Misty Millbrook Dressed in Silver and Blue

And then the bottom dropped out, and temperatures plummeted! When I woke up Tuesday morning, it was around 10 degrees F, and there was only one question on my (chapped) lips: Would the frost mist be rising at Millbrook Marsh?

So I put on a few extra layers, and donned my winter boots and gloves, and I headed for Millbrook before work. The parking lot was icy, and the boardwalk made loud cracking sounds, like a cannon, beneath my feet.

Hoar frost adorned every single twig and branch, and it was everything I dreamed of! Strands of hoar frost were strung from trees like Christmas decorations, and they crumbled at my touch; how does winter make diamonds out of pure air?

As I rounded a favorite bend in the creek, I saw nothing ahead of me but silver and blue. The sky was a perfect shade and the water reflected its hue. And the frost mist hung upon the face of the waters, and then it rose like magic into the light.

The soundtrack: Burl Ives, with Silver and Gold, from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

P.S. You've seen this scene before, although the last time you did, the trees were wearing autumn splendor, and the focus was on a spider web in the middle of things, rather than the creek. I turned to my right and snapped the additional photo that appears in the extras.