I stood as close to the free edge of the ice (of the section of the Trent-Severn Waterway) that I felt that I could. That is, safely without breaking through the ice, in order to capture this photo.
(No worries. If I had gone through the ice, the water and mud below it, is only about 3 feet deep. However, what you are not really able to see is how fast the current is actually running under the ice. The speed of the water flow along with the frigid temperature is what can make this a dangerous activity if you aren't being mindful.)
In the photo (above), you can see how clear and clean the fresh water of this river system is.
The reflection of the sun and a tree is visible in the water.
In this photo (above) you can see that a natural channel has occurred. I think this is due to the course of a natural spring which feeds into the river just beyond its natural shoreline. The spring keeps the water moving and from stagnating.
A pair of Mute Swans (who I have named Fred and William) have made good use of this channel. It's been tough for them to find open water sources because we had ice on the river fairly early on, in this winter's season. and I broke a hole for them in the ice the other day. This, at least let them take a drink.
Since then, we've had some warmer temperatures and the whole channel opened up for them. Now, they can swim and forage whenever they want.
I took all these photos with an Apple 8+ cell phone.
I welcome your comments and I invite you to follow me on my journey...I will do my best to show you what is worth observing in our small corner of our little blue planet. ;)
~ Rebecca Ryan