Today my alarm went off. It wasn't particularly early - just a bit past seven - but the day was still cloaked in darkness. The wind had been blowing fiercely all night long and still prowled around the house, tickling the windchimes as it went. Outside a thick frost decorated the lawn and caused the ground to crunch underfoot and my breath hung heavy in the air. To me it seemed that winter still had a firm grasp on the area. But the chickens, dumb birds of pure instinct, knew differently, for there in the henhouse I found an egg - a precious orb heralding spring and the increasing daylight hours. The unexpected find prompted me to take a keener look around and there I saw the tips of daffodil bulbs arising from slumber, a few green buds on the bushes and even the first bloom of the paperwhite. The first signs of spring were all around!
Note: Ruby's first egg ever was 1/5/03; maybe the old bird still has a season of eggs left in her (the egg today was from Ruby).
Nice entry, Pam, but I'm a bit confused.
Did you really encounter a hoarfrost? Maybe I've got my definitions wrong, but I always thought a hoarfrost looked like this or this or this or this. A sort of an uber-frost.
Did you guys really get that heavy a frost in your part of town? The air wasn't nearly moist enough where we are.
But it will be soon! Bring on the snow!
Posted by: J.D. at January 5, 2005 01:28 PMOk, maybe that was a bit of poetic license, but the grass and deck were all white and you could hear and feel the ice crunching underfoot. not having experienced the kind of pictures you sent, i thought this qualified as "uber-frost," but i guess it was more of a pseudo-uber-frost. for accuracy's sake, i took out the "hoar" part and just left "thick frost" in the entry. thanks for the weather lesson!
Posted by: Pam at January 5, 2005 02:41 PMGrrr ... We actually have hoarfront here in Vermillion, and while it is a magnificent meta-winter symbol, I find myself oddly jealous and pouty about your daffodil sprouts. Springtime in Oregon is one of the best seasons of all; springtime everywhere else is muddy, dirty, and chilly.
P.S. How are you feeling, P? Been thinking of you lots and lots lately ...
Posted by: Aimee at January 6, 2005 08:11 AM
