Gas Liquid Solid

After the snows and floods of the last several weeks, we have had cold and clear weather. The sunshine has been wonderful, but the clear skies have resulted in cold and foggy nights. To the west of us there has been continual fog, day and night, for many days now. A result of the fog in the low lying areas has been an incredible display of nature, and the early morning, today (Jan. 22), revealed a display of hoarfrost like I have never seen before. Andrew and I were out in the early morning, while it was still cold, but after the fog began to dissipate. We were treated to the photo opportunities that I will be posting in the next few days. When the moisture in the air condenses on cold objects, you would think that it would simply freeze into tiny droplets, or a sheen of ice. But when it does what it did today, it simply takes the breath away! The spikes of frost are very fragile and when I touched it, it fell down like dust. It is very dry. Had there been even a breath of wind, this display would have been gone in an instant. As it was, as the sun rose higher, the frost started to fall gently to the ground and melt. The opportunity was there for an hour and then gone. Enjoy the photos over the next few days and click on them to see them larger.