ice crystals like ferns

Sometimes here in Finland we get to see ice crystals forming on the lakes, mostly we don't get to see it because the lakes are covered in enough snow to prevent it. The last time I saw it was back in December 2009 when we had some deep cold but no snow. Then we had a whole lake covered in it in our area

This is how it looked on that day.



a beautiful "ice cover" of plant like ice structures.

Walking on them you could hear the smashing of the ice (as it was still -17°C). I felt quite guilty destroying such beauty.

Today I was out skiing (it was about -19°C or so) and came across a small area where someone had cleared away the snow and they'd started to grow again (given a patch of bare ice).

From where I was standing they looked like tiny replica ferns or perhaps herring bones. With a macro shot (sorry, just my Nokia) you can clearly see the crystalline structure of water. A 100% view of the little ferns to the left

Totally wonderful structures from just water. They even start growing on your face if you're out for long.

BTW, my flash lookin orange coat is a plain old Norwegian Military winter coat that I've tie-dyed orange ... I like orange.

I like it because unlike the modern 'membrane' GoreTex stuff it allows my sweat out when I'm skiing and therefore keeps me warmer. That its cotton is not a problem when its really cold because (simply) its not going to get wet.

The key to staying warm is to stay dry. So I have a multi layer approach.

• thin technical synthetic layer close to the skin
• thin merino wool layer (long johns) over that
• light fleece over that
• the canvas over that

and as a bonus its actually really cheap too.

win win