Ice deep into the center of the river this morning, and ice growing out from the Jersey side to join it. Bright sun, no wind at all: a rare situation. Smoke from the boilers of buildings across the way rising straight up into the air, dissipating evenly overhead. Never saw that before. Current running fast upstream, dragging large islands of ice with it. Ice doesn't form in the mouth of the river, where the tide's more active and the water's always salty. So this ice must have come down from upstream on the last tide, is now heading back up. And will come back again and head up north again, over and over until it melts, unless it gets stuck in the coves between piers. The pilings where the old pier used to be seem to have acted as a barrier to the ice. Though a vast white ice field stretches north and south of them, the water between them is unfrozen and still as glass, reflecting the buildings and the vertical smoke.