The English poet Thomas Hood had a love of word banter.

He describes and personifies frost as “the greatest artist in our clime — he paints in nature and describes in rime.”

With the ups and downs of temperatures and moisture in the air, some unique and fascinating frosts have made an appearance. This time of year, clear, cold nights with few clouds to hold warmth can cause frost, as can other factors.

Frost comes in a variety of shapes and types including rime, hoar and fern, all of which have their own origins and style.

Rime frost is what you might see in the fall when the edges of living leaves get iced around the edges. Rime appears as sugar sprinkled onto surfaces and occurs with moist winds and low temperatures.

Hoar frost, also called radiation frost, looks like spiky ice hairs. Water vapor instantly freezing on a surface is to blame. You also likely know this one as the ice on freezer-burned ice cream or the itchy-looking adornment that covers everything after you inadvertently left the freezer door open.

My favorite, and recent source of inspiration is fern frost, which results when water vapor freezes instantly after coming in contact with a very cold surface. This is the lacy variety that often develops on windows. Its appearance is variable and depends on the surface of the glass, since imperfections such as pits, cracks, scratches and dust can modify the way the ice nucleates and create beautiful, filigree patterns.

Though these delicate and elegant frosts are formed by the interactions of water and temperature, Americans have been known to blame Jack Frost or Old Man Winter for their appearance. Russians, however, have another scapegoat.

Ded Moroz, also called Grandfather Frost, Father Frost, or Old Man Frost might be to blame. This character’s current incarnation resembles our Santa Clause and has taken on some similarities of Kris Kringle’s jolly and gift-giving ways. However, go back further to his origin story and the happy smiles may fade and the historic fear of him becomes palpable.

Initially described as a Slavic winter wizard or demon, Ded Moroz threatened townspeople with a killing frost if they did not feed him and provide gifts. The murder of parents and orphaning of their children could befall those that didn’t deliver presents. His granddaughter, Snegurochka, who was made of snow, often accompanied him but in the end (of winter), melts.

Let’s stick to the previous tale of holiday cheer, rather than the latter chilling account, and see frost through the eyes of John Burrows, an American naturalist and essayist:

“It is the life of the crystal, the architect of the flake, the fire of the frost, the soul of the sunbeam. This crisp winter air is full of it.”

Suzan Bellincampi is director of the Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary in Edgartown, and author of Martha’s Vineyard: A Field Guide to Island Nature and The Nature of Martha’s Vineyard.