It is the life of the crystal, the architect of the flake, the fire of the frost, the soul of the sunbeam. This crisp winter air is full of it. ~ John Burroughs, “Winter Sunshine”

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I’ve used the lines above as the text for my Christmas card this year, along with some images of the winter sun, frost, crystal, flake. I’ll post the card later, during Christmastide, but for now want to share some frost photos I took this week in the garden, on comfrey, aspen, oak, anemone, penstemon, andromeda, and sage leaves, and spruce needles.

Why is there something magical about frost?