A black and white photo of a dense forest of icicles hanging from branches. The icicles vary in size and shape, creating a mesmerizing, almost otherworldly scene.

Winter’s Teeth

Sometimes, one stumbles across a so-called fascinating photograph in the most banal of places. I happened upon this forest of icicles whilst driving into Middlesbrough. On the return journey, I abandoned the car in a field entrance and voila.

There is an aesthetic beauty to ice-shoggles, as they were once called in the Cleveland dialect, all delicate and fleeting. Nature’s frozen baubles, decorating the bleak winter scenery. These particular specimens, however, were tinged with muddy hues, courtesy of their location in the splash zone of road spray from passing vehicles. How charming. A quick black-and-white edit mercifully disguises the grime.

While icicles may seem enchanting, they are apparently fraught with peril. Not here, of course—no risk of being skewered by a falling one. The true menace was finding a gap in the traffic long enough to snap the picture and retreat before being drenched by another speeding car.

For those who care, icicles form when water melts, drips and refreezes in cycles, usually melting snow or ice. These particular specimens owe their existence to modern road traffic. Even so, they offer a fleeting reminder of nature’s charm—if you can see past the muck.


Posted

in

by

Tags:

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *