First Frost

Two firsts today and I've only been awake for an hour.  It's first frost for the season.  Had a touch of it yesterday morning but when Whip and I went out for our constitutional this morning everything was covered w/ a layer of crystals.  The sun wasn't yet up but everything still shimmered w/ any stray ray of light that hit it.  Can understand why Fall was thought of as a magical time of the year.  While Whip checked out the meadow, I went into Sleipnir to check the temp in there.  Felt the warm moist air as I walked in.  56 degrees.  Guess I'm getting acclimated to the colder weather coming when 56 degrees feels warm to me.  No need to turn the heat on in there for awhile.  Walked into Mjolnir.  Same temp but ... no flies!  I'd replaced fly traps last night.  During the past week 200 flies were caught.  But this morning not one fly.  Will have to do some experimentation to see if it's the cold, the plants, or something else that has, at least temporarily, gotten rid of them.  The sun was about to make an appearance so I stood out on the deck to watch it come up over the far horizon.  That's when it happened.  I saw the green flash!!!  No, that's not the name of some superhero.  The atmosphere causes the sun's light to refract into it's different wavelengths but we don't see it because it all mixes together making the sun look white.  When the sun sets (or rises) most of the light is blocked by the horizon and you might be able to see  that last bit of sun without the red and yellow wavelengths mixed in - green.  You need a really far horizon like someone at sea or an airplane pilot might have.  I've looked for it but didn't think I'd ever see it  - even though I have a distant horizon.  What I think happened is this morning there is an atmospheric temperature inversion which enhanced the light refraction.  The cold weather of the fall and winter months create all sorts of fun atmospheric phenomena.  It is a magical time of year.