I was walking down to my camp and this deer came up behind me.

After a day on the slopes of Whiteface Mountain, to get back to your car, you must cross over a small branch off the Ausable river that is around 15 meters across. Due to the cold weather the area had the waterway that was almost completely covered in ice and in some areas, the ice was able to connect and make a completely solid surface. Even though the flow of the water cannot be seen in the picture, it was a somewhat significant speed, which really shows how cold it was because moving water is harder to freeze than water that is standing still.

After a very snowy winter on the campus of St. Lawrence University, there were a large amount of snow piles created by the plows that cleared the streets. This would often mix dirt and sediment into the snow creating a large pile of brown, dirty snow. As with anywhere else, the piles of snow take much longer to melt than the regular covering of snow, allowing them to last into warmer weather. Outside of Brown hall on campus, there was a large pile just like the one described, however this one had icicles hanging from the snow and staying anchored to the snow with out any outside support.

The North Country experiences notoriously frigid weather conditions during the winter months, yet at this point on St. Lawrence’s Campus the annual return of daffodils were able to sprout up during the middle of February. As one can see, there’s snow covering the ground surrounding this small garden (except for the walkway) begging the question: why are there daffodils sprouting in the middle of February? The explanation for the presence of these sprouts is simple, running beneath this flower bed are water pipes that carry hot water to the buildings across campus.

The artificial pond, about one meter deep, purifies runoffs from St. Lawrence University before discharging into the Grasse River. During winter, a layer of ice accumulated on the pond. This resulted in less sunlight available for phytoplankton photosynthesis. This may have affected the food chain within the pond. Phytoplankton are essential in the pond because they are a food source to other organisms such as zooplankton and planktonic bacteria that purify the runoffs. As it is getting warmer, the layer of snow on the pond is starting to melt.

This apple tree is located behind Whitman dorm; this picture is interesting for two reasons. The first is that animals have been using this tree as a source of food; in many ways you could say we planted a food source to keep animals alive during the cold months. The only apples that remain on the tree are high off the ground and on very skinny branches, probably too high for small animals like squirrels and rabbits and the branches too thin to support even a small animal.