An ice block harvest brings two workers to the edge of a dark opening in the frozen lake. Their long hooked poles meet the corners of a clear rectangular block near the wooden loading ramp. Pale light catches the wet ice and the surrounding snow, while the open water makes a dark channel through the foreground.

The winter lake work is framed by a patterned wool sweater, a rust jacket and thick gloves wrapped around the pole handles. Several clear blocks already stand on the snowy bank behind the ramp. Low sunlight reaches across the broad frozen surface toward a distant line of bare trees, giving the small working scene a wide, still horizon.