Storm transforms riverside tree into natural work of art
Cellphone photo catches attention of global social media observers
SARNIA A twilight cellphone photo of an ice-covered tree along the St. Clair River beneath the Blue Water Bridge has been attracting attention from around the world.
It was taken in the early evening Saturday by Sarnia’s Doug McLean, who posted the image on his Facebook page where it was shared and made its way to other social media and online sites.
“It’s kind of blown up,” McLean said Monday morning.
McLean said he has been receiving messages and emails about the photo from Holland, Australia and other places around the world.
“I’m totally overwhelmed,” he said. “It just kind of went crazy.”
A Friday night storm “pounded the south shore and it made these amazing ice sculptures out of trees and benches,” McLean said.
He was at the riverfront Saturday morning, volunteering at the Blue Water Anglers hatchery, when he first saw the results of the spray from the river and cold temperatures.
McLean said that type of ice on the waterfront appears every couple of years when the wind blows from the north and the water isn’t covered by ice.
He and his wife, Laura Lynn McLean, went down Saturday afternoon to take photos, and returned in the evening to see it in the light at sunset.
“She’s the photographer,” McLean said. “I fix computers for a living.”
McLean titled the image in a social-media post “Lost Souls” for “the spirits of those lost to the storms of Lake Huron.”
In the post, he noted ice at the top of the tree looked like an angel.
Jim Burns, chief administrative officer for Point Edward, said some long-time residents of the village have said “they’ve never seen anything like it.
“It’s wild,” he said.
It’s kind of blown up. I’m totally overwhelmed. It just kind of went crazy.