Ice spike ... at minus 2 degrees this morning.

An ice spike is a natural phenomenon where water trapped beneath a frozen surface is forced upwards through a small opening, freezing as it exits and creating a pointed ice formation that looks like an icicle growing vertically from the water source; this typically happens in small containers like bird baths when temperatures drop rapidly.

It is a long time since we have had a really cold winter Shirley.
A shock to the system !

Yes it certainly is, I couldn't open the recycling bin lid earlier and outdoors is far too cold to be out so it's an 'Indoor Day' here ... keep lovely and warm Rose.

Great to see the spike, our bird bath just has a small lump on it....

You too Shirley! x

I've never seen anything like that before! Like Lindak says I've also seen small lumps but never spikes!

David, this has happened in another bird bath here, years ago, and the spike was very long and slim. Fascinating what nature can do.

That's amazing Shirley. By all accounts milder weather is on its way. It's been bitter but beautifully bright..

Janey, just the same down here, so very cold but I believe it's set to reach 8 or 9 later in the week, woohoo!

The weather should start to get a little milder from Tuesday. I've had to bring in my Amaryllis & Clivia bulbs because we have been having 5 & 6C below freezing on at least 4 nights this last week!

David, I have spent a couple of hours gardening today in the balmy 8 degrees.

I haven't been out on the balcony because we had a very damp day. Though the mist couldn’t be seen everything was wetter than if it had rained!

Now that is exactly what happened here, in fact I thought it had rained overnight but it was simply the heavy mist. Much better today, cloudy but no wind blowing.