Nice Ice

My last post was about the 'fixing' of perception. This time I want to bring you the opposite -- something fleeting and ephemeral.

Winter can be harsh (like now), the wind biting, the outlook bleak. But it can also be very beautiful, not to mention breath-taking. What we see are the bare bones of trees, bright white of snow and... ice patterns.

Yes, I'm blessed with the wonder of these because we have, still, some old, unreplaced windows. And when the temperature dips to a certain number below freezing overnight, in the morning I walk into my kitchen and stand and stare.

My dear husband, the scientist, tells me that ice patterns form a crystal growth, not from liquid to frozen, but rather from water vapour in the air to frozen. He knows a brilliant research guy who claims the patterns will be affected by whether the household is a loving one, or an angry one, for example, and even by what's cooking (i.e. carrots will be different from cake)! Maybe the fact that I baked bread last night helped with this morning's gift.

Anyhow, I'm not satisfied with the science. It doesn't tell me enough. I mean, gas to frozen, is that all? What is the magical, artistic force that forms plant patterns, or delicate geometric designs, the one so organic, the other so precise? While I think further on etheric shaping forces in the universe I'll see if I can ask the authority... surely Jack Frost himself!