More November World Photos-Ice!

Another November world sort of post from my world to yours....it is cold, really cold but no snow as they predicted which makes me very thankful. I am not ready yet for the winter to hit as hard as they thought it was going to this past week.


It was 43 degrees when we left the car for our walk on the trail. It was late afternoon and the light was so pretty in the remaining colorful leaves.


The mornings are still very cold and the leaves all have pretty patterns of ice to observe if you look up close.


How about this one from our deck railing? Amazingly beautiful don't you think?


Another one that caught my eye.....lovely, just lovely.

As November comes to a close, so will my November World posts but then again, it will a December World.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Winter Series #4 Seasonal Weather

Weather Statistics for February 4, 2010

Sunrise: 7:06 AM
Sunset: 5:28 PM
10 hrs and 22 min of daylight-tomorrow will be 2 minutes and 8 seconds longer
High temperature: 50.8 degrees F
Low temperature: 38 degrees F
Winds: 7 mph S
Rain is predicted to start anytime this evening and rain through Saturday.
No snow...snow level is going to be at around 4500 feet in elevation and we live at around 2300 feet.

Here is a photo from our walk today. The weather was actually pretty overcast and a little chilly. The grasses are turning green though and that is encouraging.


Here are a couple of weather related photos from the last few weeks.

We took this photo a few weeks ago as part of our weather nature study. My son was trying to gauge how much rain we were having and then it started to drop in temperature and to snow. His water in the gauge froze. He noticed there was a thick layer on top and a slushy layer underneath. We had a lot of rain.


I thought this was a funny photo. There was a big frozen ice cube on top of my leftover broccoli in my container on the deck.

This week though we have had signs of early spring popping up in our backyard.



Violets....mmmmmm. They smell so delicious.


Daffodils in big bunches all around the yard. I can hardly wait!

We are hoping for some good rain and then perhaps some snow next week so the boys can go snowboarding. I will pack up my snowshoes as well in hopes that I can take a romp in the snow.

Sierra Cement-Icy Morning

Just like many parts of the country, we are experiencing very cold weather. In the Sierra Nevada foothills where I live, the snow is rarely the fluffy flakes you see in winter storybooks. The snow we experience is very wet and is lovingly called Sierra Cement by skiers (watch the short video for an explanation). We had a few snow showers yesterday and that left behind a nice layer of snow and ice....brrrrr it is cold, well for this California girl anyway.

On my morning walk I was entranced by the ice on the deck railing. I could see with my naked eye the beautiful crystals.

So I brought out my camera with the macro lens and was able to capture the ice to share with you.

It really is like a whole little icy world down there.

"The ice on the surface of a still pond usually begins to form around the edges first, and fine, lancelike needles of ice are sent out across the surface....It is equally interesting to watch the formation of the ice crystals in a glass bottle or jar. Water, in crystallizing, expands, and requires more room than it does as a fluid; therefore, as the water changes to ice it must have more room, and often presses so hard against the sides of the bottle as to break it."
Handbook of Nature Study, page 811

Ice, snow, hail, sleet....all great subjects for winter nature study.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom

Afternoon Ice on the Trail

This mushroom was pushing out from the side of the trail. I really need to get out my new mushroom field guide and start identifying these fungi.


The leaves on the trail had a frosting of ice and the edges were so perfectly outlined. I wished I could bring one home and save it but I knew that wouldn't work so a photo is the next best thing.


Ice needles were all over the ground making it hard to walk, even in our hiking boots. The spires of ice were like beautiful crystals. My husband thinks this is hoarfrost but I am not sure since it is the first time I have seen this happen in our area.

I found this in the Handbook of Nature Study:

"If the weather during a dewy night becomes very cold, the dew becomes crystallized into hoar frost. The crystals of hoar frost are often very beautiful and are well worth our study."
Page 811

"What happens to the dew if the weather becomes freezing during the night? What is hoar frost? Why should water change form when it is frozen? How many forms of frost crystals can you find on the grass on a frosty morning?"
Page 813

There is always something new to learn about.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom