The winter is long in Norway, especially in the North up in Alta.  The beaches are still covered in ice during April.  Around the north beach of Alta Fjord it is very shallow with a thin layer of ice.  I love to walk on the ice and listen to it crackle under my feet (- just as good as popping bubble wrap).

Even though the landscape is very white and blue there is still colour from last years fall trapped underneath.  The big freeze often captures the fall vegetation unawares and keeps it safe and sound until the big melt in late Spring.  Autumn leaves and grass are preserved perfectly in their colour and shape.  Slowly the ice melts and the vegetation can continue its journey back into Mother Earth.

As I watch this event happen every year, I am certain it is one of Natures most ingenious inventions.  The ice keeps all the vegetations goodness until the next Spring.  When the ice melts the vegetation then decomposes and fertilises the soil for the new generation of plants.  Mother Nature certainly knows how to make the most out of beauty and function.