Wet and Aggressive Corella challenges Magpie

Wet and Aggressive Corella challenges Magpie

Sunday 7 June 2015

Sunday Selections #227

Sunday Selections was originally brought to us by Kim, of Frogpondsrock, as an ongoing meme where participants could post previously unused photos languishing in their files.
 
The meme is now continued by River at Drifting through life.  The rules are so simple as to be almost non-existent.  Post some photos under the title Sunday Selections and link back to River.  Clicking on any of the photos will make them embiggen. 

 
Like River I usually run with a theme. Winter has started and this last week has been on the brisk side.  By Thursday morning our temperatures had been in the minus range more often and for longer than we had made it to positive figures.  Most days we struggled to get to double digits.


Crisp, clear, and I think beautiful.  The cats don't agree.




After a few cold mornings my slow moving brain remembered something I was sent earlier this year.  Photos of frozen bubbles.

So the next photos are of a chilly experiment.  I headed out just after first light, armed with detergent, a piece of wire twisted so I could blow bubbles and my camera.  I really needed more arms.  There was a frost, and the weather boffins had told us that we would have a temperature of around minus four C.




The bubble had certainly started to freeze.  They lasted nearly ten minutes before popping, and left a shell behind...




















 Not a complete failure, but it obviously needs to get colder.  Which it will.  So this mad woman will be doing camera dances in future chilly dawns.
 

123 comments:

  1. The bubble shots are cool. Even if it wasn't cold enough for them to freeze, you caught some amazing colors.
    Thanks for the frosty shots. It will be in the 90's here tomorrow.

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    1. Alex J. Cavanaugh: I much prefer our current frosty mornings to summer. Yours or ours.

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  2. You are far, far braver than I! Cold? No thank you! A 10 minute bubble isn't anything to sneeze at; well done!

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    1. Jacquelineand...: So sense, no feeling means cold is not an issue for me. Or not much of one. I hope that next time I brave the dawn to blow bubbles they freeze completely.

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  3. I love your bubbles, faces, spheres, oh yes, I love bubbles.

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    1. Bob Bushell: The child in me loves bubbles too. It was nice to have an excuse to play with them again.

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  4. Our weather has just been grey, damp and cold. I haven't heard about freezing bubbles. What fun!

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    1. Andrew: We have had very little grey and no damp. Chilly though. Googling ice bubbles will give you some wonderful examples. I haven't given up yet either.

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  5. Those bubbles are beautiful my friend, I actually see an Asian dragon in one of them.

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    1. Lon Anderson: Thank you. I do love bubbles. And dragons.

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  6. The bubble photos are fabulous; the bubbles are wonderful! It was chilly up this way over the past few days, but not as cold as down you way, though. But I enjoy the rugging up for a change. It's great.

    I hope your week ahead treats you and the Skinny One kindly, EC...and that the two Js behave themselves when they're not napping! Stay warm! :)

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    1. Lee: Cold is relative. The skinny one's sister and her family are suffering in Brisbane's cold - which is not nearly as cold as we are. I like it though. And the crisp, clear mornings are beautiful.
      Jazz n Jewel will go out shortly, and come in again very quickly. Frost and bare paws don't seem to go well together. Wusses.
      A great week to you and your furry overlords too.

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  7. I will have to try that next winter! It looks like fun. Not looking forward to the cold weather again. But hopefully we have awhile to go! But with the weather we have been having who knows!

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    1. Teresa Hennes: We are having a few warmer (though not balmy days) now. I will try again next cold snap - it was fun. Bubbles are always fun.

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  8. Oh wow. The pictures of the bubble are amazing! It's summer here...just started. Scorching heat...but then I'll be envious of your summer days when we're in the dead of winter here.

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    1. Stephanie Faris: I am never envious of summer. The other seasons yes, but summer is not my friend. Your winter on the other hand...

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  9. Wow! Now I will be pleased when (or if) it ever gets that cold again here. The bubbles are fun and definitely a winner. I am so impressed! :-)

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    1. DJan: It really was fun. Enough fun that even though it was only a partial success I will be out just after dawn in our next cold snap. Late next week perhaps.

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  10. Reflective surfaces are fun to play with. A little playfulness reveals a hopeful soul. Nice bubble shots, and frosty greenery. . . I'm not a fan of heat, I prefer coolness or spring type warmth.

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    1. D.G. Hudson: I still play. Often. With no shame. I too prefer the more moderate months.
      Did your husband like the links to my birding friend's blogs?

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  11. Cool bubbles! Love your photos of these. I can just see you, outside, blowing bubbles, early in the morning, camera in hand. I often wonder what my neighbours think of my photography habits, but we have very few, and they are not real close. You on the other hand...
    Glad to see you are having fun with it!!

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    1. CountryMum: There was noone up when I was taking these - but I don't care. If the neighbours think I am odd, they are probably right. Mind you I can remember not having neighbours I could see, and I loved that too.

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  12. Thanks for trying out those frozen bubbles for us. And more to come, while we stay warm and toasty indoors.

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    1. Joanne Noragon: I hope I can nail this later this winter. And am happy to share.

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  13. Certainly beautiful and I admire the drastic lengths you go to in order to entertain us! I'll stay inside with the cats, thank you...

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    1. River Fairchild: While I would like to take credit, the entertainment was for me first, with the photos a side-line. The skinny one was happy to stay in bed too and ask when he got up several hours later whether it had worked. Nearly was my response. Next time...

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  14. Replies
    1. J Cosmo Newbery: It was. And fairly challenging too.

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  15. I find it fascinating to be able to communicate with someone on the other side of the globe. I'm from Houston, TX and we've had the most unusual May. Torrential floods which have now given way to the predicted heat wave which will probably last till sometime late September or early October. In this part of the country, we are either in a severe drought or horrific, devastating flooding...nothing moderate. From here to your home in Australia is the Yin/Yang of the world we both occupy. Your winter is my summer. I find that cool (no pun intended) Love the bubble pics:)...Today's high in the 90's. Gak, summer is here.

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    1. Terry Lee-Rosing: Welcome. I love the world-wide communication too. A community.
      I heard about your floods and my heart went out to all those affected. We get droughts here. Often. Too often. Other parts of Oz get floods.
      You can keep summer - and those temperatures. I am NOT a fan of the sweaty season.

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  16. Amazing bubbles! It is hard to believe that you are starting winter as we start early summer. Rain for so many weeks and now it is sticky humid when not raining. Today was beautiful though hot. Glad for sunshine. Hope winter doesn't take real hard hold for you for a while yet!

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    1. Bookie: On a world-wide basis our winters are mild. Chilly for Oz, and insignificant for many countries. I do better in the cooler months. I do envy your rain - but not the resultant humidity. I hope you got to revel in your long awaited sunshine.

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  17. Glorious gelid globules!!

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    1. fishducky: Not quite gelid enough. Later this season it will happen. I am determined it will happen.

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  18. It's been so hot here, I appreciated this beautiful dose of the chills.

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    1. Rawknrobyn: Always happy to relieve heat stress.

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  19. You are such a fun friend!




    ALOHA from Honolulu,
    ComfortSpiral
    =^..^=

    (\__/)
    (='.'=)
    (")_(")

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    1. Cloudia: There is never enough fun - or silliness in the world is there.

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  20. Delicious bubbles! Beep and I tried blowing bubbles when it was below freezing (so we could photograph the ice crystals that form inside them). We didn't have any luck. Keep trying!

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    1. Karen: I will. I am plotting where to try and get them to settle and how early I can go out. Is blowing bubbles under lights in the dark going to far? Perhaps...

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  21. Replies
    1. dinahmow: It was. I have hopes for a totally frozen bubble a little later in the season. High hopes.

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  22. Minus temperatures already! and with frost! Our lowest so far has been 9C and that was an overnighter; days here are still 16 and up.
    I LOVE your frozen bubbles. Not something I'll try myself, frosty mornings have me rolling up even tighter in my quilt. It's not that I hate cold, I prefer it over hot, but the cold we have right now, is cold enough for me. I'm wimpy when it comes to extremes.

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    1. River: We have already had a minus seven. If I had been thinking I would have been out there with the detergent and camera that morning. There will be other days. I really don't mind cold, even the minus temperatures. It is easier to get warm than it is too cool down. So... next minus seven or below and I will be back out there trying again.

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  23. so strange to think of you getting cold when we are starting to warm up, those bubbles are amazing, the popped ones look like jelly fish. we are getting up into the 80s F now and we were quite warm when we got home from the farmer's market yesterday, ugh, very tiring.

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    1. Linda Starr: I will have cold over hot any day. I hadn't thought of the jelly fish link - but can see it. Thanks.

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  24. I am laughing my head off at your science experiment EC. You crazy lady (in the nicest of ways). But thank you for sharing the results and photos. The report is due on my desk on Monday morning.
    P.S. You wouldn't have found me getting out of bed at those temps.

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    1. carolincairns: I will get this experiment right. I hope. It won't be for lack of trying anyway. Too lazy to write up a report for you though...
      You would be late for work for much of winter if you refused to get up while the temperatures remained negative. Some days you wouldn't get there till nearly lunch time.

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  25. An interesting experiment with the bubbles. Some of the shots really came out well. Definitely try again. I love cold, clear, frosty mornings like this.

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    1. Craig: Thank you. I will try again - as soon as the temperatures drop. We had a minimum of 2 last night. Heat wave...

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  26. That's a great idea, for this winter here, if it gets cold. Over 90 F today however.

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    1. Strayer: Over 90? Bleah. I would be down by the river every chance I got.

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  27. Very interesting bubble experiment. I'll need to remember that. Definitely doable in Scotland's winter (and summer at times!)

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    1. Nick Wilford: I hope it is doable in our winter. I think it probably is... Not in our sweaty season though. I melt, and so would the bubbles.

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  28. thats great, frozen bubbles :)

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    1. kylie: Nearly frozen. Partially frozen. But fun.

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  29. I come over from Rivers & Andrés blog. Your experiment was excellent. I never thought of doing what you did. We too have had some cold morning frosts, daytime temperature being about 1 degC, today was nearly 20...bit weird for Launceston, Tasmania....
    Regards,
    Margaret

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    1. whiteangel: Welcome and thank you. I expect you could probably do it in Launceston too. 20? For winter? That is very weird. We haven't got that high in weeks.

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    2. Yes 20 degC, very weird for Launceston, but then it depends on where the temperature is taken...
      Turned cool again....you keep warm..

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  30. I thought of you when i saw the forecast of -7 for Canberra and aren't you just so clever with your bubbles.....they are so pretty.
    Hope your garden is not suffering too much with the cold and frosty mornings. Did it actually snow in the city?

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    1. Mimsie: I wish I had tried this trick on the minus seven morning. No snow in the city - we do get it, but it is rare. Some of the garden is suffering, but it will come back. I hope.

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  31. I wonder if that would work in the walk in freezer where I work. It think it's like 10 degrees in there.

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    1. We are: Clamco: 10F would probably work. Give it a try - and watch the faces of your co-workers...

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  32. I never thought of Australia as getting a frost or being near freezing at all. What a fun experiment with bubbles - will have to give that a try once our temps drop again in the Fall ... but for now I'm enjoying the warm weather after a long, long, dark winter in the Northest US!

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    1. AntiquityTravelers: Welcome. I had fun trying, and am determined to make it work. We have quite a temperature range. My city is known for its cool winters, and some of our snow fields are less than an hour away.

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    2. My sister lives in Auckland and I've been there in Oct-Nov ... and driven south to Rotorua ... it was cold, and worthy of skiing. Not what I think of when I think of 'down under' for sure! But beautiful and such a wonderful place to live

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    3. AntiquityTravelers: Parts of Noo Zilland are indeed beautiful. And, I believe, get colder than we do. We do get snow in my city, but it very rarely settles. Frosts are a given though. Sometimes hard frosts.

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  33. The zoom in frost pictures are so pretty (I say from my springlike weather). The bubbles do look super cool. I love seeing the colors and the bubbles just looks so beautiful. 10 minutes seems like a pretty long time compared to their normally short life span. You did a great job capturing them and I can't wait to see your future experiments. :)
    ~Jess

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    1. DMS ~ Jess: I do like frost. Pretty. I am fond of spring too. And the marvels of the blogosphere mean that I can see two seasons most of the year.

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  34. Mad women, yes, but what fun. I think it is the privilege of the older wiser population to do crazy things that we wouldn't have done when we were younger because we were still suppressed by the thoughts and wills of others. But, look what you did here ... how beautiful are the rainbow colors of the bubbles and the dancing was being done by them as well as you. I am too early into the warm weather to look forward to the cool or cold again, but I can appreciate the beauty of a frost. What a wonderful post EC ... and I love it that you are out enjoying the cold weather.

    Andrea @ From The Sol

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    1. Andrea Priebe: I have largely given up on the shame front. And certainly given up on it when it restricts my enjoyment of life. Mind you, I suspect I would have been a bit self-conscious if more people had been up. Not self conscious enough to stop though. I hope that you and Izzi are both enjoying your spring.

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  35. The bubble shots are fabulous, even it they were not frozen! Thank you for sharing!

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    1. Anne in the kitchen: Later this winter I hope to share pictures of properly frozen bubbles. Fun aren't they? Bubbles are one of the childhood joys I have never left behind. For which I am grateful.

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  36. "I need more arms."- I laughed. You goof.
    I loved the frozen bubbles. Such a cool idea. I'll have to wait a few months to try it though. I'm fine with. It's nice to finally be warm.

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    1. Sonya Ann: More arms, more energy, more brains. Less of the rest of me. I am not asking for too much am I?

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  37. how fascinating! I will have to try it next winter!

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    1. Things Are Looking U.P: I suspect you will find it easier to achieve totally frozen bubbles than I did.

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  38. Very Cool.
    I'll bet the kitties love being warm and cozy inside!! xx

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    1. My Inner Chick: Jazz n Jewel don't like being inside if I am outside. They complain. Loudly. They are comfort loving cats though and would prefer we all staying inside out of the frost. Hugs.

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  39. I didn't know you could freeze bubbles. That really is a cool thing! The shell left behind is even great!

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    1. mail4rosey: I was amazed too. And some of the photos on the net and u-tube are amazing. I will get there. I hope.

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  40. I have never heard of freezing bubbles either - how cool!

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    1. mshatch: It is amazing isn't it. Cool it was, and if the weather behaves and gets cold I will get a better result. Which will be really cool.

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  41. Replies
    1. Terri @ Coloring Outside the Lines: Have I ever told you how much I like your name? All colouring should be done outside the lines. And the bubbles were fun.

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  42. G'day Sue,

    Nicely done and I was frozen to the screen. Yes, the photos are that good. Bubbles, bubbles, very nice. A a little bit more an there'd be ice. Icy the photos and now that I'm now longer frozen to the screen, I shall stop making an ice of myself and enjoy the tropical English weather. Have fun, you pleasantly mad woman, you!

    Gary

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    1. klahanie: It is always lovely to see the punster visiting. Enjoy your tropical days.

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  43. Lovely frosty shots!

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    1. ladyfi: I am a fan of frosty mornings. Which we haven't had for a few days now. Later this week. Perhaps.

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  44. What fun! I would have liked to be with you and help out with the bubble blowing! :)

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    1. Lynn: It would have been lovely to have some help - and someone else to delight in the bubbles with me at the time.

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  45. That series of bubble pics are very cool. Now, I want to try to get some bubble pictures. I do have solution for blowing bubbles but it won't be as cool as seeing yours after it pops and leaves a shell--that was very neat. I want to try that this winter. :-)

    Sia McKye Over Coffee

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    1. ~Sia McKye~: I am so glad that I remembered that bubbles freeze. And had a play. I hope that you can try in your winter.

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  46. It's so wonderful that you allow yourself to go mad, and take great pictures for us. The weather here is the opposite of yours and I like that.

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    1. Myrna R.: I like the opposites too. When we are suffering in the sweaty season I love looking at photos of snow and ice. And madness is never far from my surface.

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  47. Frozen bubbles - how neat! Storing away that tidbit in my mind for future use. We are entering our warmer weather, so it will be awhile.

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    1. jenny_o: It had never occurred to me... and now I am determined to get a photo of some completely frozen ones. Even if I freeze in the attempt.

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  48. The frozen bubble photos are amazing! That's so neat.

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    1. Riot Kitty: I hope to get even better photos of even more frozen bubbles. Soon. Ish.

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  49. Replies
    1. Riot Kitty: Bleah. Summer is my least favourite season.

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  50. I love all the photos, awesome of you to share with us!

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    1. Kelly Steel: Thank you. I hope to do better next time - and will certainly share the photos if/when I succeed.

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  51. The frozen bubbles look other-worldly. So does the plant with the tiny frosty-spikes.

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    1. neena maiya (aka guyana gyal): A crisp, clean other world. One that I am fond of.

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  52. Cool shots of the frost and I love those images of the bubble. Really neat.

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    1. M Pax: It has been a lot warmer since I took those shots. Not precisely balmy, but certainly not frozen bubble weather.

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  53. Oh wow these bubbles are so interesting frozen! The frost is pretty also ....looks so cold though

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    1. Kim @ Stuff could...: I like the cold, but it was brisk. The cats were happy to stay inside, and my partner remained in bed. I hope we get even colder - when I will try again in the hopes of getting completely frozen bubbles.

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  54. What an awesome idea and amazing shots. I can't believe seeing the popped bubble on the ground, I've never seen (or even imagined) that before. We used to get 3 or 4 frosts a year but haven't had any for several years now

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    1. Kim: We are getting at least three or four frosts a week at the moment, but they haven't been as 'hard' as they used to be. Some years back it was regularly pushing minus 10 when we headed off to work. I wouldn't mind at all if we had one now, to perfect the frozen bubbles...

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  55. Incredible bubbles, how fun! Kitty cats do have a mind of their own, absolutely. One of my favorite cat and dog quotes (I love them both dearly) Dogs have masters while cats have staff! So true.

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    1. Karen S.: Our cats have slaves rather than staff. Staff are entitled to holidays. And pay. And yes, I love them. Dearly.

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  56. Your bubbles are awesome! And I love that you went out early in the morning so you could experiment with them. My kinda gal! :)

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    1. Susan: Curiosity is one of my defining characteristics. I had to see whether bubbles would freeze. What I saw convinced me that they can, and now I need to confirm it when our weather behaves and the temperatures plummet further.

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  57. I actually saw this post days ago, but had to come back, finally, to comment. I love the idea of this! What a wonderful thing to do on a cold morning.

    The frost looks so inviting. I actually postponed my latest trip south, in part because the expected temp where I needed to stay a night was 104F (40C).

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    1. Paper Chipmunk (aka Ellen): 40/104 is a foretaste of hell isn't it? And hooray to find another frost lover.

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  58. I missed this post, so very pleased to find it now. Your frozen bubbles are gorgeous! What a lovely thing to do - and I'm sure you'll be out there making more before long. Not cold enough up here on the coast but I loved seeing your great efforts.

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    1. Carol: I had another attempt a few mornings ago. Not cold enough yet. It will come. I hope.

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  59. Now this is something I have never thought to try!! We are headed into quite hot weather, so I will have to wait a while - but I love the photos that you took! Other than struggling to get my own posts written, I have been mostly off-line for a couple weeks - just a lot of real life moments happening! I'm glad I stopped by today, to see what I have been missing here though!

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    1. Susan F.: It has been too warm here to make another more successful attempt, but I have my detergent and my wire at the ready. Soon I hope.

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