Putting the freeze on

Over the past, week Mother Nature has dropped the temperature below the freezing point.

​This action leads to the formation of frost and ice into very cool and abstract forms. 

Early morning trips home after the night shift, were greeted by glittering fields of frost crystals and snowflakes.

​Jack Frost was busy adding his touch and sparkle to a landscape of white and blue hues.

An article posted on www.farmersalmanac.com titled "Who Is Jack Frost?" by Jaime McLeod shed a little light on the legendary frozen figure.

"Jack Frost is best known in North America and Britain, but has his origins in the ancient Norse figure Jokul Frosti, a wicked frost giant who served as the personification of ice and snow," McLeod wrote.

McLeod wrote that the legend behind frost was toned down a little big in Anglo-Saxon myth. "... Jack Frost became less threatening and more of a trickster figure," he penned.

To me, Jack Frost seemed to be more of an artist creating shapes and formations of beauty.

Despite the bitter cold, the woods were a shimmering sight to see. A slight breeze dislodged the frost crystals from their resting place. The camera wasn't able to capture the ethereal scene.

A quick check of the internet found an article on frost formation by Meteorologist Jeff Haby on the National Weather Service's website weather.gov.

"'Frost' can form in two ways: Either by deposition or freezing," Haby wrote.

Depositional frost is also known as white frost or hoar frost. ... When this frost forms the water vapor goes directly to the solid state.

Depositional frost covers the vegetation, cars, etc. with ice crystal patterns (treelike branching pattern).

​If the depositional frost is thick enough, it resembles a light snowfall", Haby explained.

 "Frost that forms due to the freezing of liquid water is best referred to as frozen dew ....Frozen dew does not have the crystal patterns of white frost," Haby continued.

After reading Haby's article, I believed the frost that I photograph most would be depositional frost.

Meanwhile, I am not the only one who was in awe of Jack Frost's artistry. A few quotes from the internet echoed my thoughts.

"It is the life of the crystal, the architect of the flake, the fire of the frost, the soul of the sunbeam. This crisp winter air is full of it," by John Burroughs.

 "But frost, like the crystallized dreams of autumn, began to coat the clearing with its sugar glaze," by    Victoria Steele Logue.

Another quick google search turned up the saying clear moon, frost soon.

As Mother Nature seemed to have a love hate relationship with Jack Frost recently, it doesn't seem that will stop him from creating his crystals.

​That's just the nature of things 'round here.