I’ve been working on a difficult post that needs a lot of research and I knew I wouldn’t have it done in time to post today, so I thought I’d do another to show you what winter is doing here in New Hampshire. So far we’ve had plenty of cold but only a dusting of snow, as the above photo shows.
This photo was taken on the same day that the first one was. That was how fast the snow melted.
But as I’ve said, we’ve had plenty of cold so winter is creeping rather than howling in this year. This photo is of the kind of puddle ice that is paper thin and full of oxygen and makes tinkling sounds when you break it. This example had the silhouette of a flying eagle in it, and I’ve circled it so you could see it. All I have to do is hear this kind of ice breaking and I’m immediately transported back to when I was 9 or 10 years old. I used to love riding my bike through puddles with this kind of ice on them in the spring. It was always a sign that, before too long, school would be letting out for the summer.
Streams freeze from the banks in toward the middle and this one has started doing just that.
Anywhere water splashes, ice will form.
Rising and falling water levels decorate the edges of stones with ice baubles. When you see this happening you know it won’t be long before the stream has frozen over. The stones have lost any heat they might have had stored from the sun.
It’s no different along the Ashuelot River; anything that water splashes on is coated in ice.
Ice needles are poking up out of the soil. A lot has to happen for ice needles to form. When the air temperature is below 32 degrees F right at the soil surface and the soil and groundwater remain thawed, hydrostatic pressure can force the groundwater, sometimes super cooled, out of the soil where it freezes instantly into a “needle.” As more water is forced out of the soil the process is repeated over and over, and each needle grows in length because of more water freezing at its base. Often these needles freeze together to form ribbons, and that is what this photo shows.
One of my favorite places to find winter is in this man made canyon, hacked out of the rock when the Cheshire railroad was built in the 1800s. It’s an endless source of fascination and wonder for me because of the unusual plants that grow there. Winter had already started before I got there.
The sun doesn’t reach down beyond the tops of these 40-50 foot high walls in very many places but even where it did it didn’t throw enough heat to melt the ice. The ice here can be very beautiful and is often colored in shades of blue, green and yellow, stained by minerals and vegetation.
When you walk through here in summer you hear the constant drip of groundwater, and in winter you see as well as hear it.
I’ve put a red circle around the spider who found his own Everest. He’s just to the lower right of center. As often happens I didn’t see him until I saw the photo.
There are thousands of liverworts living here and many are slowly being entombed in the ice. There’s a good chance that they won’t be seen again until spring.
Mosses too, are being encased in ice. Life on these walls is tough, but these plants can take it.
For those who might be thinking big deal-a few icicles, this photo from last year shows what those few icicles will have become by February. They grow as big as tree trunks, and people come here to learn how to climb them. For me it’s interesting to see how they start, and then how they grow.
What a severe yet master artist old Winter is…. No longer the canvas and the pigments, but the marble and the chisel. ~John Burroughs
Thanks for stopping in.
These are some very nice ice scenes! We get some of that here, but in most places not quite so dramatic. Beautiful!
Thanks! We see big ice like that in a few places here. Mostly on ledges that have been blasted through rock.
Love all the icicle pictures. It’s turned quite warm and rainy here – warm, at least, by late November standards.
Thanks! It warmed up here today and tomorrow is supposed to be around 60. Not bad for November.
Again a fantastic virtual walk and amazing pictures ..especially like the ice baubles..have never seen anything like them before… Thanks… 🙂
Thank you Sue. At this time of year if you walk along a stream or brook every stone in it will have a skirt of icicles all around it. They grow into very interesting shapes like the baubles I’ve shown here.
Reblogged this on Dawn of Divine Rays and commented:
The photos are beautiful, Allen. Love the icicles, frozen baubles and the yellow leaves. We’ve been having the 20s temp still and Pittsburgh, PA, had car pile ups along the highways, roads due to black ice. Drivers are driving way too fast … don’t understand why they’re not taking extra precautions when driving as they’ve been living here all their lives. I’ve yet to see real big icicles in my life .. except for a few small ones hanging from the eave of the roof when we had the blizzard a few years ago. Wishing you and yours, a beautiful week ahead. Namaste
Thanks you Agnes. It seems like people have to learn how to drive in the winter all over again each year and I’ve never understood why either.
I’m surprised that you haven’t seen big icicles in Pennsylvania, but I don’t really know how cold it gets there. We can grow them pretty big up here and they can be amazing.
I hope you and the family also have a great week.
Although winter is most certainly on its way, Monday will seem more like spring in southern New Hampshire with the temperature forecast in the sixties. Mother Nature can’t seem to make up her mind.
I’ll take 60 degrees in November any time!
Beautiful.! It was so nice to see all that ice. We haven’t had enough rain to have the creeks flowing and aren’t cold enough for ice.
Thank you. I’m surprised to hear that. I thought it had been real cold out your way.
We had the Cold and only 2-3 inches of snow.
That’s just about the same as what we had, but at different times I guess.
I liked the river bank embroidery best among a host of fine images.
Thank you. Ice can be worth stopping to get a closer look.
Yes! Paper thin ice…LOVED that as a kid and actually even as an adult! And the ice baubles and what I erroneously referred to as “Stalagmites” a child? They still utterly fascinate me. Thank you for this post..and the explanation about ice needle formation. Real interesting!
You’re welcome and thank you. I still like hearing the sound that ice makes too, and I always break some when I see it, just for the memories. Ice of all kinds really can be fascinating, so I always stop to look it over. I’ve seen some really beautiful formations.
Having spent much time in VT, I can and do appreciate the beauty, as captured and shared in your photos, Allen. And in the same wintry breath, I wish you all the best with it as I have comfortably migrated to the desert Southwest, where we have a very different type of winter beauty. Sans iclcles. 🙂
Thank you Eric. I read a blog that is based in Arizona (http://seekraz.wordpress.com/) so I’ve seen the kind of beauty that you speak of. It really is beautiful there.
Both are lovely! Thanks for sharing a fellow bloggers URL.
I went for a walk on the trails behind our house this morning, and if I hadn’t read this beforehand I would not have noticed or stopped to show my husband the ice needles that had formed along one section of the path. Thanks as always for an entertaining and informative post! (P.S. I just LOVE the “ice baubles” photo.)
You’re welcome, and thank you. I’m glad you found some ice needles. I found some more today too.
Thank you for describing how ice needles form. I also love crunching ice puddles. It’s going to be in the 50s tomorrow in NH…I know what I’m doing! 🙂
You’re welcome Paula. I heard that it was supposed to warm up today but it seems to be taking its time. It’s still only 29 degrees here.
I love this post, Allen. Pictures, story and all.
Winter came roaring into Ontario. I wish it had been slower, but that’s nature for you. and poor Buffalo is having a really rough time right now, reminding us that we’re still not as badly off as we like to complain.
Thank you Cynthia. I’m sorry that winter came to you in a rush. It doesn’t seem to be able to make up its mind here. I agree, all we need to do is look at Buffalo to know how good we really have it. I have friends out that way and I don’t know how they stand going through that every year.
I was concerned that we might be the only area experiencing an early winter but it’s nice to see that things are catching out in your neck of the woods.
They’re hinting that we might see a storm Wednesday night so we might have a white Thanksgiving this year. That would be unusual for this area.
Another arresting set of photos-on-a-theme. What a fift you have – and give. Thank you. 🙂
Thank you Ben. I just try to get people interested so they’ll get out there to see for themselves.
Good one. 🙂
I love the ice baubles on the edges of the river. I always thought they were neat looking. As with every year, I’m not ready for winter!
Me neither Laura. I don’t think I’m ever really ready for winter, but you can see a lot of beautiful things if you get out in it.
The quote goes so well with this post, and you’ve captured that very well! I loved the ice along the creek and river photos, heck, I loved them all. The ice structures in the canyon were particularly beautiful as well.
I’m not looking forward to another long, cold, snowy winter, I’m glad that you were the one out shooting photos. 😉
Thanks Jerry. I’m ready for spring all ready! It was a little cool while I was getting some of these shots but I’m sure that I’ll get used to it.
A beautiful post and so fascinating to see the icicles as they start to form. I had never heard of ice needles.
Thank you Clare. Ice needles usually grow where there is a lot of groundwater near the surface. Spring and fall when we have cold nights seem to be the best time to find them.
Thank-you. If it ever gets cold enough here then I will have to look out for them!
You’re welcome. If I understand what I’ve read correctly the air temperature at ground level has to be just slightly below freezing.
There are some very beautiful photographs here 🙂 Do you ever see Hair Ice (Haareis) ?
Thank you. If you mean the kind of ice that comes from frost weed, no I’ve never found any. I’d love to see it though.
Every picture an enchantment, I loved all that ice.
Thank you Susan. You’d be hard pressed to find anyone who would say that here, but I like the ice too.