A bit of fog over Lake Michigan, dappled sunlight and sand kicked up by waves created some great patches of light on the surface of the lake.
3 image panoramic.
Sand and Shadow
Lake Falls in Spring
Sunlight and shadows highlight the moss and rocks of this Matthiessen State Park canyon on a spring afternoon.
Glowing Waters
A short climb down onto a rock ledge gave me a lower vantage point to photograph these falls. A foot behind me was the final cascade into Giant's Bathtub.
The bright sun illuminated the falling water in contrast to the shady canyon walls.
Bluebells
A field of bluebells and horsetail gives the gray canyons of Starved Rock some much anticipated color in early May.
Climbing Out
The boys climb out of Kintzele Ditch toward the foot of a familiar sand dune. Following a winter of extreme erosion by wind and waves, the banks of the stream are wide enough to walk along.
Beaver DAMage
A determined beaver gnawed his way through a pretty large tree along the bank of the Little Calumet River.
Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.
Forest Floor Comes to Life
A sure sign of spring, small wildflowers pop up along the trails of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.
Entering the Little Calumet River
A small channel re-enters the Little Calumet River near the old Bailey Homestead.
Horsetail
A tiny horsetail plant begins life in the early spring sunlight. These plants remind me of prehistoric crinoids.
Beverly Shores Wetland
Spring wakes up the plants of the wetland bordering Beverly Shores, Indiana. Part of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.
Curving dune
From the bank of Kintzele Ditch, the east dune has an interesting curve upward that the clouds seem to imitate and continue into the sky.
The Honor System
A new park along the Illinois River in Rural Wilmington, Illinois boasts a small boat ramp. There is a charge of $5 to use the ramp, and it's totally on the honor system.
Sand Stream and Strata
This past winter was rough on the Indiana Dunes. A November storm eroded a lot of the beach area including the dunes which normally stand at least 100 feet from Lake Michigan. The sands were deposited along the shore and along the bottom of the dunes where they continue to be shaped by the wind and rain.
Here along Kintzele Ditch in LaPorte County, the wind and fluctuating water levels carved interesting, horizontal patterns in the sand.
Frozen Ground Water
Ground water dripping from the partially collapsed dune along Kintzele Ditch freezes before it hits the stream on an early Spring morning. Looks like it may finally be possible to hike the length of the stream - the erosion from the winter created a small walking area next to the water.
Falling Shadows
Shadows of bare trees cast elongated shadows down the length of the dune due to the perfect angle of the sun.
West Beach, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore
Spring Sky
White clouds in a deep blue sky give the illusion of ghosts leaves on this bare tree atop a tall sand dune near Mt. Baldy at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.
Finally Safe to Walk on the Ice
The last bit of shelf ice along the Mt. Baldy area of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. It's finally safe to venture onto it. What a difference from this same spot just a couple of weeks before when 15 foot mounds of ice extended hundreds of feet into Lake Michigan.
Vanishing Point
The dunes and the shelf ice converge in the distance on a cold February afternoon. Notice the two people walking on the shelf ice - a very dangerous thing to do since they are walking over Lake Michigan, and most likely over water 10 feet deep. They do give you an idea of the scale of the mounds of ice on the water.
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