Ice embayment crystals

It wasn't quite as frigid as it has been—three above this morning, as opposed to seven below last week—and it wasn't nearly as cold as temperatures in the midwest, which were positively North Polar. But it was cold enough to freeze the mill pond, which responded to the morning with sharp groans of protest. These noises are called seiches, and they're the result of water waves that slosh back and forth under the ice. If you happen to be on the ice, that very audible passage of a seiche can cause you pause, and if it's strong enough to engender a crack, well, you might want to head to solid ground ASAP. When each wave arrived at my vantage point, I was only a few feet from shore, so I had nothing to worry about. Neither did these delicate ice feathers perched on an ice bay growing atop a more solid and clear ice foundation. The feathers didn't even shiver when the seiche rolled by.