Freeze up

© harrington

Saturday, two days ago, in the southern regions of My Minnesota, the unseasonably warm weather reached temperatures near 70, complimented by several equally unseasonable tornadoes. Monday, today, the shallow ponds are coated with ice triggered by lows in the 20's while the first snowfall of the season hit the Twin Cities. Ducks and geese remaining will  concentrate on the larger lakes. Greater volume from depth and surface area requires longer, deeper cold spells for ice up. Usually, by November's end there will be little open water other than in the rivers. Before then, the temperature will bounce back into the 40's and maybe even the 50's. In My Minnesota, the seasons, like the mills of the gods, grind slowly but exceedingly small. Waterfowl migrate south; snow flakes and snow buntings drift in.