January 3. The weather is incredibly mild, about 10˚C (50˚F). We have had no snow since before Christmas. I walk with my daughters to Old Man Willow, where a flock of mallards approaches tentatively to see if we have food to offer. We have none and they don't come too close. A belted kingfisher circles the pond. A dark phase red-tailed hawk soars along the ridge across the river. We find fresh signs of a beaver feeding. Beside the rocks around an effluent pipe lies a dead crayfish. Leaning to take a closer look I startle a live one, which disappears under the rocks amid a swirl of substrate. The dead one must have been its rival. Its walking legs are a vivid, pale green.
January 6. The temperature falls drastically during the night and frost flowers form on my west window above the heat exchange, which constantly expels water vapour. These form when water vapour is deposited onto a growing crystal. A scratch in the glass, particle of salt or silt or another contaminant may serve as a seed for the crystal. For more information read Keith C. Heidorn's article, "Frosty morning."
January 8. Severe cold. The pond, almost entirely frozen, is peaceful (another image of snow and grass). A choir of Canada geese appears over the ridge, hundreds of them, wave after wave. They are all flying downstream except one, which turns to fly in the opposite direction.
January 9. The low this morning is -20˚C (-12˚F) and my breath freezes in my beard and moustache as soon as I step outside. Fortunately there is little wind. As soon as I take my glove off to snap a photograph, my fingers start to burn with cold. The pond has a few open spots that give off mist. These form frost crystals everywhere: along the edges of ice shelves, on grass blades and twigs, even on the surface of the pond itself. This explains the strange needles I noticed in early December.
January 10. The weather is still bitterly cold and I am not inclined to go outside. A vivid sunset at about 5:15 reminds me, however, that the days are getting longer.
January 12. Overnight we had our
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