Frost comes in many shapes: needles, fractals and glistening glazes that make spider silk snap apart in the warmth of my breath. Frost in all its forms needs three things: humid air, air that’s below freezing and a surface, any surface, that’s even colder — cold enough to snatch the water molecules right out of their vapor state. All three ingredients were drifting through the valleys around Beaver Lake yesterday during the drive to Eureka Springs. The fog curled off of the White River like dust devils in a desert.

Some of the Eureka storekeepers said their heaviest holiday traffic came last month, but we shoppers still filled the parking lots in that little town. It’s a neat place to get some nifty gifts. I need to get over there more than once a year.

Thanks for lookin’.

Dan