Hoar Frost in Minnesota

This past weekend was very gray but, with dense freezing fog, it made for some beautiful sightseeing. The fog freezes slowly, creating beautiful crystals on tree branches and leaves that are much larger than snowflakes.

^{Frosted Forest}

Freezing fog is rare here, but something I have seen quite a few times. This is the first time I was able to find a still-clinging leaf rimmed with frost like the salt on the rim of a margarita, though.

^{Salty Rim?}

WIth fog still heavy in patches, the farm fields seemed to disappear into nothing. This next photo was taken at the edge of one of those fields. As I was leaving this one, a farm dog decided to run up and chase my vehicle. He's lucky I saw him before he leapt out into the road!

^{The Edge of Nothing}

This next one is the best macro I was able to pull off, with the slight breeze wiggling the branches and the cold numbing my chilled hands. They have no circulation in cold weather, as a result of a bad case of frostbite when I was a kid.

^{Bad Ice Dentistry}

Here is another macro of the end of a branch. If you view the high resolution, you can see the detail much better.

^{Really Cold Cotton Candy}

Even my town of Mankato looked prettier in the frost. Coming back into town, I decided to take a photo from the top of a parking garage in the downtown area. The fancy building at the top left is Mankato's old courthouse, which keeps watch over the downtown from its perch half-way up the bluffs.

^Frostville?

After that, it was time to head home and find a way to warm my hands back up...

^{Hand Warming Device}

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