We had our first hard frost last night — much later than usual! — and with it, the first frost flowers/hair ice of the season.
Hair ice is more apt for most of the formations — especially because the frost effectively “grows” from the stick — but I admit I like the aesthetics of “frost flowers” better.
This rare phenomenon usually occurs at least a few times each winter in our area.
It requires: sodden twigs that have been colonized by a certain fungus and temperatures that go from above freezing the previous day to just a couple/few degrees below to “grow” the crystals.
There weren’t many frost flowers this time — it was only just barely cold enough, so only the most exposed candidate sticks grew the formations.
It is lovely to have any, though!
If you want to learn more, I did a more detailed blog post a couple years ago: