Glitterings in the false dawn
Jan. 19th, 2009 10:41 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jaunthieThis morning's walk to the bus stop was much colder than I had anticipated. It was about 29 degrees outside, which is nothing compared to a lot of the rest of the country, but surprising in that the forecast hadn't predicted dropping below freezing. It was also foggy close to the ground, which meant ice fog. Everything was edged and ridged with fuzzy, sparkly, millimeters of ice crystals, including the sidewalks, which made for occasionally slippery going in spots.
Frost is beautiful to look at at any time, but this morning's sky above the fog (which didn't go up more than a few feet where I was, and so wasn't enough to impede visibility) was absolutely clear, and just at the right time to catch the false dawn ghosting the sky above the mountains, and true dawn just starting to think about sending up color. The frost echoed that faint light and the occasional street light in unexpected ways, individual ice crystal facets momentarily catching and sending back random sparkles through the low-lying mist. It was very, very lovely and very, very fragile, about as ephemeral moment in time as it is possible to be aware of.
And the maple seeds still littering the ground at the bus stop were enchanted by frost into gilded fairy wings, yet too frozen to fly. I know, because I couldn't resist picking one up and trying it.
It's very good to have such wonderful reminders from Nature about the beauty in the world beyond the day-to-day job.
Frost is beautiful to look at at any time, but this morning's sky above the fog (which didn't go up more than a few feet where I was, and so wasn't enough to impede visibility) was absolutely clear, and just at the right time to catch the false dawn ghosting the sky above the mountains, and true dawn just starting to think about sending up color. The frost echoed that faint light and the occasional street light in unexpected ways, individual ice crystal facets momentarily catching and sending back random sparkles through the low-lying mist. It was very, very lovely and very, very fragile, about as ephemeral moment in time as it is possible to be aware of.
And the maple seeds still littering the ground at the bus stop were enchanted by frost into gilded fairy wings, yet too frozen to fly. I know, because I couldn't resist picking one up and trying it.
It's very good to have such wonderful reminders from Nature about the beauty in the world beyond the day-to-day job.
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Date: 2009-01-19 09:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-19 09:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-19 11:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-20 06:02 am (UTC)I'd like it to get just a little cooler again now please. Heat waves in January are not fun.
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Date: 2009-01-20 07:25 pm (UTC)Can't really speak for her, but at a guess - nah. I was out half an hour after she was, and it was still beautiful and still way too dark to take a decent picture without setting up a tripod. Frost on maple seeds is magnificent, but there's something about sprawling on your belly in the ice while you try to capture something in a viewfinder that really takes you out of the moment. :)
One of the nice things about writing is that you can enjoy the moment and capture it later, indoors, over a cup of cocoa. I think she caught more in a couple hundred words than either of us could have done with a camera.
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Date: 2009-01-20 08:43 pm (UTC)