It's Not Even Winter Yet...

Yesterday morning the temperature outside was minus 11.1 degrees Fahrenheit. It can't already be time to hunker down and hibernate! To make matters even more dismal, for dinner I finished off the last of the carrots, beets and squash from this year's garden. All I'm left with now are a few jars of pesto, some frozen swiss chard and one small container of butternut squash soup.

It would be nice to be approaching the winter solstice with a pantry, freezer and root cellar brimming with homegrown food. Next winter, for sure.

On the bright side, without the bitter cold I would not have been treated to this exquisite scene on my front window this morning:

You can't see it in these pictures, but at the very top of the window, all of the branching structures ended in delicate fernlike tips. These bitter cold ice crystals took on the organic form of gracefully branching plant life--winter art that reminds me of the promise of springtime (however far away that may be).