Pogonip

Since moving to the Tehachapi mountains, we've only encountered "Pogonip" twice. The first time was when we went up into the mountain park at a much higher elevation. It looked like it had just snowed, yet there had been no snow storm. It was then that we read in the local paper about Pogonip.

Then this past foggy Sunday as we were doing errands, we saw it forming all over town. When I got home, I decided to do a search about it and learn more.

It comes from a Shoshone Indian word for "cloud," or "frozen fog." Apparently it's a rare occurrence because the air must be extremely cold with practically no humidity. In other words, it forms without any water in the air. Valleys and mountains in the western U.S. are areas that you might see it.
What's really neat about it is that it only forms on one side of objects (usually the west side). These ice crystals form as this extreme dry, chilled air blows. It's absolutely gorgeous to see.

From a distance, many people think that it has snowed.

This was truly one of the coldest days that we've encountered up here and we didn't stay long outside to snap these pictures!

Now for some other news.......

Many of you enjoyed Mac's opinion on cowls, so I talked it over with him and he's decided to do a little column each Friday called, "Ask Mac." So, if you'd like his opinion on something like a knitting question or whatever, just leave him a comment. Try not to take his suggestions to heart tho, because afterall he is a dog! Each Friday he'll answer a few of your inquiries. Should be fun to see what he comes up with!

Have a great day!