This past weekend we got a lot of snow, more easily measured by the foot than by the inch. That first morning after the storm had cleared trees were filled with pillows of white, and everything was covered in a thick blanket of snow, it was beautiful.
Now, just a few days later and it seems as though half of the snow has already melted. There are piles of dirty snow mounded up on every corner, but in between those mounds is a whole new version of the snow. This version is equally delicate, yet takes on an entirely different and unique structure.
I am talking about snow in a stage of melting, and in many cases a new stage of ice crystal (icicle) formations.
I ventured out in the late afternoon to take some photos, not quite sure what I was going to write about today. The afternoon sun was beginning to sink beneath the foothills, literally freezing the melting snow in exactly the perfect place. New forms dictated by the structures beneath them were held in place for further study...
...while newly formed icicles glimmered in what was left of the light. I found these new shapes and forms so inspiring, so intricate, and yet so simple and unassuming. If I had not been looking, but solely walking, I would have missed them. So glad I took a second look.
~Jordan
*Last time in Nature: Believe It Or Not
