What caused it? Ice circle in Benedicta confounds reader

It’s been a couple of months since I’ve shared a Maine woods mystery photo, but earlier this week I received an email from a reader who is wondering exactly what he found on a recent trip afield.

The email was titled, “What Made This?” After looking at the photo, I can tell you that I have no idea.

What caused this ice circle on a small stream in Benedicta? Share your ideas with us. (Photo courtesy of Alvin Martin)

What caused this ice circle on a small stream in Benedicta? Share your ideas with us. (Photo courtesy of Alvin Martin)

“This appeared on a small stream, on the West Shore Road to Plunkett Pond in Benedicta, after the rain and freeze last Monday. Any idea what made it? A flying saucer?” wrote reader Alvin Martin.

At first glance, and without any real way of telling how large the ice circle is, I thought the photo might show the outline of a five-gallon pail or similar bucket.

Then Alvin let me know that the circle is four to six feet across … which ruled that out.

The outline of a ground blind or other shelter that had been removed after the rain and ice had finished? Who knows?

Like many of you, I’ve seen all the TV shows about crop circles and the like, and always chuckle when I learn that a creative local teen with too much time on their hands turns out to be the cause of the purported “alien invasion.”

I’ve put out a few queries to fisheries biologists and a game warden, figuring that they all spend a lot of time outdoors, and might have seen similar circles.

I’ll share those replies when I receive them.

Until then, I’ll ask you, readers: What made this circle? Ideas?

 

 

John Holyoke

About John Holyoke

John Holyoke has been enjoying himself in Maine's great outdoors since he was a kid. Today, he's the Outdoors editor for the BDN, a job that allows him to meet up with Maine outdoors enthusiasts in their natural habitat. The stories he gathers provide fodder for his columns, and this blog.