A species of winter cold is taking over, and with pretty chilly air—normal, historically, but a bracing surprise these days, given how warm it's been—in place, all the water held in the soil is beginning to freeze. Mostly, it feels like the spongy earth is hardening into a kind of once-living concrete, but here and there, the still-above-freezing ground is putting forth a "bloom" of stunning crystals into the below-freezing air hovering at the soil's surface. The crystals are known as "needle ice," and they require just the right mixture of temperature and water conditions. Last night was perfect for their formation, and this morning, we have a fine crop of dirt-stained "stalagmites" that are also descriptively called frost pillars and comb ice. My own favorite is to refer to the crystals as ice fangs, which is wonderfully memorable.