A January Thaw

We're experiencing a bit of a January thaw, but it's a very slow process. We were promised temperatures above freezing over the weekend, but we never quite got there. It did get warm enough that the snow began to sublimate, slowly disappearing into the fog.

Sunday morning, we awoke to one of the most extensive hoar frosts that I've seen in a long time. It would have been wonderful if we had some sunshine along with the spectacular frost, but of course that would have hastened the demise of the frost. I did manage to capture some of the beauty even with the low light.



This is the skeletal panicle of Panicum 'Northwind'. Despite an ice storm and heavy snows, this grass is still upright and here it is etched in frost.

I also liked the look of my witch hazel. The long needles of frost on the bare branches echo the shapes of the long-gone flowers.



I trudged through the snow to the white garden in hopes that the hydrangeas looked awesome, but in fact they were somewhat messy and uninspiring. But then I looked up, and saw the ghost shapes on the ridge, silhouetted against a glowering sky.



Perhaps it was because of the lack of sun, but the frost lasted most of the day. This morning we had a bit more, but it was not as lovely as yesterday's. I'm just a little sad that the weather report keeps referring to the phenomenon as "freezing fog"; I have to say I love the old-fashioned term of hoar frost.