Early cold snap getting you down? Fear not, these photos of winter weather phenomena can help you pretend winter looks like the pictures on Instagram. Which is at least marginally better than its usual slushy despair.

Photo by Matthias Wietz

Frost flowers form in the Arctic Ocean when water droplets freeze out of cold, dry air.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/krulwich/2012/12/17/167469845/suddenly-theres-a-meadow-in-the-ocean-with-flowers-everywhere

Photo by Callum Snape

Plants at Abraham Lake, Canada, release methane bubbles that freeze in the ice. You probably didn’t need that explanation, but here’s a photo that looks like either a sci-fi book or an album cover.

Photo by Markinspex on Flickr

Ice ribbons form when sap freezes in a plant’s stem, then water seeps out through the cracked stem. This has been Alexis with another useless (but pretty) fact.

Photo by Alexis Locsin

Okay, so this isn’t even a cool ice photo but JUST LOOK AT THIS BABY.