precipitation

one of the definitions of precipitation is falling headlong which is the original sense of the word ultimately tracing its roots to precipice and finally to latin caput (head). i guess the falling aspect of it gave rise to the meterological sense of the word. the first time i encountered this word form was in the chemistry lab where precipitates of various hues were created in test-tubes. in (south) india, we talk about rain and forms of precipitation are limited to rain and the occasional hailstone which i had only heard about but never seen. the joys of experiencing a midwest winter is exposure to the myriad forms of precipitation and its subsequent alchemical transmutation into beautiful crystalline forms. hiking in the woods, we across this form we had never seen before- curly wisps of snow-ice pastry sheets, a frozen white muslin, clinging to bottoms of plants. wonder if there is a name for it. and by the way, here is what wiki has to say about the thousand words for snow among the "eskimos".



and then this lovely, albeit ephemeral, sculpture that can give svarowski a complex.