Wednesday, 8 December 2010

A realm of ice

The continuing cold weather has an undeniable beauty.  For almost two weeks the temperature hasn't risen above freezing, daytime temperatures are hovering around minus 5 Celsius with night time lows around minus 15.  In these conditions, the mass of snow which fell is more or less unchanged. Apart from wind action and a sun-crust, it remains deep and unconsolidated.  It's been possible to dig snowpack test pits on the edge of the house roof!


Only on walls and roofs facing the low December sun is there any real change.  The marginally higher temperatures in these areas are creating some impressive and beautiful ice formations.  To prevent damage to the guttering from the extra weight, we've been removing them daily.




Some are fairly large; you certainly wouldn't want this to fall on your head.

It's been so cold that some rarely seen mythological creatures are appearing in our corner of Aberdeenshire.....




This Unicorn has been created in a garden in the small village of Montgarrie, along with a Gargolyle and two castles.  Someone has a real talent!
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2 comments:

  1. J_on_tour9 December 2010 at 06:52

    I've seen some icicles recently, but this one seems a bit more spectacular.
    The weather plays tricks on the mind and like you say, you see things that you don't expect. I'm not worried about his horn but I am by his dripping at the mouth !!!

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  2. Ian Johnston9 December 2010 at 19:54

    He's a bonny beast, I was half expecting the Snow Queen and Aslan to turn up....

    I couldn't quite get the picture with the sun sparkling through the Unicorn's horn, but the sculpture is really well made.

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