Dear Farm Journal,

For the past couple of days we have had foggy cold conditions on Keewaydin Mountain.  A thick blanket of atmosphere hung close to the ground blocking out our expansive views and coating trees and shrubbery with the most beautiful coat of Hoar Frost….or perhaps Rime Ice.  To be honest I have heard the term Hoar Frost bantered about in our little circles of friends or family when similar events like this have occurred, but Rime Ice is new to me. The first time I heard this term was a couple weeks ago on the old croquet court.  My friend Teague brought it up wondering if the frosty conditions at that time were Hoar Frost or Rime Ice. Seems like what we had the last couple days was Rime Ice because as I have learned from the internets, Rime Ice forms when water changes from liquid to solid, Hoar Frost happens when water changes from gas to solid.  Well you learn something new every day. Or at least you should because why not. Learning something every day is another way to challenge old beliefs. We should never stop learning whether formally or on our own. Also, however we term it one can’t help but admire the beauty. Our landscape becomes a ghostly mysterious one, each tree branch outlined as if to highlight the expansive bony structure and bring rigidity to what is otherwise a chaotic mess.  Then just as quickly as it forms, the sun comes out and it’s gone, onward and upward it has moved, our frozen air replace by still cold but not quite frozen water vapor. The ghostly grey replaced by the dancing of a billion water crystals still blanketing the ground. The sun beacons me, come outside and play, and so I will answer the call.

~Joy