A delicate ice formation © Josh Philibert

Take 5: Ice Art

It seems awfully dark around here these days, doesn’t it? The winter solstice—the day when the northern hemisphere experiences the shortest amount of daylight and the longest night—is just a week away. Next Monday also marks the official beginning of winter and although the colder weather tends to keep us indoors a lot more, there is still so much beauty and enjoyment to be found in nature in wintertime.

Many of the entrants to our Picture This: Your Great Outdoors photo contest have found inspiration in one of the most enchanting (but also, often, the most treacherous) hallmarks of winter in New England: ice formations. Here are five of our favorites.

A delicate ice formation © Josh Philibert
A delicate ice formation © Josh Philibert
Ice formations over a stream on Wolves' Den Trail at High Ledges in Shelburne
Ice formations over a stream on Wolves’ Den Trail at High Ledges in Shelburne
Winterberries after an ice storm © Cindy Riley
Winterberries after an ice storm © Cindy Riley
Ice crystals on Lower Mystic Lake in Medford, MA © Brad Edgerly
Ice crystals on Lower Mystic Lake in Medford, MA © Brad Edgerly
Ice formation on West Dennis Beach © Craig Daniliuk
Ice formation on West Dennis Beach © Craig Daniliuk