28 December 2016

Ten years ago...

In late December 2006, we were experiencing an episode of freezing fog. It made for some beautiful backyard landscapes. We had been here just over three years, so we were still learning about local weather patterns and phenomena.


I don't yet know what this morning's sunrise will look like. The sun doesn't come up until about 8:45 right now.


The weather woman on Télématin just said that the Champagne and Burgundy regions are enveloped in thick fog, with little or no visibility, this morning. She warned people to be careful driving.


She didn't mention freezing fog, and she didn't mention the Touraine or Berry regions of France, where we live. But the temperature outside is below freezing, according to our thermometer.


It was 1.7ºC inside the greenhouse at 5:45 a.m., when I got up. I hope the plants in there can tolerate that kind of cold (about 34ºF).


We need the cold weather. It more or less cleanses the environment, killing off or controlling the populations of all kinds of pests. But it isn't even January yet, and sometimes February is our coldest month.

17 comments:

  1. I agree, freezing fog and freezing rain make for beautiful, I'd say magic, landscapes; but it stops there!

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  2. Brisk here today....looks a bit like these pix....the land needs this cold, as do I.... I have a load of work to do on the meadow! The temperature outside is minus 1.7 Centipede...but no photogenic hoare frost like here!

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  3. Je préfère être ici que chez vous , même si les photos sont belles . Bonne journée . Thierry

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    1. Il ne fait pas si froid que ça ici, et il n'y a pas du tout de vent. J'aime bien ce temps froid et sec.

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  4. Red sky at night, shepherd's delight.
    Red sky in the morning, sailor's warning.
    That is a saying from the UK and I am unsure of whether it works in France, as you said about the distances to the sea, we are a long way away from knowing how the sailors are fareing. It was very red this morning along with the frost. Quite beautiful.

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    1. I grew up with that saying in New England as,
      Red sky at night, sailor's delight,
      Red sky at morning, sailor take warning.
      Slight variations, but apparently applicable on either side of the pond.

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  5. I remember the winter of 2006 well. It was our first Christmas here. We have some beautiful photos of that time.

    We've got frost and clear blue skies today. The woodman arrived with a delivery before dawn because he has other work to do and wants to take advantage of the good weather.

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  6. Cold never looked so beautiful :) Happy New Year ... C

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  7. If it was that cold in the greenhouse, what was the outside temp.? You might need to insulate the pots with straw around them, or something. Since I'm not often commenting these days, I'll wish you a Happy New Year, now.

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    1. It was definitely below freezing out in the vineyard this morning -- very frosty. There was still frost in low, shady places this afternoon. Happy New Year to you and P. too.

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  8. Beautiful photos, Ken.
    I can't believe your sunrise isn't until 8h45. Wow. It's got to be 7h-ish here, because the sun is up by the time I get to work, at 7h15, normally.
    I hope you're enjoying your new shower! Are you finding it much more comfortable?

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    1. The new shower is 100 times more comfortable than the old one.

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  9. The pictures of your yard look very pretty and seasonal. Good for all your bulbs which won't flower in spring without a stretch of cold weather.

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  10. The color, and light, in those pictures is simply beautiful. The third one, especially.

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    1. Often, that kind of sunrise or sunset light lasts only a very few minutes. I'm lucky to be out there early in the morning and late in the afternoon with Callie.

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  11. Hi, a lurker from the US (NJ and FL) here. We were in Germany in the beginning of December and as we drove from town to town, the miles and miles of forests looked just like your pictures. I kept remarking how beautiful they looked and wondered if they always looked like that in winter, as I had never seen anything like it.
    Well now I know it that it was freezing fog that created that amazing scenery that I will never forget.
    Thank you, mystery solved!

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    1. Walt and I were remarking the other day that we don't really remember seeing freezing fog like this anywhere in the U.S. So you've confirmed that. Look at my Jan. 2 blog post...

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