On the Edge of Winter: The Rime Frost

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graineries-red, the edge of winter, the artyologist

Sometimes, when you get up and look out the window as you start a new day, you just think “Wow” and quickly grab a coat and your camera and run out the door to take pictures. Sometimes you are even in such a rush that you don’t grab a touque or gloves, and once you get out the door you realize just how cold that wind is too. But, the sacrifices one must make, are totally worth it on days like this. 😉 These photos are from a week ago, when we had such an incredibly beautiful few days of frost. I recently discovered the differences between “hoar frost’ and “rime frost”, and all these years what I thought was hoar frost, is actually rime frost. Rime frost is when water droplets, usually from a heavy fog, freeze to the outer surfaces of objects creating a white hard ice. It is often blown in with a wind and sometimes creates bizarre ice formations. Hoar frost is when frost grains grow larger than a regular frost, and is common around open areas of water.

The pictures I got on this day are of a heavy rime frost, when the world was white and beautiful. The fog was still in close too, and it created such a soft, quiet and eerie atmosphere. The frost has since melted off, as soon as the sunshine came out the next day, but it was amazing to see for the few days it was here.

rime frost on line of trees, edge of winter, the artyologist

rime frost on branch and pine tree, edge of winter, the artyologist

Here you can see how the wind blew the fog in from one direction, creating the horizontal ice formations.

red-shed, rime frost, the artyologist

grasses, edge of winter, the artyologist

view-of-the-valley, edge of winter, the artyologist

chicken-wire-and-red-branch, the artyologist

keys, rime frost, the artyologist

lamppost, rime frost, the artyologist

It’s Narnia! Ok, it’s not a lamppost, but close. . .

tree-and-sky, rime frost, the edge of winter, the artyologist

overhanging-trees, edge of winter, rime frost, the artyologist

rime frost on-pine, the artyologist

Here you can see that the pine tree was not completely covered in ice higher up, as the fog must have not swirled in that direction.

Have you ever seen a rime frost? Or a hoar frost?

Ps. You may have noticed that I have not been as active on here lately, or on the internet in general. I have been pretty overwhelmed, stressed, driven insane, busy getting ready for the Christmas craft sales I mentioned I would be in a few months ago, but with one down, and only one more to go (this Saturday), I am hoping that life will be back to “normal” soon. Although, then we’ll be right into Christmas time and so perhaps things won’t slow down at all. . . . 😉