Sugar Frost in Nature

Posted on by Littlesundog
Frosted fallen leaves lay softly fallen at the edge of the lane.

Today, the first hard freeze in our area of Oklahoma arrived in the wee hours of the morning.  As I stepped outside into the pre-dawn darkness, I felt the magic of a beautiful sugar frost settling around me.  Not a leaf stirred, and no puff of breeze was present to hasten the process.  Rather, a still, quiet covered the land all around; only a slight twinkle of frozen crystal was visible in the ebbing moonlight.  Observing this – no, feeling this – I slipped back into the warmth of the house and waited for the sun to peek over the horizon.

Sighting the activity of the first early birds from the kitchen window, was my signal to step outdoors with my camera.  Already, the sun was shining bright, powering up to melt the splendor of the sugary crystal coating sparkling all around.  I marveled at the beauty… as I pressed the camera’s shutter button, capturing nature frozen in time. Soon, the sun would warm the earth, leaving just a kiss of moisture to dry in the early morning breeze.

The last of the summer Gaillardia twinkle in the morning sun.
Hardy, curly parsley looms large, undaunted by the icy crystal decor.
Dainty mums are kissed with icing.
Golden Euonymus appears as a sugared buttercream flower.
A few remaining red oak leaves are illuminated in the morning sun. Daisy deer has nibbled off most of the leaves on this tree!
The top of an old fence post sparkles in splendor in the morning sun.
A frosty outline edges the last of a few silver maple leaves, still clinging to a slender branch.

© Day by Day the Farm Girl Way…

34 thoughts on “Sugar Frost in Nature”

  3. Lori, I miss a lot by not braving the early morning chill… I think next time I will be brave enough to bundle up and bring my camera along! In the meantime I will savor your lovely photographs. Thank you!
    ~Lynda

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    1. The hardest part, Lynda, is how the cold affects my hands. They get so cold, and it’s impossible to operate a camera with gloves. Also, digital cameras perform a tad delayed in the cold weather. I still ended up with some great shots and came inside to warm my hands with a heated rice bag!!

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  4. It was certainly worth being up early, Lori. These are lovely photos! I especially love the parsley one and the backlit leaves — just gorgeous.

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    1. Backlighting is always fun to work with, both morning and evening. I usually shoot several of the same pose because just a slight angle change can really change the look. The parsley shot was a surprising one! I loved the delicate lacing all around the leaves. Very pretty!

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  5. Beautiful shots my friend. We had our first frost a couple of weeks ago but nothing that heavy. Your talent at photography amazes and makes me wish I had an artistic anything besides appreciation, LOL. My only shot at art was a garage rock band in high school, “The Aeons of Tyme,” of which yours truly here was lead vocalist, rhythm guitar player and occasional keyboards when we could borrow one of those tinny sounding Farfisa organs (the precursors of synthesizers). The name was appropriate for the mid to late 60s (HONEST) and then my first attempt at college along with a steady girlfriend broke up the band. Dad-gum that Yoko anyway (for dramatic effect only – her name was Amy)! It was fun playing for high school fraternity parties because they were always drunk before we even got started; thus, they actually thought we were good, LOL. Then there were the scary gigs at a small town “Post Legion Hall.” Everything was going fine with the hits of the day like “Gloria,” “Louie Louie,” and “Don’t Let the Sun Catch you Crying” and such but when we played our medley of Jimi Hendrix’s “Let Me Stand Next to Your Fire” and “Purple Haze” we were not so politely informed by the “good ole boys” that hippie music will get our #@&&^s kicked after the gig; so not being an idiot (nor wishing violence upon myself and my band mates) we went back to the top 40 hits, mostly consisting of three chords, and everything worked out fine in the end. Oh, the memories!!!!!!!!!!

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    1. Thanks for the compliment, Louis. It’s interesting how photography evokes many memories of wonderful or eventful times in our lives. I also find it interesting how photography in marketing and advertising in the music industry has evolved over time.

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  6. I am guilty of being old-fashioned about music. It used to be a communal type thing. “Hey, come on over and listen to the new Jethro Tull”. Now, it seems to be so private – folks with buds in their ears listening to music that has the quality of an old timey 6 transistor radio. Allthough I did, of course, move onto CDs I still have a large record collection and a turntable. To me, there is a warmth to analogue that just isn’t there in digital. I experimented once with an all time favorite of mine, Steely Dan’s Aja. Somehow I was able to get the CD sinked perfectly with the vinyl (that will never happen again) and was able to swith back and forth between the two. Sorry, vinyl wins.

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    1. Funny you should mention cookies… I make the most wonderful sugar cookies, decorated with frosting and lots of colored sugar crystals, around the holidays! They’re very tasty! The snowflakes are my favorite cutout!

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    1. Thank you Rachel! The Gaillardia do well in this part of the country, and they last from spring into the winter months. Around these parts they are also known as “Indian Blanket” or Blanket Flower.

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  13. I’ve never heard the phrase “sugar frost”. It fits perfectly, and your photos are spectacular.
    As for cold fingers, I work outside and need both hand protection AND fingertips that can do fine work. My solution has been the Patagonia brand rock-climbing gloves. They’re a wonderful warm fleece with palm and the inside of fingers made of something like soccer-ball leather. They’re close fitting and flexible, and would work beautifully for a photographer. They’re durable, too. I’m just now on my second pair. I got my first pair about 18 years ago!

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    1. Wow! I am going to see where I might order a pair of those! Thank you so much for the suggestion. Oh, and the frost looked so much like sugar crystals that morning. It’s just amazing how nature can easily be overlooked when we’re in a hurry in the mornings. I have had several people tell me they SEE the frost as they’re headed out on the morning of a hard freeze, but they never stopped to really look at the beauty of the frost.

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  15. Spectacular, Lori. No puny frost crystals there…!

    And I had to smile to see that Daisy made her way into this post, even if only by mention.

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    1. Ha ha!! Yes, that poor red oak took a beating all summer long with Daisy nibbling at new shoots. As with all of the new fruit trees I planted a year ago, it will have to grow a bit taller where she cannot reach branches and leaves. Deer even eat dried leaves! Her favorite trees are any fruit tree, elm, hackberry, and dogwood. Basically, every tree on the place!!

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  16. Wow, beautiful! You have a true eye for beauty, Big Sister; the sugar frost is magnificent! I love all your photos, and with your permission of course, I may like to “borrow” them for personal delight :-). Loved this picture post!

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  17. Terrific photographs – my favorite is the sepia toned silver maple shot!

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