An Icy Excursion

My husband and I went for a stroll in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park yesterday. Here's a covered bridge that you can find in the park:

It was pretty cold and we saw lots of icy crystals in interesting shapes:

and patterns:

You can find the remains of an old sandstone quarry in one part of the park. One of the quarry walls is in the background below. The stacked stones here, I think, are spalls - the parts that were trimmed off of larger blocks in the sizing process and left lying around:

Sharp crystals laced the tops of frozen ponds, streams, puddles and rivers:

Some tumbling blocks of Berea sandstone:

Sandstone steps leading nowhere in particular:

We didn't follow the steps today, maybe we'll go nowhere in particular some other day : )

A study in crystals

Get comfy and pull up a seat:


It was frosty as well as snowy this morning, so when I went out to replenish the bird feeder, I grabbed my camera to snap some frosty pictures. Click on any of the photos for a close-up view.

A crystal-encrusted tulip tree bud sleeping through the cold:

Thorns and frost:

I heard yesterday that all snowflakes are hexagons. Is that true for frost crystals too?:

It's a rare sunny day. Maybe I'll go out for a snowy adventure. Hope you're staying warm!