Icycle? Isicle? Ice-icle? Icicle?

Icycle? Isicle? Ice-icle? Icicle? . . . I can't even spell the blasted word, but I've certainly had enough of it in the past ten days. Low temperature records have been shattered all across the northern hemisphere. Gainesville, Florida, dropped to 17 degrees; Pensacola suffered through eight straight freezing nights; Tampa broke a city record with a low of 26; and Key West, the southern-most city in the US recorded a low of 42, only one degree higher than its all-time record. (Oddly, folks in Fairbanks, Alaska, were noting that it hadn't even hit 40-below this winter!) Meanwhile on Wall Street, futures contracts for orange juice soared by more than 15%.

The last time it was this cold was back in 1980's when a picture of Jan and me  ice-skating on the pond at ASU graced the front page of the Jonesboro Sun. The result this year has been a record crop of icicles. The lovely snapshot at the top is of icicles hanging from a bush near the water's edge. I suspect that fog rising from the warmer lake water condenses on these branches and the drips gradually form the icicles seen here. Perhaps the most interesting manifestation of lake-effect icicles is seen in the snapshot at right. I'm puzzled to explain the physics behind the creation of those double-bulbed icicles. What could cause the thinning at the center and the thickening at the bottom?

The most ominous of all the icicles I've seen, however, are those in the big batch at left. If they look like they are descending from the cabin, that's because they are! When I built the cabin, I was thinking primarily of its occupancy in spring, fall, and summer--though I always contemplated some winter residency. The post-and-beam construction technique I used creates a structure raised on posts a bit above ground level. The crawl space beneath could be enclosed for winter warmth, but that would create a haven for bugs and mice while making it harder to get under there for any subsequent repairs to the pipes and plumbing. Thus, our water pipes and drain pipes are exposed to the air. I've insulated the water pipes, but even insulation cannot protect them from freezing during long cold-spells. 

In the past I've solved that problem by switching off the hot-water heater at night and allowing all the taps to drip a little. Running water won't freeze--at least not readily. Those dripping taps, however, create even slower drips in the larger drain pipes, and this year unseen icicles formed in--and eventually blocked--some of the drain pipes. That happened first in the old bathroom. I realized what was going on when the sink began to fill with water. 

Subsequently, the drain to the new bathroom sink also froze, creating a mini-flood, which produced the nice assortment of icicles dangling from the bottom of the cabin. Fortunately, all of the frozen pipes have thawed and there was no lasting damage. I'm beginning to be a big believer in PCV plumbing pipes since they have so far survived several episodes of freezing without harm.

While I may not have enjoyed the lengthy freeze we have had in Arkansas, I think I may have finally learned how to spell the word icicle. It is not like bicycle without the b. In fact there is almost no point of connection between an icicle and a bicycle . .  . as I know to my sorrow. I have not ridden my bicycle in Arkansas since the first day of December.