Early spring Maine tidal ice

A delicate sheet of ice forms over the rocks as the tide goes out to sea.

As winter loosens its grip on Downeast Maine, spring attempts to displace the cold, but the struggle is often difficult, with wild swings in weather near the end of March and early April.

Besides the beauty of a late season snowstorm that paints the warming scenery white for a day or so, the Atlantic tides and still cold temperatures create a phenomenon that has a subtle beauty when viewed up close. As the tide slowly recesses, the sub-freezing air creates delicate ice sheets over the rocks. It doesn't last long, as the next high tide or warm rays from the sun, which is now higher in the sky, soon take the scene away.

I was fortunate to capture some of the beauty of the thin ice and its captives beneath before the sun melted it all.

The last of the deep snow that covered the shallow end of the bay.