Not many ripe Red Mulberries yet, but they seem to find them (Males brighter orange and more black):
Posts Tagged ‘ozarks’
Baltimore Orioles at them Mulberry Tree 5/18
Posted in wildbirds, tagged Arkansas Mountains, Baltimore oriole, female, male, ozarks, parthenon on May 18, 2015| Leave a Comment »
Frost Flower from Tuesday morning near Parthenon, AR.
Posted in General, tagged 2013, Arkansas, bob ton mountains, frost flowers, January 15, ozarks on January 18, 2013| Leave a Comment »
I took this photo last Tuesday. It is a frost flower and was created naturally. This the finest, and most beautiful, and latest in the season, I have ever seen.
The formation of frost flowers is dependent on a freezing weather condition occurring when the ground is not already frozen. The sap in the stem of the plants will expand (water expands when frozen), causing long, thin cracks to form along the length of the stem. Water is then drawn through these cracks via capillary action and freezes upon contact with the air. As more water is drawn through the cracks it pushes the thin ice layers further from the stem, causing a thin “petal” to form. In the case of woody plants and (living or dead) tree branches the freezing water is squeezed through the pores of the plant forming long thin strings of ice that look uncannily like hair i.e. “hair ice” or “frost beard”.
The petals of frost flowers are very delicate and will break when touched. They usually melt or sublimate when exposed to sunlight and are usually visible in the early morning or in shaded areas.
