Five Minute Friday: Frost

Cut and pasted from Rebecca's Hearth and Home 12/18/15...



Today's Five Minute Friday assignment was a little different than most weeks. For the final Five Minute Friday of 2015 Kate Motaung let everyone pick their own one-word prompt and the word I chose is frost.

Here's why...

Frost On The Windshield

Upon going out to warm up my van this morning before work, I discovered that, overnight, Jack Frost had completely covered my van windows in an intricate frosty pattern. A few minutes of heat on high and the beautiful artwork of nature gave way to nothing but water droplets that rolled away with a swish of the wiper blades and a rush of wind as I drove out onto the highway.

Frosty-Backed Bison At Prairie State Park

At the park (I work at Prairie State Park in Mindenmines, Missouri), I was greeted by four great beasts, their brown backs white with frost, against a backdrop of white-frosted prairie grasses. Over the crest of the hill and the whole herd of white-backed bison encircled the nature center where I work.

Bison Dot The Landscape At Prairie State Park

As I pulled into the parking lot, the morning sun spilled across the tall grasses, instantly melting the guazy frostiness that only moments before had grasped them in misty whiteness. The massive beasts (bison) that dotted the prairie landscape separated lazily and made their way around and behind the building. With each grunt and snort, the chilly air made their hot breath come out in billowy puffs of icy whiteness.

Frost Flowers At Prairie State Park

As I made my way to the building I noticed that frost flowers were in great abundance in the wildflower garden out front...

Mullin Outlined And Covered In Frost

...and that every plant was outlined and covered, sparkling, and glistening white, with frost.

I love frosty mornings on the prairie and wish that I could share one with YOU! They are soooo beautiful! <3

All My Love,
~Rebecca


For more information about Frost Flowers click: HERE!

A Foggy, Spidery-Webby Morning On The Prairie

The fog was hanging thick over the prairie this morning when I arrived at work.

Strands of gossamer threads were strung from one plant to another, each shining like silk, outlined in dew.

Thousands of spider webs...some big, some small...could be spotted among the grasses and prairie forbs.

Big Bluestem stands tall and proud supporting a network of delicatae spidery webworks.

The fog is lifting as a new day spreads across this tallgrass prairie scape.

We're Getting Ready For A Stampede At Prairie State Park This Fall! Won't You Join Us?

Frost Flowers

Frost Flowers

Super cold temperatures have a arrived on southwest Missouri's tallgrass prairie and, with them, an annual event that our family greatly looks forward to each and every autumn. Experiencing the sight of the season's first swirly, twirly, and utterly beautiful frost flowers!

Frost flowers really aren't flowers at all, but are beautiful, delicate ribbons of ice that form on the lower stem of certain native Missouri plants.

Delicate Ribbons Of Ice

Frost flowers occur only in the late fall after the first few hard freezes of the season. Frost flowers are formed when the plants' stems are ruptured by the first hard freeze, yet the root system is still sending up plant sap from the warmer ground. The sap pushes through the broken stem and freezes on contact with the cold air. As more sap moves up the stem, it forces the freezing stream of white ice crystals into ornate and beautifully folded ribbons of frosted swirls.

Ornate And Beautifully Folded Ribbons Of Frosted Swirls

Missouri plants known to produce frost flowers include dittany, stinkweed, and white crownbeard.

A Swirly, Twirly An Utterly Beautiful Frost Flower

If you've not had the pleasure of experiencing your first frost flower, but would like to, it's not too late. I know it's cold, but get out early in the morning before the sun's rays melt the delicate formations away. If you need to know where to go to observe frost flowers locally e-mail me (proverbs31heart@yahoo.com - please put FROST FLOWERS on the subject line) or message me on Facebook (Rebecca Brown Knox). I'll be more than happy to point you in the right direction. :)

Until next time,
~Rebecca

White Crownbeard (Wingstem, Frostweed)

Frost Flower Coloring Sheet

Frost Flower Coloring Sheet - Uncolorc

Today I looked around online to see if I could locate a frost flower coloring sheet for children, and I couldn't. So...I made one. It's not the greatest in the world, but at least it's something. If anyone would like to use it feel free to contact me at proverbs31heart@yahoo.com (please put FROST FLOWER COLORING SHEET on the subject line) and I will send it to you in a PDF.

Frost Flower Coloring Sheet - Colored
(Ignore the strawberry colored frost flower. They don't come in that color, but there's a story behind it. LOL!)

Until next time...
~Rebecca

Video - Wind On The Tallgrass Prairie

Today I tried to capture the sounds of a windswept prairie. I love the tinkling sound 

of the tall grasses striking against one another during the middle of the video. 

Hiking The Path Of The Earth People

After supper this evening John and I decided to check out a new-to-us trail...Path of the Earth People at Prairie State Park. The trail has been there for quite a while, but one of the guys at work got it blazed yesterday, so, we decided, "Why not?" The trail is located across from the main part of the park on the south side of Central. It is two miles long and fairly level. It's not my favorite trail in the park, but it made for a wonderful late evening hike.

We started our hike about 5:30. Most of the area that we would be hiking in was still basking in late afternoon sun with just the far western border of the area in shadow.

One of the bright orange trail blazes laid out on the trail by David yesterday.

Prairie grasses laid before us streaked with sunshine and shadow.

The western sun filtering through the tall grasses gave them an appearance of being lit up from within.

Tall grasses swaying in the gentle breeze. What a beautiful evening!

As we hiked the trail the shadows continuously stretched out long before us. It's like we were chasing the last of the evening's sun rays but we could not catch them. 

The sunlight stayed one step ahead of us and was always just out of reach.

Sunlight highlights the top of this gentle swell of the land.

Sunlight highlights the the prairie just beyond us in golden splendor

The sun slips below the western horizon and suddenly the whole prairie is submerged into shadow.

The last rays of sun bid us farewell as the sun slips below the tree line to the west.

Red prairie grasses against an odd patch of bright green trail.

Here and there were the last bright splashes of brilliant color as the prairie plants prepare for winter's soon arrival. See the tiny thistle in full color right in the middle?

A fiery red flag mid the muted colors of autumn on the prairie.

The bright yellow of a goldenrod plant mid the muted colors of autumn on the prairie. 

The camera on my Ipod apparently picks up more light than the human eye, because, by this point, it was very nearly dark, yet these pictures look as though it's still daylight.

The trail zig-zagging ahead of us.

Here again...these last pictures amaze me! It was quite dark by the time these last pictures were taken, yet it appears to be daylight still. Wow!