I just love when nature gives an impromptu education! Yesterday we went to sign the boys up for baseball. When we got out of the car we noticed the ground next to the baseball field had some strange looking ice. I have a camera on my phone so I snapped a few pictures and then the boys enjoyed stomping the ice crystals!
On our way home from the field, I googled to find out more about what we had discovered. It is called needle ice and it occurs when the ground temperature is above freezing and the air temperature is below zero. The water below the ground is brought to the surface and freezes in needle like threads.
To our wonderful surprise, we had needle ice in our yard too! I was able to grab my real camera and snap some great pictures. If only the needle ice wasn’t in the shadows between trees I would have had some excellent shots!
Have you ever seen needle ice before? It is pretty cool and a great science lesson for the kids!
*Special THANK YOU to Renae at How To Have It All for this story, I learned something new and I'm 45 yrs old!
