At this point of winter, we Northerners look for silver linings.
Many are the reasons to pity the poor Southerners, but one presented its silver self this morning.
Freezing fog and the delicate, sparkling rime it leaves behind.
I’m no meteorologist and I would have to look up the specific conditions that give us freezing fog, but Northerners know it is distinct from garden-variety frost.
In its wake, freezing fog leaves the most delicate fuzz of crystals on the entire outdoors. Every tree and twig and dried weed and fence post is enrobed so they all appear a bit softened, muted, as if behind a scrim.
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- Fuzzy berries
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- Cedar bough
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- Teazles
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- And more
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- All the vegetation
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- Even the neighbor’s ugly mailbox looks good
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- Our mailbox cat looks extra handsome!
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- The iron fences
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- And my favorites . . .
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- The cedar fences
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- Prettier than usual
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- For the uninitiated, that’s snow on the left, rime from freezing fog on the right
(If you click on the photos, you can count the little spikes of ice!)
The temperature rises a degree or two, the sun comes out, and it’s gone. Winter is cold and a little bleak and hard-edged again.
But we had our silver lining for a moment . . . and that counts for a lot during winter.
Love Those "Hands at Home" 
Your favourites are my favourites too! What gorgeous pictures. I love winter (except for when the pavements ice over – I had a bad fall a couple of years ago and am now ridiculously nervous about walking on any surface which is remotely icy!). 🙂
Ice is treacherous. My husband broke his leg in two places a few years ago, going to check the mail! We are very, very careful now.
Oh no, poor Hubby. I hope he has not suffered long term problems. I didn’t break anything, thankfully, but it was such a shock and I can’t really seem to get past it, even when other people are gaily walking along as if the pavements are normal. 😫😱
Love your silver linings. Perfect shots. You did good. Now you can get back to weaving or hand work. 🙂
I just wanted to be sure you properly missed the northeast, while on your southern idyll!
Beautiful photos. We didn’the have freezing fog down here, just rain, rain and more rain. I love your mailbox.
It’s been really gray, hasn’t it? I am desperate to take photos for Etsy and keep waiting for just one sunny day . . . never seems to happen!
Those are indeed remarkable silver linings, Kerry. Thanks for sharing the beauty of this special phenomenon.
And thank you for taking the time to look at them all and make such nice comments!
My pleasure.
And the effect is even better if you get sunshine on those crystals, even if only for a few moments.
Right–we haven’t had much sunshine lately! It’s getting me down . . .
The closeup’s of the photos were phenomenal… is your cat mailbox handmade? He did look exceptionally handsome in his silver lined coat!
I don’t know the story of the cat. My mom bought him at a flea market in Florida and carried him in her lap for the flight north. We have him sitting atop our standard mailbox–a handsome devil!
That is so lovely Kerry – not a phenomenon we get to see here at any time of the year 🙂 I love your mailbox!!
No, I can see why your region would miss out on freezing fog! The mailbox is a good landmark to give people, to tell them how to recognize our house when they get here!
These are beautiful photos. I want to try to capture some when it gets that cold here. We haven’t had much winter yet.
We haven’t had much winter, either, at least since November. But be careful what you wish for . . .
yes, I remember that freezing fog, softening the landscapes.
Yes, exactly! It’s quite magical.
Wonderful. You remind us of the beauty of winter. We’ve had a mild one so far, and I miss the bracing cold and its attendant pleasure, however much I may dislike feeling cold.
Our winter has been odd–very snowy in November but December was almost snow-free and warm. It’s very cold right now, though–thank goodness for central heating!
I love your enjoyment of the cold! I’ve tried it both ways: a cold northern winter for 40+ years and now, the tropics. I miss the opportunities to wear wool, the sheer beauty of unmarked snow in the morning, the crackling flames of the woodstove… and then I remember the arthritic pain in my hands and hip, chillblains on my toes and a permanently red nose, the backbreaking labour of splitting and carrying the wood for the stove, and the mountains of clothes you need to put on just to step outside! To each of us, her own heaven. For you, hot chocolate, a roaring fire and the delicate beauty of snowdrops. For me, the scent of frangipani, warm black velvet nights, sparkling with huge stars, and the delicate beauty of shells picked up on a beach walk.
Honestly, I’d like to have both ways as options so I could bounce back and forth, according to mood! I wouldn’t want to live in tropical weather full-time, I know that, but it’s awfully nice to visit!
Hoar frost. That’s what I would have called that. Beautiful stuff, and not seen that often, but always good to see, even if only in lovely photos!
You got me wondering, so I looked up the difference between rime and hoar frost–learned a lot! My pictures are of rime from freezing fog–I should’ve taken a photo earlier in the day of the fog! https://blog.weatherops.com/rime-ice-or-hoar-frost-there-is-a-difference
This is fascinating and the pictures really clarify it, too. I think I’ve always called something that coated the way these do a hoar frost. Now, I know the difference between that and a coat of rime! Thanks for the link.
What a gorgeous morning you had, Kerry, and such a lovely job you did capturing the beauty!
Thanks, Kathy. It was finally nice enough here to take a walk, instead of going to the gym–being outside is always better, if the weather cooperates.
Beautiful pictures, I love all the details!
Thanks–the ice crystals were so delicate!
My favourite are the teazles. They look like what we would call burrs, the kind that stick to my dog’s fur like velcro.
We have burrs, too, and my cats consistently bring them home from this same field (as well as ticks!) These teazles are taller and not quite as sticky–a different burr from a different kind of plant, I guess. But pretty!
Wonderful photos! Truly special moments to capture. 😂 pity the poor southern😂
I know you laugh and pity the poor Northerners, Deb!
😁 keep warm my friend!
It’s so stunning though we rarely see anything like that here. I love the way it feels so light and airy.
It does seem light and airy and very subdued. Winter can be harsh but this phenomenon doesn’t look it!
The closest I have seen to this in NZ is hoar frost, but I haven’t seen that for a very long time. The effect of the freezing fog is magical. I wouldn’t be surprised if the mailbox cat is secretly smiling at his handsome self.
I was just saying to Arlingwoman (Lisa) that she encouraged me to look up the difference between rime from freezing fog and hoar frost! That cat has a prideful look, doesn’t he?
I suppose Cat should be proud to have such a responsible job; guarding the mail, keeping it dry. You could consider Cat as the sphinx of the mailbox.
He does have a pensive Sphinxlike look, doesn’t he?
Yep!
Beautiful! Freezing fog is a nightmare if you’re driving in it but, a bit like snow, beautiful to look at when you’re safely on your (snow booted) feet or tucked up indoors. I too love your mailbox. Do you have to have ‘official’ ones? Here in France it is ‘sort of’ the law to have standard issue mailboxes so that the postmen and women can open them with a key if there’s something that won’t go through the slot so they don’t have to knock on the door. I did rebel with a prettier one once but would often get told off because they don’t like getting out of their vans and ringing the doorbell unless it’s a big package that wouldn’t fit into the mailbox in any case. Now I conform for the sake of peace 😒
This specific fog was very light and not slippery, although you’re right, it can be awful! I should show a larger picture of the cat/mailbox. The box itself is more standard, although I don’t know if we are compelled to have these standard ones and they certainly don’t lock. My mom brought the cat from Florida, where she got him at a flea market, and he is affixed, standing on top of the mailbox and protecting it (since our box doesn’t lock!)
How beautiful! I’d leave the house in the cold for a few shots of that 🙂
I’d love to see photos you took of this, with your skill!
😀 That would indeed be interesting – maybe I need to book a winter vacation in MA next year instead of summer…
We’ve only had about 15 minutes of snow this weekend, nothing stayed on the ground, so not much opportunity.
Beautiful photos, I love the crisp, frosty mornings.
I do, too–any time I can walk outside at this time of year makes me happy!
Thank you for another exquisite blog post. I thought about you last month when I flew over NY state en route to Toronto. If I am remembering correctly, you live near a lake in upstate NY? Water is a magical substance… which your photos perfectly capture.
Hi, Will! Thanks for your consistent warmth! I do live on Lake Champlain in upstate NY. It’s a very long lake (over 120 miles, I think) and forms the border between upstate and Vermont. I hope you waved!
Jack Frost leaves some beautiful handiwork behind, especially in the fog. I love the mailbox cat!
I can tell the cat lovers–you’re all commenting on my big copper cat! He’s perched out there–rain, sun, snow–for about 10 years now. I always love coming home to him (and the flesh and blood cats, too!)
Beautiful images, the frost is definitely a silver lining of winter.
Thanks, Andrea. That batch didn’t last long. It warmed up and an hour later we were back to normal.
D > Well we ae certainly not softie southerners – by any stretch of the imagination! But, you know what, we only rarely get frost here in the Outer Hebrides, and in 16 years here no freezing fog! Thanks to your post, we realize how much we miss the kind of thing you describe.
J > As to how freezing fog occurs, isn’t it when milder damper air moves over deeply frozen ground – and with sub-zero conditions above. A bit like an inversion layer. In Navarra, the valley of the Aragon around Sanguesa is renown for these conditions summer and winter, and in winter the result is freezing fog. Unfortunately we won’t get to experience it this winter – we left before the real cold got going.
You two certainly are not softies!! And, Jonathan, what you’re describing may be hoar frost instead of rime from freezing fog. I do know that our ground is not yet deeply frozen. Not sure–it’s just pretty!
J > Ah yes, you might well be right. I’d forgotten that description.
I want that mailbox!!
Everyone thinks we moved to SC for the warm winter weather but it’s not so! I love winter and particulalry snow…so I enjoyed your pictures. We had some nasty stuff (snow, sleet, rain) before Christmas which was the texture of granita! Luckily it melted pretty fast – no snowplows around here. We have been having very warm temperatures and I am worried about the bulbs and also the peach trees, which need several weeks of freezing temperatures.
The south has had some odd weather this year. Are you in the path of this storm that’s coming through over the weekend?
Awesome photos! I love days during the winter when there is a “silver lining.”
We’ve had very little sunshine this winter so I am especially relieved when we get a sunny day, although he freezing fog made for pretty photos.
love your silver linings, beautiful photos. Stay warm and safe.
Thanks, Jean. Staying safe seems easy enough. Staying warm is a little more difficult . . .
Pretty photos. I remember the very first time I experienced frozen fog, it was in Germany. The sun came out and the whole region seemed to glitter.
Yes, it can be absolutely magical!