Each Winter, an ice boom is installed where Lake Erie joins the Niagara River. The ice boom consists of many metal barrels chained together in three sections. The sections are slightly separated so that small boats can still move back and forth from the lake to the river. But the ice boom prevents large chunks of ice from traveling down the Niagara River, damaging the power plant water intakes at Niagara Falls. Each Spring, once the ice cap on Lake Erie is reduced below 250 square miles, the ice boom is removed, and chunks of ice float down the Niagara River. That is why -- on a beautiful April day when the temperature is 70-degrees F -- one can go to the River and watch the icebergs float by.

The International Peace Bridge which connects Buffalo, New York (USA) with Ft. Erie, Ontario (CA) is in the background, just as it was in Winter Solstice, a constant reminder that we, who live here, live on a border.