Micro-Season: “Fish Rise From The Ice” (2023)

We have entered the micro-season of “Fish Rise From the Ice”. This is the third micro-season of the mini-season First Spring.  All the micro-seasons within First Spring are:

• Spring Winds Thaw the Ice (Feb 04 – Feb 08)
• The Nightingale Sings (Feb 09 – Feb 13)
• Fish Rise From the Ice (Feb 14 – Feb 18)

These seasons were established in 1685 by Japanese astronomer Shibukawa Shunkai and are specific to Japan. However, just because the calendar focuses on Japan doesn’t mean it isn’t applicable to others.  No matter where you live you can use these seasons as a starting point for your personal exploration of the world around you. 

To celebrate this season, we will learn about how ice melts and then read seasonal haiku by Basho, Kerouac, Issa, and Buson. 

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The Science Of Melting Ice

As we move into spring, the ice on the lakes, rivers, and streams begins to melt.  For the casual observer, a thawing pond might seem like a simple process.  But for some like Bob Dill and his fellow ice enthusiasts, the study of ice is serious business.  

Bob Dill lives in the Champlain Valley in Vermont.  He frequently accesses Lake Champlain for ice sailing and skating.  When he was the secretary of the International DN Ice Yacht Racing Association in the mid-80s he began writing articles about ice safety.  Since that time, he has expanded his study of lake ice and its properties into a comprehensive website called Lake Ice.  This website has everything you want to know about the formation and thawing of ice, potential ice-related hazards, and specialized ice gear.⁽²⁾ 

 It is from his work that we learn about the factors that contribute to the thawing of ice.  

The Four Ways Ice Thaws

Ice can thaw in four different ways:

1. Top Surface Melting: Top surface melting is when the top layer of ice begins to thaw.  This process is driven by warm winds.  Dill explains that a couple of inches of ice or more can melt on a 50-degree day when the winds are between 20-30 mph. This type of thawing is likely to create “drain holes” in the ice which can make the ice very weak.  
2. Internal melting:  Internal melting is driven by sunlight.  Internal melting results in the slow loss of overall ice thickness.  Thin ice can sometimes be tricky to identify and, as a result, is very dangerous.   
3. Under-ice Melting:  Under-ice melting is caused by water currents under the ice. It is common in places where streams and rivers enter lakes.  Under-ice melting is also common in shallow ponds when the sun is able to heat up the water below the ice.
4.  Wind-driven rafting:  Wind-driven rafting happens when the ice is already weakened and then there are high winds. The ice breaks apart under high winds and is pushed over itself or onto the shore. Once the ice is pushed aside and there is open water, the high winds stir up the warmer water from the bottom of the lake creating more under-ice melting.

Eight Stages Of Ice Thaw

Besides noticing the ways that ice melts, Bob Dill has also outlined eight stages of ice thaw.  He does provide the disclaimer that his classification system is not something that is currently used beyond his website.  Nevertheless, this study of thawing ice provides us with helpful information about the process of melting. 

Stage 0 – Unthawed ice – At this stage the ice is solid and it is below freezing everywhere except below the ice.

Stage 1 – Cold hard ice with vapor figures. At this stage, there are signs of melting. Vapor figures are an indication of internal melting and refreezing. 

Stage 2 – The Puddle Stage:  In this stage, there are puddles of melted ice and rainwater on the surface of the ice.

Stage 3 – Drained Ice:  In this stage, the water that was collected in the puddle stage drains back into the lake through pores in the ice.  These pores are a result of internal melting.  The ice is unstable at this time.  You should remove any heavy objects from the ice and use a test pole as you are walking.

Stage 4 – The Weakening Phase:  In this stage of ice melt there has been continued surface and internal melting. The signs of internal melting are easily noticed.  

Stage 5 – Rotten ice:  In this phase, the ice may be thick but it is weak.  Often you can punch a hole through the ice up to 6 inches thick with a test pole.  Rotten ice will barely hold up a single person.  

Stage 6 – Ice that will not support people on foot:  As the name of this stage suggests, it is unsafe for people to be walking on this ice.  Dill says that one of the main dangers here is that the ice may cycle through stages 4, 5, and 6 very quickly.  In the morning, the ice may have been at stage 4 (weakening) but could hold you up.  By midday, the ice may be at stage 6 or even stage 7, and it is very dangerous.  

Stage 7 – Ice that will not support people in a prone position when trying to get back on the ice.  At this stage, if you fall through the ice, it would be really hard to pull yourself back up.  The ice will keep breaking apart when you put weight on it.  

A Final Note on Thawing Ice

Dill points out that in one lake the ice might greatly vary in its stages of thaw.  You may be safe on one section, but in traveling to another you may come across weakened ice or rotten ice.  Therefore, it is important to always use caution when traveling on frozen waterways.  

If the study of ice interests you, check out Dill’s Lake Ice to learn more about “lake ice from a recreational perspective.”

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Melting Ice And Fish 

After the ice that covers the lakes and ponds thaws a phenomenon known as “Lake Turnover” begins.⁽³⁾  Lake turnover is when the water at the bottom of the lake begins to mix with the water closer to the surface.  Lake turnover occurs both in the autumn and in the spring when the temperatures are shifting.

In spring turnover, the cyclical currents that are created by the warming of the deeper waters bring nutrient-dense matter back up to the surface.  The sunlight and warmer waters also brings all the dormant biological organisms back to life. 

With the increase in water temperature, available plant life, and microorganisms, the fish are drawn out of their deep water winter retreats and back to the surface.  Fishing is said to be very good at this time of year because the fish are hungry and active.⁽³⁾ 

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Seasonal Haiku

In the document “The Five Hundred Essential Japanese Season Words” Kenkichi Yamamoto tells us that thin ice and ice flows are spring kigo.  Thin Ice is specifically an early spring kigo (February or August depending on your hemisphere), whereas Ice Flows is a mid-spring kigo (March or September).  The World Kigo Database also provides melting ice, vanishing ice, and drifting ice as potential spring kigo.

With this in mind, let’s read some ice-related haiku.

Basho

melting away
the brush draws up the water
of a spring
(translated by Jane Reichhold)

Kerouac

Water in the birdbath
  –a film of ice
On the moon

Issa 

ice melting--
in the threshold
early evening's moon
(translated by David G. Lanoue)

ice melting--
the mountain holy man's
noon sermon
(translated by David G. Lanoue)

Buson

Into the deep well drops the thin edging of ice-- cold!
(translated by Yuki Sawa)

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Haiku Invitation

This week’s haiku invitation is to write a haiku or senryu that references melting ice or melting snow.  

Share your haiku in the comments below, or post on your own page and link back to this post.

I can’t wait to read what you write!  

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Resources:

1. Dill, Bob, et al.  “How Lake Ice Thaws” Lake Champlain Committee
2. Dill, Bob, et al. “Thawed Ice”. Lake Ice
3. Balgooyen, Warren P. “Seasonal Magic: How Ice Out in Lakes and Ponds Helps Nourish Life”.  Edited by Matt Loosigian, Deb Avalon-King, and Christine Smith. Maine.gov
4. Yamamoto, Kenkichi. “The Five Hundred Essential Japanese Season Words”. Translated by Kris Young Kondo and William J. Higginson. Haiku Foundation
5. “Ice (koori)”. World Kigo Database

Basho’s haiku was retrieved from Matsuo Bashō’s haiku poems in romanized Japanese with English translations. Jack Kerouac’s haiku were retrieved from Jack Kerouac’s Book of Haikus.   Issa’s haiku was retrieved from David G. Lanoue’s HaikuGuy.com. Buson’s haiku was retrieved from “Haiku of Yosa Buson Organized by Rōmaji, in alphabetical order; translated into English, French, Spanish” Terebess Asia Online (TAO).