altivo

For those of you who live in warm climates or dry ones, here are some photos of what I saw this morning. It did not snow during the night. Every tree and bush was coated with fine hairs of white frost, some as long as a half inch (1 cm. or so) that completely covered the branches and even the finest twigs. The effect is one of striking beauty, but it is very delicate and lasts only an hour or two before the warming temperatures or the wind destroy it.

New Englanders, Canadians, and Great Lakes folks, you've seen this and may not want to bother with my very poor photos. :)

	Trees 1 January 7, 2005 Hoarfrost: looks like a black and white photo, but that's the lighting effect of dawn on an overcast sky with a landscape that is almost black and white anyway. Note the 8 inches of new snow that fell 24 hours earlier.
	Trees 2 January 7, 2005 Hoarfrost: really much prettier than these photos show. It was a still night, with high humidity as temperatures dipped to about 10 F. (-10 C.) When these photos were taken, there was still no wind, and the temperature had risen to only 20 F. (-5 C.)
	Branch January 7, 2005 Hoarfrost: with apologies for the tiny camera, essentially a toy, that I happened to have with me.