frosty footprint

This footprint in the snow tells quite a story...about the weather conditions, anyway.
First, someone stepped in powdery snow, leaving a general imprint of their boot.
Then the sun came out and melted the thin layer of snow at the bottom of the imprint, making a little puddle.
Then the temperature dropped, freezing the little puddle, and making huge crystals.
But the snow all around the footprint looks unchanged!
I think there is a moral to this tale, something about minute changes in those around us that go unnoticed...?