Winter in the Oak Savanna

The trails wind through the snow covered oak savanna of Miller Woods in early February. An odd year with very little snow, and relatively warm temperatures (for a Midwest winter) kept the woods looking brown and boring, so this snowfall was a welcome site.

The trails wind for miles through these rolling woods, up and down and around dunes, hills, and dozens of interdunal ponds and wetlands. This area offers great sights in every season, and winter is no exception. I was hoping for clear skies and dark blue liquid ponds, but the cold temperatures the days prior to my visit turned the ponds to ice. The ice was very thin, but perfect for throwing stones onto it to make the metallic and otherworldly sounds as the stones skip along the ice.  This only happens when the ice is just forming, and once the ice thickens, it no longer rings with these sounds.



These first days of ice can be quite interesting, especially in areas that border the water. Tall grass, weeds, and other plants poke through the thin ice, and often form unusual shapes and patterns in the ice. These patterns can be fleeting, only lasting a few hours until the ice completely freezes.