Sunrise

Frostbite weather and oatmeal

It's such a bright morning I wanted to go for a longer walk, but the instant I stepped outside, my breath started to freeze my moustache.



The low this morning was -20°C (-12°F) and the temperature is only expected to rise to -13°C (3°F). Fortunately there's little wind. As soon as I took my glove off to use my camera, my fingers started to burn. I only went as far as the pond, which was almost frozen over. The dark, open pool in front of the storm drain gave off heavy mist that fringed everything—ice and grass—with fine crystals.



This is also how the crystals, which I photographed and posted on Dec. 13, form on the surface of the ice sheet: from freezing mist. I only took a few pictures before my index finger became so numb I could hardly press the shutter. Even my nylon coat had started to get crisp and crinkly. I hurried home.

Here's a heartwarming breakfast for a bitter morning: microwave a bowl of oatmeal, scoop in two big spoonfuls each of applesauce and vanilla yogurt, mix it altogether and microwave for a few more seconds to make sure it's nice and warm. In summer I like to do the same thing substituting a mixture of berries, peaches and mild oranges for the applesauce.

Talkien's agenda

I must pass along this interesting link from pegkerr.

The Lord of the Rings: A Source-Criticism Analysis

Frost flowers

My discussion with ruralrob about window frost prompted me to ask a meteorologist exactly how these patterns form.

My hall window is a garden of frost flowers. Here are two of my favourite photos, taken on Dec. 3, 2002.





Keith Heidorn writes Science of the Sky at Suite101. He taught at University of Guelph while I was studying there, but we never met. Now he lives in Victoria, BC. If meteorology interests you, also check his website, The Weather Doctor.

Keith tells me frost forms on windows the same way it does on any surface, when water vapour is deposited onto a growing cyrstal. A scratch on the glass or a contaminant such as dust, a clay particle or salt crystal may act as a seed for the ice crystal and help form these intricate patterns. For more information on the science and folklore of frost, read Keith's article, "Frosty morning."

My west window provides such fertile ground for frost formations because it is directly above the building's heat exchange vent, which constantly ejects water vapour.

The second photograph inspired this drawing, "Used car lot," so titled because that's what my west window overlooks. I gave this drawing to djjo.