Second Freeze

— Another freeze has come and gone in Texas. A few weeks ago, I wrote about the first freeze of this year. This second freeze was much stronger, but it was nothing like the 2021 freeze. Nevertheless, we had three days of freezing temperatures mixed in with ice and snow. Although the state was still trying to heal from last year’s fiasco when millions of people were without power and water, this time things went smoothly. Naturally, there were some power outages in Austin due to fallen tree branches on power lines, but it was not widespread. Some customers also reported some minor brownouts.

Being unable to drive anywhere because of treacherous roads, I only ventured briefly into our backyard to get a few macros and various photos of the scene. Initially, the photo above is what our backyard looked like when we woke up on February 3rd. All the rain the day before and some overnight created a winter wonderland, but with very little snow accumulation. The yard was not even fully covered with snow. The fountain continued to work normally, but some ice was beginning to accumulate on the edges. Under the fountain, though, it was a totally different story. It was also a macro world of beauty. Several photos below will show some of the ice sculptures created from the frozen water spilling over the fountain and covering the fountain rocks. Even though each one has a story of its own, I am partial by the last one in the group below. It resembles an animal with its long snout.

On Friday morning, I noticed the fountain was no longer bubbling. If there was any water movement, it was under a sheet of ice that covered the fountain. When I turned it off, I saw the ice cover that had formed. The ice thickness varied from 1/4-1/2 inches (0.6-1.2 cm). The hole you see in the middle of the fountain is where the water normally bubbles up (seen in previous photos here). Around the yard, there was a lot of ice and some snow. All the bird feeders were frozen, but some birds were still able to get food. I also made sure to scatter some food on the ground to make it easier for birds and squirrels to eat.

Finally, on Friday, the Sun came out with daytime temperatures warming up above freezing. By Sunday, we were in the upper 50s (or teens in Celsius). It was sunny and most ice and snow had melted completely. I was even able to go biking and enjoy sunny skies comfortably.

As always, remember that if you would like to see full-size images, just click on them. You can even have your own slideshow going from image to image.