Ice
I took pictures of the grass and snow in the lot next to my office but the consensus here was that this was a better picture. Can you tell what it is? It was a beautiful afternoon, although a bit nippy.
Tagged With: Ice
Icy Rose Stem
Icy Rose Stem
The picture isn’t as sharp as I would have liked but I love the pattern in the ice on this rose stem.
Categories: Flowers and Plants
Tags: Ice, Icy Rose Stem, Rose Stem, Winter
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Ice Crystals
Ice Crystals
It was chilly this morning and ice crystals had formed on my car windshield over night. I’m not sure about the color in this but wonder if it has to do with the polarizing effect of the crystals in combination with the safety glass.
Zamboni
Refreshing The Ice, Rockville Town Center
I met the guys in Rockville Town Square this evening, getting there a little early so I’d have time to take some pictures before they got there. The ice skating rink had been set up and though we’re well into November, there have only been a handful of days that were actually seasonably cold. They can still make ice, of course, and I planned to watched a few people skate for a little while. Just as I got ready to take a picture of two, they cleared the ice to run the Zamboni, so I got a picture of that, instead. I don’t know if this is actually a Zamboni. Apparently there are two other companies that make ice refreshing equipment, but that’s the name that everyone recognizes. Like Kleenex, Band-Aid, and Jacuzzi, Zamboni is a registered trademark but it has become so associated with the product category, it is used in the vernacular for the product.
Icy Buddleia
Icy Buddleia
Spring is definitely on its way but we had rain and a little freezing rain today and it didn’t feel very spring like. It was a chilly, dreary day, for the most part and I didn’t get outside much. When I got home I took a few pictures out the back door of the buddleia that’s growing by the patio. There was less than an eighth of an inch of ice by the end of the day but the forecast is for snow tomorrow (and since I’m writing this after the fact, I know we got it).
Water Freezing
Water Freezing
It’s been a reasonably mile winter so far, with only a few really chilly days. The forecast had temperatures dropping this afternoon with a low in the mid single digits (Fahrenheit) tonight. In the last afternoon I went out and it was definitely colder than it had been. The standing water on the lawn in the back yard was starting to freeze and making some really pretty crystal formations. It’s not the easiest thing to photograph but I think this one shows it pretty well. This ice is very thin, less than a millimeter, but by the morning the water will almost certainly be frozen solid.
Categories: Miscellaneous
Tags: Crystalization, Freezing, Ice, Water, Winter
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Freezing Pond
Freezing Pond
The temperature didn’t get as low as we had been led to believe overnight, but it was 10°F this morning, which is chilly enough. I wear a light jacket when it gets this cool out, although really what I needed was gloves. The steering wheel of the car was pretty cold. I took some pictures of the pond between my office building and the next early this afternoon. The water level has dropped a few feet from when the ice started to form, so there were large sheets of ice around the banks of the pond that were left behind as the water moved out from under them. There was also ice on branches that had been underwater but now were about a foot above. It was quite pretty.
Ice
Ice
It was significantly warmer today and the ice was starting to melt. I had to walk across campus to a meeting (well, I didn’t have to walk but I chose to). After the meeting I went out into the woods for a little while to take some pictures. There is a stream running through the woods and a very boggy area next to it with ice throughout. I took a few pictures of the ice, which to me looks a lot like contour maps, which I find quite beautiful. I think I’m drawn to things that are fleetingly beautiful. Their transient nature hurts because I know they will shortly be gone but perhaps that adds to their appeal at the same time. A sunset, a pattern in ice, a beautiful and dramatic sky, they all last for a moment and then are gone forever.
Ice
Ice
We had a bit of freezing rain overnight and the trees and bushes were covered with a thin layer of ice in the morning. The local school system had a two hour delay this morning and that meant our commute was that much easier. In spite of the ice on branches and the school delay, the roads were wet but not icy. I took this photo of ice on an Amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii) twig next to where I parked at work. It rained pretty much all day.
Ice On My Car Window
The View Through Ice On My Car’s Window
As mentioned in yesterday’s post, it rained pretty much all day yesterday after there was freezing rain the night before. Overnight the water on my car’s windows formed quite large ice crystals. They were hard to get a good picture of but I tried, anyway. The problems is the lack of contrast in the crystals. Thus picture doesn’t actually show much detail in the ice but I like the way the wet ice crystals make the view beyond the window into a somewhat abstract image.
Frost
Frost
It’s turned cold, with morning temperatures in the mid 20s. We had our first hard freeze yesterday and today there was frost on the windscreen of my car. So, naturally I pulled out my camera and took a few pictures. These little ice crystals are pretty delicate and once I turned on the car, they melted pretty quickly (and I ran the windshield washer, which took care of them completely). As many of you know, I don’t mind cold weather too much. I wore a jacket a few times during our ten days in Juneau but that was as much for the rain as anything else. I’ll generally not bother unless it’s below about 15°F or I’m going to be outdoors for an extended period.
Frost
Frost
There was a heavy frost this morning and I took the time before going to work to get some photos. That meant lying on the ground which was a bit cold and decidedly damp, but I knew I’d dry out before I got to work, so I wasn’t worried. I think ice crystals are pretty cool (no pun intended) and these are pretty nice. I’d like to have gotten closer but I didn’t have the time to get out the ultra-close-up equipment, so this was about as good as I could get.
Frost
Frost
There was frost on the ground and on the car this morning and I thought the ice crystals were pretty enough that I took the time to get a few pictures before heading off to work. These are on the roof of the car and are so delicate. I started the car so it would be a little warmed up by the time I got in, then put my bag in the trunk and took a handful of photos of ice crystals. I realized after taking them that the camera was set to manual mode because I had taken flash photos most recently. Fortunately they were pretty close to a proper exposure, so that worked out well.
Frost on Fern Fronds
Frost on Fern Fronds
It hasn’t realle been that cold yet this winter. We did have snow last week but it was only down into the upper 20s at night. It was chilly this morning and the forecast is for continued cold for a while, with lows around 20°F. Still not frigid, but colder. I took some mail out to the box this morning and noticed the frost on these fern fronds so I got my camera and went out a second time to take a few photos. The frost didn’t last long, melting shortly after the sun hit it. But I wasn’t going to stay out too long, anyway. I was in a t-shirt and barefoot. Bracing.
Ice
Ice
We went for a walk today and I took a very few photographs, including a few of ice along side the path. It’s melting and everything is very wet and cold but there are already signs of spring. Snow drops are coming up and before long there will be witch-hazels (Hamamelis) in bloom. Winter won’t be over for a while yet but the first signs of spring are already staring to appear.
Ice Runes
Ice Runes
Although it’s winter and in spite of the fact that there is ice on this sheltered spot on the creek, it was in the 60s today. Very mild and a great day for a walk in the woods. I love these ice crystals. I’m reading a book of essays written by (actually, talks given by) J. R. R. Tolkien. They are to a large extent, about language and if you know anything about him you won’t be surprised that they dealt a fair amount with Old English (a.k.a. Anglo-Saxon). These ice crystals made me think about ancient runes and that may be in part because of the book. I really don’t know.
Footprints
Footprints
Last night we had a little wet snow. I went out to push a shovel through it so that it wouldn’t be too icy this morning because I knew we’d have someone coming to the house early today. There was a little ice at the bottom, under the snow, so I wasn’t able to get it all up. I went out this morning to put some salt down to melt what was left and make it a bit safer for anyone coming to the house and I saw these footprints in the ice. I’m trying to figure out what sort of creature would leave prints of this sort. Any ideas?
Ice
Ice
We went to the Ag. History Farm Park today and took a walk by the creek. On the way to the creek I took this picture of ice, which I think is pretty cool. I didn’t take a lot of pictures, otherwise, just a few of a deer skull and a few of the old farm house. It was really nice out, with the sky a deep blue that we only get around here in the winter time.
Freezer Thaw
Freezer, Pre-Thaw
Freezer, Post-Thaw
The freezer that we have in our garage has been frosting up slowly over the years and I’ve been meaning to empty it and get it cleaned up. Recently, the door didn’t get shut properly, partly because of that same ice buildup, and the inside became even more choked with ice. Two days ago I emptied it into two coolers (it’s below freezing outside so I wasn’t worried about losing my food) and moved the freezer out of the garage onto the driveway. I put pans of boiling water in it, replacing them as they cooled, until all the ice was gone. As you can see from the before and after photos, that did the job quite nicely.
Categories: Miscellaneous
Tags: Chores, Defrost, Defrosting, Freezer, Ice
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