Winter Color Part 2: More Colored Icicles

Last week I posted some pictures of colored icicles.  Since then I have become very interested in icicles as features of 'micro-watersheds' - areas where snowmelt, rain, and other precipitation run off of impervious surfaces like rooftops.

To get people thinking about icicles and how water moves through them and their surrounding urban landscapes, I've been putting food-coloring dye on icicles in prominent places in Middlebury, Vermont and Burlington, Vermont.  The results are striking in some cases, and illustrate just how quickly water can actually move through these seemingly static formations.

(do note that none of these icicles are in dangerous locations where they could fall and cause damage or injury, and any icicles that ARE should be safely removed if possible and not tampered with)









Middlebury Shaws


Middlebury Food Co-Op


Old Navy, Burlington


Salty runoff on Church Street during a pseudo-thaw



House in Burlington




Brittle melting icicle in the sun during a brief thaw.  A nearby one with a similar structure shattered when I touched it lightly.  This one survived until the thaw ended and re-froze.




On house in Middlebury.




This one formed on a clothesline under a dripping roof and so was really easy to color.  A lot of water was moving over it, so it would pass color through really fast, with only a small amount sticking around.


A little guy on a twig.


I 'cheated' to make these... i poured colored water out of a window.  It was 1 degree F and the water froze very quickly on these metal ledges!

If you find a colored icicle, let me know.  Better yet, make your own!  If you have a Flickr account, you can post them to this group.