Fire & Ice

This was taken through my kitchen window earlier this week. The sun was just peeking out over the Blue Mountains and was making the icicles look as though they were glowing.

Frosty Morning

Earlier this week it got down to about five degrees (F) at night. When we woke up there was not only frost like this on the kitchen window, but in our bedroom there was ice on the inside of the window. Our house is old and not well-insulated, and the windows are old and drafty. The frost did create a pretty scene through the window, though.

Tour of the Back Roads 8

Here, our last stop on our first tour of the WWV back roads, we see a field weed coated in ice, preserved until the sun warms the ground enough to fight back. And thus ends this tour of the back roads, though I do hope to go on another one, perhaps in the spring when there is more colour in the valley. I hope you'll join us for that tour, as well. You probably won't need your mittens for that one.

Tour of the Back Roads 7

Earlier on our tour of the back roads of the WWV, we encountered this field, covered in ice and snow, lined with icicle-laden trees. Yesterday we took a closer look at the trees themselves; today we're scanning the field and noticing each sparkle of ice-covered grass and stump of cut hay. You can see a few sparkles in this photo. Tomorrow we'll get up close and personal with the ground and see what makes the field sparkle like glass. Then we'll call it good for this particular tour of the back roads...until next time!

Tour of the Back Roads 5

It recently snowed a bit in the valley. Just a little bit, with the deepest spots boasting approximately 2 1/2-3 inches. But it was enough to freeze the valley, causing residents to drag out the gloves and hats again. Many fields pepper the valley; in the spring it's colourful and fresh, but in the winter, everything is brown...unless it snows, and then everything is white! For some reason, occasionally farmers (or the farm hands?) will allow the sprinklers to run even in the dead of winter. I'm not sure why, because it seems bad for the pipes to be pumping water through in freezing weather. The sprinkler heads coat with ice and then can't move. Whatever the reason, it happens, and when it does, it actually creates a beautiful sparkling field of ice. Such as the one pictured above. They are trees lining a field on the back roads, and they are completely covered in ice. Tomorrow we'll take a closer look and see what else this fantastic mistake has created.

The Forgotten Photo

I meant to post this photo back with all the other ice and snow photos a couple of weeks back, but neglected to. So here it is now, since it's still January and winter. This is a photo of a light switch on our front porch with cobwebs on it...that were coated in ice when the fog rolled in and froze a couple of Sundays ago. My husband loves this photo because he thinks the spider webs just look so cool. I agree. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your mindset), the freezing cold weather is gone and we are experiencing early spring. I don't think it will last; I think we'll get some more below freezing days, but we'll see! Right now I'll enjoy walking outside with sunglasses and no coat.

Invisible Growth

Icicles are fascinating. You go to bed one night in your normal house, and then in the morning when you look out the window, here they are! I know how icicles form, but it's nearly impossible to watch them do it. They grow persistently, silently, and next to invisibly. But they are beautiful, aren't they? These are small ones (about 8-12 inches long); we have one on the corner of our house that is about 3 feet long. I love them! When I was little, my sisters and I used to break them carefully off of the eaves of our home and stash them in the freezer for warmer weather. It was fun to pull out icicles and "fence" with them in May or June.

More photos of this crazy weather to come...last night around 7:30 it was still snowing and we had 20 inches. I'll re-measure today and let you know what it is now. It's at least 2 feet, I'd bet.

Signs of Winter

One last close-up shot from Southfork and then we shall move on! Above this frozen grass was a lovely, deep-green-moss-covered rock dripping with water. Apparently it had warmed up enough to keep the rivulets along the rock running, but not enough to thaw the grass that had already frozen. There were even miniature icicles on a couple of the blades of glass-encased grass. Winter is coming!