Brrr! What a wonderfully ‘Wisconsin’ winter we’ve had the last couple of weeks! The snow hasn’t immediately melted away after falling, we’re regularly getting single-digit temperatures, and yet somehow nature continues to thrive in these conditions.
While I have admittedly spent quite a bit of time indoors due to the cold, I did manage to get out a few times to experience nature (often in my backyard). Join me on a quick virtual stroll outside to see what I found!
My dog Lucy sabotaging my bubble picture
I recently discovered that if you blow bubbles when the “feels like” temperature is -38 degrees F outside, they start to crystallize and will freeze before falling to the ground. I decided to test this out with my 8-year-old son in the backyard. But between the wind and an overly excitable dog named Lucy who loves eating bubbles, it wasn’t very easy to get the picture I imagined. Despite her sabotage attempts, I think Lucy made the picture even better!
If you zoom in on the bubble, you can see the ice crystals forming. Unfortunately, that bubble was gobbled up approximately half a second later, but you get the idea.
After the bubble experiment, we obviously moved on to the next one. Having such intensely cold weather is not very common, so it’s incredible to see what the temperature is capable of, especially when it’s too cold to actually go out for a hike.
If you click the thumbnail above, you’ll see a slow-motion video my son took of me throwing boiling water from a coffee mug. The water turns into vapor right away and floats off like a small cloud. Because boiling water is already close to turning into vapor, the tiny droplets spread out as they leave the mug. When they hit the extremely cold air, they evaporate almost instantly. This experiment will not work with cold water.
It’s very important to be careful if you try this yourself. You could easily burn yourself if the hot water is not thrown far enough away from your body.
Pileated woodpecker
I was only outside for a few minutes to blow bubbles and toss mugs of hot water before immediately running back inside. Meanwhile, the critters that live outdoors were simply going about their day. On the coldest days, moments like this remind me of nature’s resilience.
During cold snaps like this recent one, humans can get frostbite in 10 minutes or less if they stay outside too long. Yet, animals like the pileated woodpecker (pictured above) seem completely unaffected. Their ability to survive in these temperatures is nothing short of amazing, and it makes me respect our local wildlife even more!
A cozy rabbit home beneath the snow
Lastly, I’ll leave you with this cozy little cottontail home (pictured above) that I recently came across at Westport Prairie. When I see such a perfectly formed entrance, it’s hard not to anthropomorphize its inhabitants. I immediately picture a family of rabbits keeping warm beside a tiny fireplace in their den. While that scene is probably not playing out exactly that way, they are undoubtedly staying impressively warm inside despite the bitter cold outside.
Like those cottontails, I hope you’re keeping warm as well! Have a wonderful weekend, and I hope to see you outside when it’s a little warmer.
Cheers,
BJ