river freezing over

It has been over a week since we have seen outside temperatures above freezing. Mostly they have been averaging quite a bit below. The ice is flowing and forming while the liquid part of the river gets narrower.

This is a look upstream at what serves as the neighborhood swimming hole during the hot months.

I cannot get the angle through the brush for the best shot, but there is a lot of water rushing through a few very narrow slots consisting of thick ice over boulders. Very pleasing to the senses as we take our walks with Scooter.

Immediately downstream from that picture is another place where the ice is packing up and solidifying on river boulders both above and below the waterline. Here too, you can see the receding vestiges of surface running water hurrying to get by before it freezes over completely.

I don’t have the lens to capture it, but our rare Montana Gray Miniature Penguin is back …”enjoying” bobbing up and down on the ice before diving headlong under water to eat organic stuff off the underwater rocks. He is so small, cute and so absolutely amazing in his tolerance for cold air and cold water.

The next three days are expected to reach near freezing for highs before we plunge deeper into colder temperatures along with more snow falling. I anticipate showing you a fully covered Bitterroot East Fork by the end of the week.

Pick up a nice book and throw another log on the fire.