Today (January 8, 2012) was not particularly cold (around 7 F or -14C), so we took a walk on the Ishim River that bisects Astana.. . The amazing white trees are not covered in ice (which is what I would expect based on my experience growing up in the USA). Instead, amazingly tiny, fine snow flakes cling to them. The result is as fine and as fragile as talcum powder. One touch -- or one breeze -- and it blows away.. .