Winter can be a remarkable painter and engraver too.
January's frigid temperatures merging with just the right amount of moisture and 'surface texture' . . . I would not dare refer to smudged glass here . . . often creates crystalline forms on our simple farmhouse windowpanes, inspiring joy and awe for winter's icy mysteries. When outdoor degrees dip into the teens, single digits and minuses, these 'fern frost' etchings are more likely to be viewed from within a warm but not overly warm environment. Vibrant sunrises offer a lovely back-lighting effect for observing and photographing tiny water droplets frozen into frosty leaf-like forms.
Surely a frozen link to nature's ancient, green, fern frond formations.
During winter's freezing days and nights many of us dream of verdant landscapes, yet only this time of year produces such delicate and ephemeral wonders. Rather like the sand and wave engravings created along the ocean's edge . . . it is an art form of nature most impermanent. Perhaps another lesson in learning how to live and let go.