Saturday morning, my 21 year old son, and two of his buddys, convinced me to drag my sorry butt outta bed (at 6:00

) to join them in some ice fishing... Once vertical, and filled with strong coffee, we hit 'Moose Lake', less than 15 minutes from home, along with about 25 other crazy folks, that had already set up on the ice before we got there...
The fishing was OK, with quite a few 'tip-ups' (bites, for those of you not familiar), and some fish on the ice.
What really made the 'getting outta bed early on a Saturday mornng' thing worth while (besides some time with my son), was the unusual visual spectical that greeted us, once we ventured out side... Both Saturday, and Sunday mornings, we had a phenomenon known as 'Hoar Frost' (a deposit of needle-like ice crystals formed on the ground and objects, by direct condensation at temperatures below freezing point, also called white frost). It had been warmer than normal, both Friday and Saturday. Both evenings, it was very foggy... When we got up Saturday morning, everything outdoors was 'white'... It had not snowed, but the fog, had 'frozen' to everything... The world outside looked like everything was made of crystal...

A close up of a 'Burning Bush' just off my driveway...

A view looking towards the 'Bark River', which makes up the back lot line to our property...

Last one...

Everything looks this way until the sun begins to burn through. For a very short time, with the sun shining, and the frost coating everything, 'breathtaking' can be the only word to describe what you see.
So, you folks that live in areas where you can ride 12 months out of the year, I do envy you... But having the 'seasons' here in Wisconsin, and beauty that only mother nature can provide, with a little something different every day, is what has kept me a 'Wisconsin Boy' for all of my 53 years...
Thanks for looking.
Black Dog