Words + Pictures

Frost

Among the things that are predictable here is the temperature. Today, the second day of December, our predicted high is -11°C. It has been at least two weeks since it has been above freezing, and at night we have had lows down to -21°C or -6°F. As a comparison, my sister Jan told me yesterday that she was looking forward to a bike ride in 60° weather in central Ohio. Unlike Mongoiia, she is not getting her weather from Siberia.

Before coming I had read that the temperature here gets down to -30°C, so I took some reassurance from the fact that we have already been most of the way there at -21. "Where did you hear that?" was the response when I repeated this information. During parts of January -30°C may be the day's high temperature, the low dropping to -50 or -60 at night. I will be sure to let you know.

Until then, I have been enjoying the frost that these frigid conditions re-arranges for me every day. These are all images made at a few windows at school, where I take a few minutes between classes to record them. The windows face a central courtyard, which is often visible in the background. The colors change with the time of day and the weather conditions. Also visible are the tape that is used to patch together broken panes and paint splashes on the outside of the glass. Most of these are full-frame images, but for some I can't resist showing you an enlarged detail.