March 10, 2019 A Sunday Afternoon Hike That Made Me Feel Like Spring Is Almost Here

When the sun came out late in the afternoon, I decided to take the dogs to Marquette Park. 

There was a mostly blue sky with a strong wind but it felt warmer than yesterday's wind. It felt like we finally broke Old Man Winter's back. 

This is the first day of 2019 that it felt like spring was near...

...even though there was ice along the shore. 

Nola jumped right in and wanted to go on the ice.

But it is no longer solid along the shore.

We had the beach to ourselves probably because of the strong wind from the west.

You can see the water being blown eastward.

As we walked along the beach, the wind really picked up...

...but the sunshine made it feel warmer than it actually was.

You can see the wind blowing Oslo's hair straight down his body.

But he didn't care, he was happy to be hiking on a beach.

The wind was burying everything on the beach...

...and blowing sand onto the shelf ice.

These two dogs just kept walking into the wind.

Eventually we walked into the dunes to get out of the wind.

Then back onto the beach.

The shelf ice the furthest from the beach near the open water was a huge pile of broken shards of ice stacked about 15 feet high. 

Time for another drink. The wind was blowing both their tails to the right. 

Oslo enjoying some very cold water.

He wanted to go further out but my feet were wet almost to the top of my boots. Then he wouldn't come out of the water. 

We walked up and down the beach for about 90 minutes. It was beautiful to see the the last of the shelf ice with blue sky above it.

Some ice blew onto the shore.

The different shapes of the shelf ice mounds...

...and the floating ice that broke free were fascinating to me. It was like watching the seasons change in one afternoon.

I could have stayed here until sunset watching the ice patterns change with the wind, but the clouds started rolling in. So we headed back to the car.

It was so peaceful walking with the wind at our backs.

Also very beautiful. I love the beaches in winter.

Nola found a hole in the sand covered ice to investigate.

My attempt at a panoramic shot.

I'm gonna miss the photo ops of the beaches in winter...

...but I am looking forward to being able to go into the lake for a swim.

The shadows of the Fun Bunch Three.

One of the new playgrounds in Marquette Park surrounded by dune grass.