Cleveland Lighthouse Becomes an Ice Castle – Again!

In December 2010, the Cleveland Harbor West lighthouse was encased in ice due to high winds, big waves, and bitter cold. (I wrote about that event on my blog at this link: ”Cleveland Lighthouse Becomes an Ice Castle “.)

The weather conditions were similar this year – maybe not as bitterly cold – and the lighthouse froze over again. Wanting another chance to photograph it, we headed to the Lake Erie shore on the west harbor of the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland, Ohio. While the coating of ice on the lighthouse did not appear as thick as it was in 2010, and there was no ice at all on Lake Erie today, it was still a beautiful sight. The color of the icy lighthouse seemed to change with the amount of sunlight; as a small cloud passed overhead, the ice coating became a dull gray. In the bright light, it looked very white, with just hints of a cream color. Despite the sun, it was very cold and very windy, making it hard to take a quiet video. I thought I’d share it anyway, along with some photos, including one of the old Coast Guard Station which stands nearby.

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Cleveland Lighthouse Becomes an Ice Castle

It made national and international news - the Cleveland Harbor West Lighthouse, on the bank of the Cuyahoga River as it enters Lake Erie, was covered with a thick coating of ice. (I wrote about it in my Cleveland blog here: ”Cleveland Lighthouse Encased in Ice”.) The windy weather, plus the frigid temperatures, kicked up icy waves which splashed – and then froze – on the lighthouse. We had to go see it for ourselves, so we took a drive down to Wendy Park (located on Whiskey Island just west of downtown Cleveland), with all the camera gear in tow. The lighthouse was a spectacular sight. The nearby the Old US Coast Guard Station (photo also below) seemed untouched by the waves. We also stopped at Edgewater Park immediately west of Whiskey Island to check out the odd ice formations there made by splashing water. Some photos are below; I also included one of my photos of the lighthouse that I took last May, just for comparison. (Click on any image for a larger view.)

The lighthouse - in warm weather:

Here is the same lighthouse today:

(Nearby old Coast Guard station)

All Content © Chris A. Zimmer and chriszimmer.blogspot.com

They’re Named Cottonwoods For Good Reason

Late last week, we spent some time at Wendy Park on Cleveland’s lake shore and while it was a very hot May morning, it seemed to be snowing. As we got further into the park, we noticed a large stand of cottonwood trees that were fully laden with seeds encased in what looks like fluffy cotton (hence the name cottonwood) but of course it’s not cotton. The fluffy seed casing just allows the seeds to be easily dispersed by the breeze – and the day we visited the park the seeds were flying around in full force, making it look like a snow storm. Despite the fact that many seeds were in the air and on the ground, the trees were still loaded with seeds, almost making each tree look like it was covered in huge clumps of white cotton candy. Here are a few photos. (Now, if someone would just invent a cottoncandy tree, I would be happy.)






All Photos and Text © Chris A. Zimmer and chriszimmer.blogspot.com

Check out my blog home page for the latest information, chriszimmer.blogspot.com, here.