I took the pic. above. This is ice fishing on Eastmanville Bayou in Ottawa County, Michigan. It’s off 68th Avenue on the south side of the Grand River. I was told the primary catch was bluegill. Lots of ice fishers on the Grand River bayous in Ottawa County now that they have frozen over. The Grand River itself remains mostly open water, with some ice on the edges.

It looked to me like there was a solid 4-5″ of ice on the bayou. Keep in mind that we’ve had a mild winter and we’ll return to the mild pattern early next week. Always make sure the ice is safe before you venture out on a lake, pond or bayou.
Sunset at the Muskegon Channel on February 2, 2023

This was sunset at Muskegon Thursday evening. Note the ice that has formed near the shore. Sunrise today in Gr. Rapids is at 7:55 am with sunset at 5:57 pm. We have now gained 1 hour and 1 minute of daylight since the Winter Solstice back on Dec. 21. We’ll gain 2 minutes and 28 seconds of daylight tomorrow.

Today the sun climbs to an angle of 31 degrees above the southern horizon at solar noon (12:56 pm). That’s up from 24 degrees at the Winter Solstice. Temperature lags the position of the sun by about one month.

Sunrise Thursday AM at the S. Haven Beach. Two good sized birds are flying by and the sun is rising behind St. Basil’s Church.