Many of the Red Maple trees in Kent Bog appear to be under extreme stress (whether it’s due to acidic soil, nutrient limitation or both) and have somewhat of a ‘bonzai’ growth pattern.  The leaves tend to be much smaller than one would expect on a Red Maple tree growing in more suitable conditions, say, in a lowland forest setting, rather than a bog.  In some cases, the leaves are all less than an inch from the base of the leaf (excluding the petiole) to the tip.  Although the scale of this photograph isn’t obvious, the leaf is relatively small.  I suppose more importantly, the frost just looks cool. This was taken at the bog during one of our first frosts this past autumn.

Under the overhang of a small rocky out crop, the moisture that had been soaked up by moss has frozen, lifting the moss bed and sand particles from the ground.

Given the extra-snowy nature of this Ohio winter, I felt it appropriate for my first post to have some visual representation of the cold.  And, of course, what could be better at doing so than a growing ice crystal.