frozen waterfall

Warm Front – ND #65

Posted on by Lisa Weikel 3 Comments
Embedded Leaf – Photo: L. Weikel

Warm Front

It’s hard not to succumb to Spring Fever when you step outside expecting a harsh frigid slap, only to feel a warm breeze swirl up to greet you instead. I don’t know about you, but even though I knew intellectually that a warm front had arrived, I nevertheless felt a need to don my neck warmer before setting out on our walk late this afternoon. And then, of course, I got hot.

Even though we walked the longer ‘walk-around’ today, I failed to take a single photo. And there were a couple I considered. For instance, the first daffodil leaves that break open the earth and create space for the stem and blossoms to follow made their appearance today. I spotted them on the outer perimeter of an exquisite stone farmhouse we pass almost every day.

A half mile before the groundbreaking daffodils, we witnessed a flock of bluebirds flitting across the single lane road that passes through a former horse farm. It was as if there was a bluebird factory hidden along the hedgerow. One after another, sometimes two or six at a time, they crossed in front of us. All in all, we probably saw at least two dozen move from one field to the other.

Some of the males were so profoundly royal blue that it took our breath away. Juxtaposed against the deep rusty peach of their undercarriage, they looked like they’d only recently been colorized by the Master Gardner.

I contemplated (briefly) trying to capture them with my iPhone, but ended up not even trying. The phone stayed in my pocket.

Along Route 32 – Photo: L. Weikel

Maybe Tomorrow

Who knows what tomorrow will bring. In the meantime, I’ll share some random loveliness I’ve witnessed over the past several days, back when it felt like February, not April.

There’s something about a frozen waterfall that makes me stare at it in wonder. Even though I know it’s not an instantaneous process, I can almost imagine the freeze occurring as a stop-frame moment. Like a light switch.

Flowing and crashing one moment; silently stopped midair the next. Eerie.

(T+65)

Ice Flowers – Day 364

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Ice Flowers

I was introduced to ice flowers this weekend, a natural occurrence I never knew existed, or at least never knew had a name and is a ‘thing.’

Also known as frost flowers, these delicate, otherworldly creations of nature must be seen at just the right time of day or they’re missed forever.

First Time

I regret to report that I do not have the photos I thought I did of the truly magical ones that appeared the other day. I only snagged a photo of the single one I personally encountered – and it actually bears little resemblance to the crystalline-looking ice sculptures my companion discovered earlier and had photographed.

Why didn’t I ask them to send me a copy of it?!

Truth be told, I was dissatisfied with the example of an ice, or frost, flower that I found (the one pictured above and below). It’s gray and almost resembles more a frozen wave or waterfall, cascading forth from the ground below it. Nevertheless, its flowing energy caught mid-movement was an odd frost sculpture to come across.

Photo – L. Weikel

An Article Appears

What’s particularly odd is that just one day after seeing an ice flower for the very first time (that I recall), I randomly come across an article that actually gives them a name and documents their occurrence in the state of Missouri. It’s pretty obvious it occurs elsewhere, but I still think it’s pretty cool that I was edified on their existence and what they’re called within 24 hours of experiencing them.

There’s so much magic surrounding us every day, but especially so when one is immersed in nature and paying attention.

There’s a cold snap coming in the next day or so to many parts of the country. Make sure you give yourself a chance to discover some frost flowers this week. Quick! Before all the plants give birth to their icy selves.

(T-747)