He came tramping through the dark of night and left a white carpet that crunched under foot as I walked.
Stomp, stomp, stomp went Jack Frost.
Crunch, crunch, crunch went my boots on the ground.
Every blade, every leaf perfectly covered.
Bitterly cold, barely reaching 0 to 1 degrees for the last two days. Luckily I was out before the weak wintery suns rays melted the frost away.
I’ll leave it to C.E. Pike to express it better than I can
Jack Frost
Look out! Look out!
Jack Frost is about!
He’s after our fingers and toes;
And all through the night,
The happy little sprite
Is working where nobody knows
He’ll climb each tree,
So nimble is he,
His silvery powder he’ll shake
To windows he’ll creep
And while we’re asleep
Such wonderful pictures he’ll make.
He’ll merrily pass,
And change all its greenness to white.Then home he will go
And laugh ho, ho, ho!
What fun I have had in the night.
Oh, that Jack is busy fellow! This post was delightful–and you photos all shimmery with frost.
Shimmery is a lovely word Alice, there was a bright bue sky yesterday so the shimery was definitely there
Great photos…I hope your winter garden does OK in the frost!
It’s rare for us to get such a heavy frost, but the winter veggies are designed (??) for just this kind of weather. In fact they say that frost “sweetens” the veggies…..
That’s great. Our “winter” crops are really that “winter”, the garden doesn’t love frost…We Californians (even our plants) can be whimpy about winter…;-)
Your photo and poem tickled my morning. No frost here in California, but lots of wind today. It’s been about 60 degrees all week……nice weather for growing our newly seeded pasture.
I could do with some of the warmth — for my fingers and bones !! No matter how many layers, there is still a part of me that ends up cold 🙂
Jack Frost certainly comes with a bang my friend, such beautiful photos 🙂
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
A bang and a thid and a bash! Winter is here 🙂 Now just don’t mention how warm it is where you are …. pleeeease !!
Winter has certainly arrived ! Now just don’t mention how warm it is where you are my friend…… pleeeeeease !!
Love your frosty photos. Our little bit of frost had melted before I was able to get any good pictures so have particularly enjoyed yours. 🙂
It’s rare for us to get such a heavy frost so on saturday I was totally unprepared for it ! Now back to a positively barmy 8 degrees today 🙂
It’s a lovely sight indeed to wake up in the morning to all the frost … and then I have to get out the scraper and clear off the front, back and side windows of my car before I can go to work. I’m not so fond of Jack Frost at that time. 🙂
But if I’m staying in with a nice hot cup of coffee I love looking out through the frosty windows (brrr…) and am happy to be inside.
I know what you mean about having to get up and go out in it for work! It sounds like you are nice and cosy where you are 🙂
What a great frost you had, all silvery and glittery. Lovely photos Claire, and nice to see the poem after all these years. I’d forgotten all but a few lines!
Morning Cathy, I’d forgotten lots of it too and thought it summed up the frosty day perfectly, thank you !
Beautiful photos (I love the first frost of the season!) and a sweet little poem I hadn’t heard before…thanks, Claire!
you’re welcome Cindy, it will be interesting (and maybe fun) to see if we get any snow here this year, we don’t always get it on the south coast….. we’ll have to wait and see what winter brings!
It all looks so pretty with the sun shining on the frost – lovely photos! And the picture of the pier in your header is really striking too. Is that a flock of starlings in the centre?
Well spotted and thank you! Yes they are Starlings, I learnt the noun the other day – a murmuration. I was walking along the promenade one afternoon the other week and it was stunning- bright blue sky and then the sun started to dip and the starlings came out to play. The joy of having a camera on your phone !
I was trying to remember what it was called so that the comment would sound intelligent – must try to remember for next time!
Strangely, it’s over 50 degrees F here today. We’ve only had a couple of real frosty mornings.
I know the frost looks pretty, but my hands get pretty cold !! I could do with some winter warmth, so I’ll just have to settle for looking at fellow bloggers sunny gardens 🙂
I can admire the beauty of the frost on a Sunday when I don’t have to drive, but tomorrow at 0600 hrs I might think about it in a different light! Lovely pictures x
I do know what you mean, when you have the leisure to enjoy it, it really is beautiful, but at 6 in the morning it’s just bloody cold !!
Right before we left Maine there was a beautiful frost covering the countryside. As lovely as it is, when it goes away Jack leaves a pretty sad sight behind. No frost in Houston on an 80 day.
80 ??? oh wow, I dream of that kind of heat in summer 🙂 Our worlds are so different, but thanks to blogging we get to share !
80??? Oh wow !! That’s the kind of heat I dream of in summer and so rarely seem to get it 🙂 funny old world 🙂
Jack Frost is such a great little fella, isn’t he? Brings a whole new dimension and look to our gardens. I like his cousin, Susie Snowflake, too, but she does come from a might big family. Must they all travel with her?
Susie Snowflake !!! Aahh John, what am I going to do when I visit France over winter, skiing down a slope yelling susie snowflake come on down 🙂
Brave Girl, going out in sub-freezing temps to get these lovelies!
(So glad you did 🙂 )
We also did some running repairs to the greenhouse and even some clearing and digging on the new plot – yes I’m polishing my halo! Not often I get the chance 🙂
Excellent! We are so dead here to see you just now getting a frost is rather startling.
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
http://deltacountyhistoricalsociety.wordpress.com
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It was a bit of a surprise for me as living near the coast we rarely get heavy frosts!
Oh! I didn’t realize that coastal living does have frost. But if I stop and think about it, that does make sense.
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
http://deltacountyhistoricalsociety.wordpress.com
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So beautiful…the pictures of the frost and the poem! Thanks for bringing a smile to my face. 🙂
What beautiful images of the allotment!
Beautiful post and pictures!
Thank you for that wonderful array of frozen beauties photos: oh, and that is so easy to say when you are sitting in a swimsuit at about 30 degrees C in your study. Absolutely love Chicago John’s comment about Susie Snowflake with her uncountable number of companions 🙂 !
Well at least Jack Frost takes a good photo!
That frosty transformation never gets old Claire, and your photos have really captured it. Love your post title too!
Beautiful post Claire – my hasn´t it been cold. I had to go out and buy hats and gloves for both of us and currently am modelling the latest President of Russia look head gear wise! Love the shots and also the new header of the pier – gorgeous 🙂
And I’m gardening in flip flops and shorts. Beautiful pictures of what winter should be! Thanks for sharing.
I’ve never heard this Jack Frost poem, Claire. It’s a good one! The photos are beautiful and there is indeed a magical quality that comes with those light dustings on the greens! It’s like the cold just sneaked right in and booted out the milder weather. I hope Jack Frost hasn’t taken up permanent residency–maybe he can take a little vacation for a bit! 🙂
Jack Frost would not be one of my best friends but he sure does leave a lot of beauty behind for you to photograph and share with us!
🙂 Mandy
It looks so pretty even though I know it means the start of winter Claire 🙂
What a wonderful poem to go with your beautifully frosted photos. Funny how a sweet little poem can make you smile!
Brrrr! I can hear the crunch underfoot. A lovely set of photos you’ve got here. It brings back memories of my life as a gardener – all year round, always in search of the perfect glove! Actually people always used to say ‘I wish I had your job, it must be great in the summer.’ And I’d look at them and say ‘Yeah great…’, sweat pouring, red faced and exhausted. Give me a cool spring or autumn day for a spot of gardening – even a frosty one!
We have had so many mornings of hard frosts…it is beautiful when the sun hits it. It should make some of your winter crops sweeter.
Seeing your photos remind me again of how mild our winters are. Right now we are soggy from a rainy week, with no frost in sight. I am sorry to see the frost kissed garden, but the photos are beautiful!
Oooooo shiver me timbers! Really lovely photos Claire of one of nature’s most picturesque phenomena! And the poem, charming!
In Surrey Jack Frost can’t decide what to do. Yesterday about 1pm there was frost still on the cars. By 4pm it was 10 centigrade and it was positively barmy. Same this morning. 6am it was 8 centigrade and positively steamy; by midday it was cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey (squzee my French)
Great poem – and I love the wheelbarrow photo. It makes me smile for some reason!
No more mud high heels! 🙂
Your light poem and stunning photos put a little sparkle in my morning. I am going to put the kettle on as a little chilly now looking at your post. I also like you new theme…Take Care, BAM
Hi BAM its a pleasure to share some frosty sprinkles, especially when I think of you in HK and all that humidity
Oh Claire, what a charming poem. I love it. We have not had a visit from Jack Frost yet here in Nashville, Tennessee…in fact today it is 70 degrees F. Frost on an early morning walk is so magical. You have beautiful English frost and thanks for sharing.
70??!!! Is that normal temperatures for this time of year I wonder. It’s about 7 degrees today but bright – yay!
Nice one Claire! You always post the right and nice picture! Oh and yes,I could always see the sea in your pics! I’m looking forward for some frost over my garden too and I guess it won’t take long…
oh my I feel that cold… Here it’s just rain rain rain pounding on my newly turned soil whose cover crop looks like a thinning head of hair.
The frost does make for beautiful photos- of course aided by one with a good eye and talent. cheers…x wendy
I can picture the sad sight of thinning hair! Hopefully its the kind that will perk up and grow again 😉
What amazing photos Claire! We always learned that Jack Frost was a silvery little sprite and it appears that you did too. I really enjoyed this.
Thank you Tammy, I had to look the poem up to remind myself of the words, definitely naughty and sprite like !