Eyes on Icicles

Plenty of ice formations remain in Mill Creek Park, a naturalist said.

By SEAN BARRON

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

As winter-weary and ready for spring as many Mahoning Valley residents are, the combination of low temperatures and heavy snow has delivered what some of them see as one of this season’s virtues — icicles of all sizes, patterns and shapes.

And throw in colors, because you also can see ROY G BIV if you’re in the right place at the right time.

ROY G BIV isn’t a long-lost friend or relative, but an acronym for the color order of a rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. All that’s necessary are the ice formations and the proper angle to the sun.

The challenging part of that task certainly isn’t finding the icicles. Pick nearly any residence or business on any street and likely the first thing to catch your eye will be the enormous slabs of frozen water — some several feet wide and as long as 15 feet.

That was readily apparent Friday at three apartment buildings in the 8000 block of Forest Lake Drive, off Glenwood Avenue in Boardman.

Two of the three-story brick structures had clusters at least 12 feet long that reached the bottom of balconies a floor below as they started melting, courtesy of temperatures in the mid-30s, .

Wind seems to have been a factor for one building’s formations, some of which dangled at a slight inward angle from the gutter.

Some ice combinations were a bit more subtle, such as those at the Marquette Manor apartment complex on Forest Garden Drive in Boardman.

Smooth layers encased and seemed to define the second-floor windows on two elongated buildings, both of which also were complemented with single icicles of varying sizes and thicknesses.

Gigantic, enjoined ice formations literally were a cornerstone of Wells Fargo Insurance Services of Ohio LLC, 8561 Market St. A nook adjacent to the entrance of the one-story township business almost was entirely invisible because giant gobs of ice, along with countless single icicles, formed a slippery, nearly impenetrable wall.

Nevertheless, the biggest and heaviest portion of Mother Nature’s masterpiece was tucked away in that area, all but eliminating the chances of anyone’s being injured.

Despite recent days of higher temperatures, Mill Creek Park remains an ideal place to catch, photograph or simply appreciate nature’s icy handiwork.

Two of the park’s best spots for icicle fans are Lanterman’s Gorge, near Lanterman’s Mill off Canfield Road, and Cascade Ravine, noted Ray Novotny, a park naturalist.

For anyone wishing to take in the formations before spring takes them away, or enjoy a hike on the nearby trails, Novotny had a simple piece of advice.

“Just be careful,” he said.