Freezing Bubbles

Today is the last day of this intense wave of frigid air, or at least that’s what we see on the AccuWeather app. So with an ambient temperature of 18°F and a bit of sun peeking over the mountain ridge, we ventured out with homemade bubble blowing solution, soda straws, a pie plate, and a long handled kitchen strainer. We’d gotten the idea from Jana by way of Lou and consulted a Popular Science article for the recipe then made a stop at the grocery in freezing weather the other night for the corn syrup and drinking straws. It was amazing to blow bubbles that would hang around for more than a few seconds! Clusters of smaller bubbles sitting on the table top or deck rail and developing interesting patterns in their walls were intriguing. Even more fun was the big bubbles possible using the strainer. It was fascinating watching the movement of fluid in the wall of the bubble. After so much fun we secured the strainer with a bubble still attached and headed inside to make tea and watch said bubble through the window. We’d left our supplies outside then and when we retrieved them many hours later the solution in the pie plate was semi-frozen and displaying a lovely feathery design. None of this was easily captured with the camera but let us just say it was great fun and we’ll do it again if the opportunity presents itself!