Winter is sneaking up on the calendar and softening us up with some of its most subtle and beautiful work.
Most of us aren’t even paying attention on clear, calm fall nights when temperatures drop to near the freeze point. We don’t think about those low spots in open natural areas where temperatures can be just a bit colder, where maybe, just before dawn, air temperatures will dip below freezing just enough to cause moisture in the air to collect on plants and freeze. The result is leaves beautifully edged in ice crystals, even completely covered.
The frost may last only a matter of minutes, until the warmth of the rising sun melts the frost.
In the meantime, the scenes can be magical.
This frosted image is a young oak surrounded in a patch of sweetfern, a fern-like shrub that thrives in the open sandy areas of Oak Openings Preserve Metropark.
