We had our first big freeze last night. When I went out with Max this morning our neighbor’s back yard was covered in this stuff:

It turns out that this stuff is called frost flowers. This only happens with certain plants and only under certain conditions. Basically, the freezing air causes the moisture in the plant stem to freeze and extrude in these forms that look sort of like cotton candy.

It looks like it’s going to be soft and sticky but actually it’s more hard and crunchy.

Because it’s frost, it melts as soon as the temperature gets above freezing. Amazing!

Texas Parks and Wildlife explains frost flowers in greater detail.