#13 camp out...er in?

Let me attempt to justify this bit of craziness with it could have been the combination of being alone house sitting for a week, every friend unavailable to go out when I actually had a weekend night free, or being stuck inside from yet another snowstorm that this list item took the shape it did.

 I have been reviewing my list and saw there is quite a bit left to do including: #13 sleep under the stars.  My original intention was to go camping and well with only 3 months to finish and the never ending winter I wasn't going to take any chances and took some liberty to creatively fulfill this item.

a skylight with a open view to the sky

There was a perfectly good skylight, stars above + me sleeping below=close enough. Plopping down a sleeping bag in the middle of the living room would be too boring so I decided to go all out and have a indoor camp out. I put up a tent, made a fire, unplugged the electronics, and made some yummy snacks.

I love how tents go from this:                             to this:

in just a short amount of time.  I'm usually really good at putting up a tent by myself but I must have been rusty because this one took a few tries to get it right. There is always an extra pole or two in case you loose one right?

Now no camping trip is complete without a campfire. But I probably wouldn't win the best house sitter title if there was a fire pit ring burnt into the carpet. Instead I used a flameless candle and rolled up bits of paper bag to simulate my fire...volia and with half the mess to clean up in the morning!

fire pit...worked pretty well too

Dinner was grilled hot dogs and I made s'mores for a dessert treat. While I could have easily made them in the oven, I was missing that hint of burnt carbon so opted for the candle approach. It worked a lot better than I thought. Just be sure to skip the scented candle s'more a-la tropical paradise smell isn't all that appealing to the tastebuds.

sir can I have s'more please?

It was nice to unplugged from all electronics for the evening and I was able to look up through tent and see a couple stars before the next winter storm rolled in.

good morning...ugh more snow! 

Best sleep ever in a tent I will say...if only every camp site could be free of rocks and roots, but I guess that would be taking away a key part of camping.

This idea could be easily adapted for a really cute date night or even kids slumber party or like me when you've just had enough of the cold weather. If you don't have a sky light just improvise and hang up some twinkle lights you'll get the same effect

yep pretty much had to "rough it"

Other great camping things to not forget: flash lights and scary stories to share

You know come to think of it it's not the first time I've camped in the living room...east 18th ladies I believe we had one up for a while there around my 21st birthday. haha

On to more adventures.....

Science behind...snowflakes

As I was driving in to school the snowflakes were perfectly landing on the window so I could see each one's unique shape. It was so cool to see all the different designs. It got me thinking that maybe it's time for a little science behind how snowflakes get their shape. It's a lot more complicated than you think! Actually it's pretty amazing that all these variables came together to form all that white stuff we've had this season.

How do snowflakes form? 

Snowflakes start out simply enough, they are just bits of water vapor in the air. High up in the atmosphere where is very cold that water vapor condenses into liquid and you'll get clouds. In snow forming clouds they are cooled below freezing point (about 14 F) and those liquid drops freeze. As time goes by more water vapor condenses on it's surface the snow flake grows. When it reaches a point that it's too heavy it will fall as precipitation. So that's the easy part..now depending on things like temperature, humidity, and atmospheric pressure will determine the shape and complexity.

 I could totally nerd out on you because there is a lot of math and molecular/structural engineering if you want to get down to the nitty-gritty of it but I won't and try to keep it simple. If you do want more of that kind information there is a ton of resources out there and  people are even obsessed with researching it so! Let me know and I'll point you in the direction. 

 When water turns to ice those molecules stack to create crystalline lattice (see previous post about ice). Ice has a hexagonal symmetry and this basic shape will determine the overall symmetry of the snowflake and why there is usually 6 arms to a snowflake. The growth of crystals is split between balance of facets and branches. Check out this 2 minute video to watch the stunning growth of snow crystals.

Facets are simple flat surfaces with sharp edges. This is from very slow growth of the crystal and gives you the prisms and plates. Branching makes the more complex structures we tend to think of as a snow flake.  Branches start as a small bump of growth that sticks out further on the crystal. Since that is what the vapor will come in contact with first more will grow off of that area quickly. As more grows the flake becomes more complex.  If snow crystals are formed below atmospheric pressure there will be less branches, higher pressure means more branches. As snowflake moves it is in differing temperatures and pressures so the growth of arms can be different that other flakes making it unique.

Temperature and humidity will also strongly influence the growth of snowflake between faceting and branching. This means that snow crystals can be very diverse. Have you ever heard that it's too cold to snow? Well really it's about the humidity usually when it is very cold it has already snowed and air is dry. There isn't more water vapor  to make new snow. So far this season I've seen the big fluffy flakes, the tiny diamond like grainy ones, wet sloppy, needles, unique branching, and and a white out all these are due to the climate.  

Are two snow flakes really alike? 

Since there are so many variables that go into play in creating a snowflake statistically it is highly unlikely that two complex snowflake structures are exactly alike... but really who is going to collect and check every snow flake that is ever fallen? Not it! To get a more in depth answer check out this page  There also is a wealth of more than you ever wanted to know about snowflakes at that site. 

What are some fun activities I can do about snow?

There are lots of cute activities that range from craft to science experiments on the internet. Here are just a few I like that can be adapted to any situation

1) snowflake scavenger hunt Printable PDF of the different shapes. Take it outside and see what you can find!

2) 15 great activities that are snow and ice related you can do at home or at school with kids from inspiration laboratories

3) This is one of the those cool kitchen chemistry "magic trick" experiments you can wow kids or adults called hot ice. 


4) Go back to basics and enjoy sledding or snowman building


With storm system after storm system I feel like I'm living out part of the Seven Brides for Seven Brothers movie: the June Bride Song sequence...sigh such a great movie. 

Don't worry the first day of spring is around the corner....well at least that's what the calendar says!


Here is one more really neat video from BBC about snowflakes sorry I think this is just too cool!