Ice Out on Rum

On Wednesday afternoon I found myself in Anoka with an extra ten minutes. I didn't have time to go home. I didn't have time to shop. So I drove to the public parking area above the dam to make some phone calls and watch the water go by. The ice had gone out on the Rum River earlier that day. Huge slabs of thick ice floated quickly past me. As the ice slabs reached the dam one end tipped down and the other end tipped up. Sometimes the ice slabs made a big splash and sometimes they didn't.  The water on the other side of the dam was only a couple feet lower that the water above the dam. The weather was nice so I saw quite a few people out enjoying the day. Some people were fishing from the public dock.  Some people were walking their dogs. Some people walked by hand in hand. Other people walked by themselves. The sight of the ice flowing over the dam and down river was mesmerizing.  Once over the dam the ice slabs broke apart into smaller pieces. Some ice slabs had branches or rocks on them which made me wonder how far they had come. Were some of these ice slabs from Saint Francis? Were some of the ice slabs from the area of the river that is closest to my house? What do the creatures in the river think of this big event?  Are they happy to have more oxygen and sun light in the water? I haven't heard my red shouldered hawk yet but I imagine that with the river open it will come back soon.