The gentleness of the early winter has ebbed away, leaving these brave flowers in its wake, as weather with sharper teeth accompanies the first week of February.
There was a dusting of snow here over the weekend, although it is the ice that seems to be lingering longer. I examined the pond this morning and although there is some thawing happening, a thick cap of ice remains in place. It is too thick to melt with pans of hot water and seems to have claimed the lives of a couple of hibernating frogs. This is something that happens in this pond every year we have a prolonged period of freezing and the deaths are known as winterkill. In a small pond like mine it is nigh on impossible to keep it clear of ice, especially with temperatures of minus 9 expected tonight. The ice cap prevents the escape of noxious gases from decomposing vegetation etc and these effectively suffocate the frogs.
I just have to hope for the best and accept that frogs have been coping with freezing winter temperatures for millennia and some casualties are bound to happen. When the weather warms up as Spring advances, hopefully there will be enough survivors to spawn again. I cross my fingers and toes.
