By anyone’s standards this has been a rough winter. Probably not any worse than when I was a kid, but it really doesn’t affect kids.

The cycle we have had here on the North Coast, has been days and days of subfreezing weather, mixed with a day or two of near non-freezing temps and occasional sunshine. What this does is set up a cycle of melt, freeze, melt, freeze, etc. So, lots of icicles.

In some cases you can see the layering that takes place each time it happens. But in most instances you just get icicles that continue to grow.

Pick a theme, then fight cabin fever by taking your camera out for a walk.

Caption Info: All photos make with a Nikon P7700 camera. At right, a weed is encased by layers of ice belowing a dripping eave. Clockwise, below: Ice forms as the snow on top of a grill grating melts; an ornamental star above a door is encased in ice; a single icicle droops from the roofline at the end of a caboose; icicles form along a dormer;

Click on an image to see a larger version.