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Lined with Crystal Needles


Freezing fog settled in our valley over the last few days.  Temperatures were around 20 degrees in the day time.  Frost covered everything in sight.  It even took over my clothes line, dangling crystal spears the whole length.  The whole world seemed lined with intricately formed ice needles, winter artwork of the Creator.


 Each icy needle grew to be almost 2 inches long.  I didn't know much about frost, so my son and I did a little research this morning and found out there are three main types of frost: window frost, rime frost and hoar frost.  Window frost forms lacy fern like designs on poorly insulated windows.  I used to see it when I was a kid, but I haven't seen it for years, probably because most houses have double pane windows now.  Rime frost is super cooled water droplets found most frequently on ship riggings out at sea during cold wintry weather.  It is more solid in appearance.  Hoar frost is white ice crystals that form on the ground or other exposed objects on cold nights when objects become colder then the surrounding air.  Hoar frost is the most common kind of frost we see.

I learned that the word hoar comes from an Old English word that refers to signs of old age, including white hair.  Hoar frost can make trees and bushes appear like they are growing old with whitened hair.


Even our bird feeder grew a white mustache this week.
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