore the depths and height of this cave with walls coated with different types of ice including crystal clear and a ceiling of red colored sandstone which took on a golden glow as the sun set.
Red Golden Cave
On the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore Facebook page, they made this comment about the ice caves. “As the weather warms up, the walk to the ice caves will be more pleasant – but that also means that icicles will start melting and falling and there will be more slush on the ice – make sure not to stand under ice formations and wear waterproof boots – with ice cleats!”
And standing under or near one of the icicles could be very hazardous to one’s health, as some like this one, are an average of three and half to four feet in diameter and even larger at the base. Even this one has a section which is close to six feet across so it would have a bit of an impact if it hit you. It appears it make a bit of an impact on the ice surface and created a crack in the ice.
Fallen ‘Little’ Icicle
This barn looks as sad as I feel when the weatherman mentioned more snow. I don’t think this barn can handle anymore snow and I’m not sure other buildings can either. I know I can’t throw the snow up over the piles anymore so waiting for spring to arrive and as the one weatherman said, spring will arrive sometime in 2014.
More Sad
Although I have another shot without people in my landscape picture, I did decide to use this one so one could get the scale of rocks, cliffs and caves. On the far left there are two people walking aside the cliffs, one wearing red and the other in black.
It was this cave opening which I wanted to get back to when the sun was going down to catch the golden glow. For the picture I posted on February 13, I was inside looking out towards the direction where I was standing to take this picture looking into it earlier in the afternoon. And since there was so many caves and ice formations to see, I had to hustle back to this spot when the sun was setting. But by staying at the cave until the sun went down, it meant a mile and half hike across the frozen Lake Superior in sub-zero temps in quickly fading twilight but it was worth it.
The Photographer’s Cave
I try, when I can, find information on the subjects I photograph and the first thing I found about this church once I knew its name was that the church had a 1928 Hinners Organ. St. Katherine Evangelical Lutheran Church, near Rusk, Wisconsin, was organized on February 9, 1878 and the church was completed in August of that year. Its original name was The Evangelical Lutheran St. Katherine Church of the Unaltered Augsburg Confession.
But the more interesting story is the company that made the organ. The Hinners Organ was dedicated to the manufacture of pipe organs for smaller churches and enjoyed much success from its conception in May 1879. It depended entirely on a catalog as the company employed no salesmen, and therefore it was able to sell its organs at a very reasonable price.
The Great Depression played a big part in the company’s demise, but with the lack of salesmen, the company lost contact with its market developments and the need of larger organs for city churches and theaters. Disagreements among the owners about building bigger organs spelled doom for the Hinners Company and the company dissolved in October 1942.
St. Katherine Church
