A freezing morning before sunrise on a frozen lake Erie with ice and snow as far as your yes can see and well beyond. A vast expanse of winter wonderland versus a city. I think the scale is telling. And then the sky behind the city turns warmer, at least visually at first. Finger are still freezing though! And then a few minutes later the sun makes it over the horizon and some obstacles behind your back and seemingly warms things up another notch. As night turns to day the magic peaks, and then fades into something more ordinary ... until the process reverses at sunset and repeats itself the next day.

Lake Erie is one of the Great Lakes and is named after a Native American tribe that lived on its southern shore. Most of the water flows into Lake Erie from the Detroit River. The outflow from the lake creates another wonder, the Niagara River. The western basin of Lake Erie is the home for about 26 islands, depending on current water levels. Lake Erie also provides for a regional phenomenon - lake effect snow that makes Buffalo, NY infamous for its winter storms.

The City of Buffalo over the frozen Lake Erie, Hamburg / Buffalo, New York (NY).