Blowing Bubbles

Today it's snowy and blowy and cold, enough to shut down the Long Island Expressway and bring out the global warming deniers. Roundabout Exit 151 I'd say we got about 9 inches (23 cm) of light, fluffy snow, which compacted down to about 6 inches (15 cm). The snow day delayed sending out the wee sock I knit for Adrienne, pictured below with a New Jersey quarter.



After I shoveled out, I saw Angela Kelly's beautiful photographs of soap bubbles on snow, so of course I had to try it. She used a sturdy, no-pop bubble recipe that includes corn syrup; I just ran outside with some leftover bubble solution that was a favor at a summer wedding.

The soap bubbles were quite fragile. Most popped on contact with the snow. The few that lasted started out clear, but rapidly occluded, like a car window fogging up, as the one pictured below. When the wind blew, its surface rippled like a thin plastic bag.



The wind blew harder and the surface began to cave in.



Then – pop! Aww.... The bubble pieces were pliable, like shreds of thin plastic, but they melted like snowflakes. I could hold them with gloved fingers, but not with bare fingers. According to the radio, the temperature was 16° F (-8.8° C), but it felt warmer to me. My bubbles never became glass-like – they tore rather than shattered and didn't make any noises I could discern.



I want to try again, next time with corn syrup!



Here's a parting photo of the wee sock, a mini version of Sockdolager. The wee sock has a similar stitch pattern and Fleegle heel, but no cuff ribbing (oops). It's an intentional singleton, so I suppose it's my first FO of 2014.