Around here we pronounce it grass. The E is only used for spelling purposes and it remains silent when speaking it’s name. I wondered where the E came from and did a little research. Turns out the Grasse River was named after a French admiral that assisted the Americans in the Revolutionary War.

François Joseph Paul de Grasse
François Joseph Paul, marquis de Grasse Tilly, comte de Grasse (1722-1788)
I’m glad they kept the river’s name short and can now understand the extra E.

Anyhoo, it’s time to get away from the brief history lesson and reminisce over yesterday’s hike down to the river. I wanted to beat the winter storm that threatens to dump enough snow today to make it a bit too hard to hike later.

Lets get sidetracked again for a second: Why do weather reports have to use ‘Winter’ when warning of an approaching storm in January? DUH. Is there any other kind in the middle of winter?

OK back on topic. The first sign of the river I came to was the Ice Shelf ‘mushrooms’.

An earlier thaw had flooded the area behind the river bank and a thin layer of ice had formed after temps dropped again. As the water under the ice receded it left a ‘floating’ layer of ice behind. I actually heard it before I saw it. I disturbed two deer and they went crashing through it as they fled. I caught sight of them but never had a chance to get a photo.

Approaching the river bank I was greeted by the sight of an ice pack building up on the opposite shore.

The river current is swift and pushes the ice up against the shore, small islands and boulders. Trees along the river bank mark high water and ice flows by the scars they acquire each winter.

Feeling brave I climbed over some ice built up on the bank to get this photo. I didn’t dare get any closer to the river edge since the dog wanted to follow. I’m willing to take chances but with Pookey along I had to be more cautious.

There was still a shelf of ice at least 4 inches thick I could have gotten on but it was slippery. From the shelf of ice the river was iced over to some extent but it’s never a good idea to trust ice over flowing water. You can never be sure how thick it really is no matter how cold it gets.

Looking up river you can see the river frozen over. In the foreground an ice bridge is forming. Only a duck should dare to cross over here.

On the way back home I was hoping to spot the deer but they eluded me. All I found were some signs that reminded me of Easter. All that needs to be done is wrap them in colored foil.

Deer footprint

It’s hard to make out the footprint so here’s a better one left on some ice.

I didn’t expect to find anything green but a moss covered rock was easy to spot on the way back. I have to admit anything green is a welcome sight at this time of year.

Even fungus is good to see. This one is going to give me plenty of entertainment. I’ll probably spend hours attempting to identify it. I doubt I will but it at least will keep me away from the TV this evening. It was growing on a cherry tree and a number of branches was covered on the undersides.

click the image for a closer look.

And lastly is a photo of an old barn ruins. It’s close to home and once was part of the farm that our property was subdivided from.

This image too is linked to a larger size (1024 x 768). I’m using it as a desktop background until I get tired of looking at it. By tomorrow it will probably be replaced. Remember the ‘Winter’ Storm Warning? Now there’s freezing fog predicted and I’m hoping it will give me a great photo op if it actually happens