Hoar frost

Dave was up by 6:30; I fell back asleep and didn’t get up until nearly 8:00. I drifted in and out, heard the sound of the door on the woodstove as he loaded the firebox with wood. And later, the smell of fresh brewed coffee when it drifted down the hall from the kitchen. That’s when I stretched one last time, and rolled out of bed. I shrugged into sweats and a t-shirt, padded out to the kitchen for a mug, then settled down in my chair by the fire.

Dave asked what my plans were for the day; I didn’t really have anything (except for a walk on the trail, if it ever warms up). When I asked him, he said, “Let’s do something fun!” But we ended up not leaving the house all day. It’s cold again, with hard frost making the pastures and trees white. Beautiful. I was curious about the root for this word, so looked it up.

Hoar frost refers to the white ice crystals, loosely deposited on the ground or exposed objects, that form on cold clear nights when heat losses into the open skies cause objects to become colder than the surrounding air. The name “hoar” comes from the Old English, and means a sign of old age: the frost makes trees and bushes look like elderly white hair.