Black Ice, by Caprilicious

Hello folks, how are you today? I'm up early writing this blog because hubby forgot to shut the bedroom door when he woke up at 4 am to get a drink of water. I'm working later on today, so by the time I'd tossed and turned in bed for an hour, I thought it was a waste of time trying hard to fall asleep as it would soon be time to wake up all over again.

Black Ice

Black ice, sometimes called clear ice, is a thin coating of glazed ice on a surface, especially on streets. The ice itself is not black, but visually transparent, allowing the often black road below to be seen through it. It looks really pretty when the street lights shine on it because it's crystalline structure appears to glitter, but, be afraid, be very afraid!  The low levels of noticeable ice pellets, snow, or sleet surrounding black ice means that areas of the ice are often nigh on invisible to drivers or people walking on it. You might not even recognise it's presence until Wham! you are lifted off your feet and find yourself sitting on your bottom on a cold and slushy surface. It is most prevalent during the early morning hours, especially after snow that melts on the roadways has a chance to refreeze overnight when the temperature drops below freezing. Black ice can also form when roadways are slick from rain and temperatures drop below freezing overnight. 
Black ice tends to form on paved surfaces rather than on grass or dirt. Bridges and overpasses are also more likely to develop black ice than regular roadways since the cold air flowing beneath the bridge chills the pavement even faster. Another common location is beneath trees or other shade-producing objects like buildings.

​The black agate druzy teardrop I worked on all of last week has a central window with a glittery surface that reminded me of Black Ice. However, sadly, I cannot demonstrate it to you in still photographs and believe me, I've tried my damndest. ​

The geological process that forms druzy, a layer of crystals on the rock, occurs when water brings minerals onto a rock's surface. When the water evaporates, cooling occurs and the minerals are left behind to form crystals on top of the rock. Depending on the minerals, druzy gemstones can be almost any color of the rainbow, including white, pink, blue, purple, green or black. Most druse forms as cavity lining in geodes. A border of plain agate around the druzy covered area of the stone produces the most beautiful gemstones. In most druzy, the crystals appear random and stones glitter like a fistful of tiny diamonds as the viewing angle changes with movement - like Black Ice! 

I sent photographs of Black Ice and The Flight of the Bumblebee to one of my clients - I knew she'd love them and that they would suit her perfectly. She had a big birthday coming up and reserved both of them as a gift to herself.

DM sent me a photograph wearing earrings she picked from the Caprilicious collection; her daughter seems to love them too! She once picked up a well-appreciated necklace for her mother as a birthday gift, and I thought how gratifying it was that three generation of women loved Caprilicious.
DM then requested a similar pair in blue. I dug out the findings and some blue patina, and this is what I came up with - she loved them too!

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That's me for today, folks. Have a wonderful weekend and I'll catch you soon.
Until then,
​xx