First Frost
Well, maybe not the very first. But it was the first that was really noticeable around here. The nights have been abnormally mild so far this autumn, so there hasn’t been much in the way of frosty morns.
Judy took these pictures with her phone before leaving for work Friday morning. This week we finally had some cold with a bit of a bite. It’s not that I want bitterly cold weather, but as a Chicagoan I find it disorienting to have such a mild November.
Morning frosts don’t exactly make me happy, but at this time of year they give me a feeling of reassurance and normality. Anyhow, here’s some wild strawberry (Fragaria virginiana).
A touch of frost on a Bee Balm (Monarda didyma) seedhead, with the ever photogenic ‘Northwind’ switchgrass in the background (Panicum virgatum).
Oh, and frost on the windshield. Now, I must confess that one of the things I hate most in winter is scraping snow and ice off of my car windshield in the morning. For some reason this bothers me more than shoveling the driveway. Go figure.
Here’s a view of our street. Many leaves have fallen, but I prefer to wait until more of the branches are bare before starting my leaf raking.
Have you experienced many frosts yet?
gardeninacity 
I love the frosty photos. Great time of year to bring out the camera.
I like how the frost highlights the outlines of the leaves.
No frost yet for us. Probably this week, though. Great pics!
It’s not November without frosts.
We haven’t had any frost yet… also a bit strange. I love seeing the morning frosts on the plants, and on cobwebs and grass too.
I wish we had more cobwebs here.
Yes we have had 2 roof/grass frosts in the Midlands UK,but I am still going out to garden this morning.
Takes more than a frost or two to keep a gardener out of the garden. However, here we are a good month past our normal first frost date and there is not a great deal left to do in the garden. In three weeks or so the ground will be frozen.
New hobbies needed !
Only a couple of frost mornings. We have also had an unusually warm fall. Luckily my car is in a garage. I also hate frost on the windshield 🙂
Our garage is so small and so full of tools and boxes of old stuff that we can’t get the car into it.
Having to scrape the windscreen is usual here, lucky as I hate doing it too.
Scraping ice off the windshield doesn’t sound very Italian.
No frost yet, very mild…and VERY wet :(. I’m glad I got most shrubs/trees into the ground two days ago.
Yes, I don’t like planting in the rain. Not good for the soil either.
Love frost photos – beautiful. Yes, we’ve had many frosts because the temps have gone down into the low 20’s. We’ve even had some snow in the higher elevations. Winter is here.
Oh, bite your tongue! I’m adjusted to fall but not ready for winter. Well, I guess it comes later here in the flatlands.
Many light frosts which have had the affect of one killing one. I too am waiting for more leaves to fall before executing the final mow of the season. The wind is helping.
Yes, there’s been more wind the last couple days.
One of the things I don’t miss about moving south (and having a garage) is scraping ice off the windshield in the morning. If it’s any consolation, the weather “experts” are predicting a cold winter across the country.
Hmm, not sure that makes me feel better.
I’m with you about the frost on the windshield. Especially because it’s usually on the inside and I have to wait for the car to warm up. But I was encouraged to see the water still liquid in my birdbaths. That means the electrical outlets I plugged them into are still working. First time I’ve planted carrots: I have to dig up the rest of them now or never. …Great shots with the cell phone again.
I haven’t plugged in my heated birdbath yet. Sometimes there is a thin layer of ice on my unheated baths but that melts quickly.
Beautiful!
Thanks!
After just 6 1/2 years here in the NW, I’m still loving those first frosty leaves. And Judy’s shots are beautiful. They seem like such a gentle way to ease us into winter. It’s been slow to come here too. We had a couple of nights below freezing, but lately the clouds and the rain have kept the temps above 36F. But the cats are less eager to go outside, preferring to sprawl across the heating vents.
Most cats are lazy bums, but lovable.
I spray the car window now, scraping drives me mad and freezes my hands.Lovely frosty pics and a great shot of the fallen leaves.xxxx
What do you spray it with?
Just a few light frosts, only to be noticed on rooftops and car windshields. I, like you, would rather shovel snow than scrape the windshield. I suppose it’s because I always forget to allow time for it, then I’m running late for work.
Pretty frost pix, Judy! She was taking pix while you, ever gallant, were scraping her windshield… right?
I wish! I was leaving extra-early for a meeting, and he was still in bed.
Oh, thanks for the loyalty.
Enjoyed your frost photos. We had our 2nd frost yesterday morning but couldn’t get out in time with the camera. Really notice the changing season now along your street–beautiful leaves although they bring work.
Another few days and the rest of the leaves will be on the ground.
We’ve had frosts and freezes and last night northern parts of the state got 4 inches of snow. It won’t be long before we see snow here.
They’re predicting snow for tomorrow here but it’s also supposed to be over 40 degrees so it should melt fast.
The shot of your street is so beautiful! And yes this November is a bit odd…I too wish for a bit of cold to keep things in check minus the scraping of car windows of course! Snow tomorrow I hear??? You take care Jason!
You too, Nicole.
Jack Frost is taking his time in appearing in CT. We’ve had a few light frosts but nothing remarkable, and the leaves are still falling. I’ve begun to cut back the perennials – not my favorite task! What a lovely street you live on! And the golden leaves look pretty! It’s when they curl up and turn brown that I get busy.
The leaves on the ground in our back garden are doing just that right now – curling up and turning brown. Suddenly autumn is moving fast. Next weekend I will have to get busy raking.
I’ve been traveling in Germany and Austria and it has been mild as well.
I just saw your most recent post and it is outstanding! Have you just returned or are you posting while travelling?
There’s something so appealing about the first frost in the garden–great photos! We had our first frost several weeks ago, which seems strange since I’m south of you, but being out in wide open spaces as I am makes a difference. One advantage to that is if I’m lucky, most of my leaves will blow far away:) I hate scraping windshields, too!
It’s hard to figure the weather patterns in this state, as I have seen since I travel frequently from northern to central Illinois and back. We are about four miles from Lake Michigan and I think that makes a difference.
Several frosts here…I am lucky to be able to keep the car in the garage so the only scraping is when I leave work. Frost looks great in your garden Jason!
We have a garage built in the 1930s and it is too small for contemporary cars, especially as I use it as a kind of oversized tool and storage shed.
No frost here in the lowlands yet but a little higher up they had a light frost. Some years we don’t get a truly heavy frost until after Thanksgiving.
Ah, the life of bliss in subtropical Tacoma.
I know the frost is probably a big hassle, but it looks really pretty from the pictures! There is something nice about getting the 4 seasons. We don’t get much of a winter out here.
It is definitely a mixed blessing.
Blech. Frosted windshields. I’m also a hater and they might be the one thing that motivates me to clean out the garage in order to fit the car in there!