Icicles

If you live in the south you don’t have the chance to experience icicles like we do here in Maine. With our recent snow and a few sunny cold days, we have had excellent conditions for icicles to form on the eves of the house. The sun warms the roof (partly because I shoveled a few bare patches that really heat up) melting the snow that then trickles down and refreezes as it drips from the eves. We had some earlier this winter that went nearly to the ground. The best icicles are formed on old Maine farmhouses with little insulation and a steep pitch to the roof. When we lived in our old house a neighbor used to stop by and tell me that it took a lot of good firewood to make icicles of that size and quality.

This picture shows them in front of the office and along the front of the house. It is forecast to be warm and even rain over the next couple of days so the display will melt and be gone by the weekend.