In many places, we could see that the ice was several feet thick. That being the case, of course we walked out on it to get a better view.
The ice formed balls. Farther out toward the water, these balls were not sealed together. But where we were, had been gradually frozen solid as the water washed over them and glued them together.
All this--the ice peaks in the distance, the massive ice berg on which we stood--had been formed in a week or less. When we visited exactly one week prior, the lake was not frozen at all.
All along the peaks at the edge between solid ice and flowing, smaller ice balls, the fury of the lake splashed up against the ice wall, and looked like a series of geysers along the ice line.
Another view of the sun, the gathering storm, the ice.
Testing the surface by throwing snow/ice boulders onto the new surface.
Out at the edge, some of the little ice bergs were still flowing with the waves before being washed in to meld themselves to the larger icy surface.
My handsome husband.
The spray was incredible. You can see in this photo that not only water, but also chunks of ice get swept up in the might of the waves.
Words, and even pictures, fail to describe the scene. I have never seen anything like this in all my life, and it's worth living through a Michigan winter just for that afternoon on the ice.