As previously, the most active species on the Bay today was the Kiteboarder.
Of course, I found a nearby sewer pipe to be somewhat more exciting:
That’s just one of the pipes that drain into Britannia Bay. Most times we’ve passed by this particular one there hasn’t been any water flow (it presumably provides some kind of overflow outlet), but today was a notable exception. The results:
- Certain nearby stretches of ice that I traversed easily just the other day are now weakened, perhaps due to increased waterflow underneath,
- Some neat ice formations were created on the nearby trees, obviously due to adjacent gushing, and
- The air was noticeably colder (bitterly so) around this area, perhaps due to the extra moisture.
Interesting to note that the camera and my fingers froze solid (and thus stopped working) at roughly the same time. Although the Internet put the temperature at -10°C, I’m pretty sure it was much colder than that. Good thing for pockets.
Anyhow, it’s cold but I guess we’re all doing what we can to get by. Of course, there’s only so much room in front of the heater.
2 Comments
It’s been a week since it was really warm, so it’s not plausible to think that the flowing storm sewer is gushing meltwater (though if it was it would be salty, and maybe account for the weakness of the nearby ice). One would think that if it had the characteristic scent of Ottawa tap water (from a burst water main) you’d have noticed that — or maybe not at the low temperature.
Artful blogging, Rory! Thanks for bringing us in by the heater – but you’re right, Jemima is sort of hogging it!
Looking forward to more Brittania Bay Watching as the season progresses.