a wintry low tide at Lillevik beach, Norway

Lillevik Beach is a natural place for a walk in all seasons. i have posted from this beach previously, including featuring the wonderful driftwood that washes up on the shore but this time it's a cold February day after a light snow

despite all the stones, large and small, the natural beach is free of any development and is popular among the locals with small children because it's shallow for a long way out and it's very protected from any surf. the little waves make distinct rippled patterns in the sand

which are now filling with ice. though this is an ocean beach on Larviksfjorden there are two rivers emptying fresh water nearby. the fresh river water is less dense than the salt ocean water so it floats on the surface. during periods of calm weather the two don't mix that much so the ice here on the beach is neither sea ice nor fresh water ice, but somewhere in between

the snow on the shore reaches down to the high tide mark and between the snow and the water is a belt of sand. the red and white lifesaving ring on the right of the photo doesn't get much use here, especially this time of year. it seems like the biggest dangers to anyone swimming here would be to stub their toe on one of the many rocks or on days like this, hypothermia..

the hybrid type ice is particularly evident in these two above shots, with the ring around the stones being a rough high tide mark. there's surprisingly little difference in the tides, maybe it was a half moon.

another surprise is the complexity of the patterns of ice in the sand and water

i could walk out dry-footed between the pools of water and ice to get shots from different angles

a view out toward the north. in the distance is the town of Larvik with the two rivers that provide the fresh water