Happy New Year from a Microhabitat

 On many a winter day, when I was feeling rather cold outside working on my firewood pile or hiking on a trail, I have heard the chirping of the Pacific Coast Chorus Frog.  I have also heard Stellar's Jays, Ravens, and Oregon Juncos.  Those don't surprise me, but hearing frogs when the ambient temperature is well below freezing doesn't make sense.  That is, until you consider microhabitats.

 Microhabitats are by definition small.  So are the frogs.  Certain configurations of rocks, trees, and other materials may capture the sun's UV rays and convert them to Infrared, i. e. heat, and contain the heat in the same manner as a greenhouse.  This can happen on a very small scale and provide a warm refuge for a tiny frog or bug when the surrounding temperature is quite cold. 

I was reminded of this phenomenon when I went outside to start my car on this very cold morning.  Moisture had frozen inside the keyhole of the driver's side door, so I needed to get some hot water to melt the ice and insert the key.  When I sat in the front seat I found that the inside of the windshield had grown a very thick layer of frost, thicker than that on the outside.  I turned on the engine, which groaned, then the defroster, and went back inside the house to wait for the frost to clear.  Since I was planning to go to the supermarket, I thought I'd bring along the camera in case I saw some birds or interesting scenery.
When I returned to the car, the frost on the inside of the windshield had melted into the beautiful arrangements of water drops shown in the top two photos.  The frost on the side windows was still intact, as seen in the third photo.  Click on any of these for a closer view.  As I drove off, I could identify with the frogs, snug in my microhabitat while the outside world remained frigid.  When I got to the supermarket, I made a point of parking with the windshield and the driver's side door facing the sun.   I didn't want the door lock to freeze again while I was inside the market.  When I returned to the car 10 minutes later, the inside was already considerably warmer than when I left.  In fact, it was toasty and all the frost had melted off the side windows.  If that experience isn't a good argument for solar heating, I don't know what is.  A New Year's Resolution: learn as much as you can from nature.  A blog theme for 2013.