On Tuesday, when this photo was taken, Brendan Wiltse, senior research scientist at the Paul Smith’s College Adirondack Watershed Institute reported on Facebook that “the last bit of Mirror Lake froze overnight, making today (Dec. 13th) the official ice on date for the year.” On average, Wiltse continued, the lake is freezing 17 days later than it did in the early 1900s. AWI staff members monitor the health of the lake year-round, including monitoring salt levels from road runoff. (News photo — Andy Flynn)