It was bitterly cold at Salisbury Beach State Park last Friday, but I managed to get a few photos of the wintry beach area while waiting for an encounter with a snowy owl.

River Ice

The fluctuating temperature and tides create some very interesting textures and ice formations on the river. I noticed these yesterday while crossing one of the bridges over the Cocheco.

Yesterday afternoon we took our first snowshoe hike of the season. We started out just before sunset, so by the time we got into the woods, the light was getting quite dim. The snow covering everything reflected enough of what light there was for us to be able to follow a logging road in the woods, and lights in a few houses enabled us to find our way across the lake and back home.

Great Bay National Wildlife Refuge

This morning, my Art of Recovery partner and I took a hike in the Great Bay National Wildlife Refuge to see if we could get some images for our art project due in the Spring. I was hoping to get some ice photos, and happily the melting snow and ice revealed some interesting shapes and patterns in the ice covering the path, puddles, and ponds.

Last Saturday we noticed a huge cargo ship docked at the Granite State Minerals pier in Portsmouth, unloading road salt. I climbed a tall snowbank to get the image of the salt piles and the stern end of the ship.

December 1

The first of December was covered with snow, but not for long. The ground isn't frozen yet, so most of the snow melted within a few hours. The boulders in the woods are apparently a little colder, so the snow highlighting them was still there at dusk. I enjoyed seeing how the boulders, usually inconspicuous among the trees, stood out in the fading light of late afternoon.

Cold morning

The last day of November started off at four degrees at our house. By the time I got outside for some frost photos it had warmed up to ten, which felt rather comfortable!