green ice on the creek

green ice on the creek,

stranger than silver ice bubbles

or green tea ice cream

Freezing rain followed by snow and strong winds. Pilgrim Creek is bedecked with ribbons and bows of green ice, frozen blue-green algae. Strangely beautiful, but most likely toxic.

          Many streams contain some form of algae. A certain amount is not damaging but large amounts, algae blooms, can be detrimental. Blue-green algae is an organism that has characteristics of both a plant and a bacteria, called cyanobacteria. When algae die and decompose they consume large amounts of oxygen which causes an oxygen deficiency. Cyanobacteria thrive in an oxygen-deprived environment and release harmful substances which are toxic to mammals, birds and fish. They also block sunlight, harming other water plants by interrupting the photosynthesis process.

          The algae's toxins can sicken people. Contact with the water can cause skin or respiratory irritation, and drinking it can cause diarrhea, nausea, cramps, jaundice and vomiting. Dogs exposed to the toxins in the water can become ill almost immediately, with drooling, vomiting, staggering and convulsions. A number of dogs have died as a result of playing in water with blue-green algae blooms.

          Of course, right now the algae is frozen. But even so, it poses a danger for all the wildlife who walk through the creek and drink its water. I see tracks of deer, fox, rabbits, raccoons, opossums, squirrels, wild turkey and other birds all over the snow covering the creek, especially around holes where the ice has melted. 

          The main cause of excess algae growth here is nutrients from the run-off of chemical fertilizers used on crops. Would that farmers would use a safe and natural alternative!