We had a lazy morning on Lake Champlain. When I woke up, the lake was frozen solid from our back deck to the island about a mile offshore. When the wind picked up, it churned up the open water to the south, and the ice started talking.
Sometimes, when the ice breaks up, it sounds like a timpani drum. Sometimes it sounds like thunder. Sometimes it sounds like a sea lion barking. And sometimes, it sounds like something from another planet — something that doesn’t sound like an earth noise at all.
So we shivered on the porch this morning and listened. We watched a mink that popped up from a crack in the ice and played for about an hour before she disappeared again. And we videotaped, so you could listen and watch, too.
Brrrr!
Awesome and eerie.
thank you!
Kate, I loved your sound descriptions. The words. And then I played the video. You’re right. Other worldly and so beautiful. I had no idea minks could play like that.
Oooooooh.
Well, yes…there were actually some blankets involved, too, so it wasn’t all that bad.
I love listening to the ice. It makes me sad when the ice breaks up overnight and I wake up to find it just gone.
Re: thank you!
Thanks, Jeannine! I love the sounds that the ice makes and wasn’t sure if I could capture it on video or not. It doesn’t fully do it justice, but at least you get the idea.
Cool, huh?
Very cool! We used to skate on lake ice, and I was always petrified at the booms and creaks and groans that used to well up from under us!
So beautiful. I grew up on a lake and this video takes me back there.
LOVE the mink, too!!! Thanks for sharing this.
Thank you! Not even the dog’s water dish froze over where I grew up (SoCalifornia), so this is fascinating.
Great video Kate! Thanks for posting it. The sound is fantastic! You did a great job capturing it!
Mink are a riot to watch. We had a family of mink living on the brook out in South Reading and I loved watching them.