What if the snowflake nucleated around microbes in the air, as is common? [1] Would that be life-like enough, especially as the crystalline structure of the snowflake itself would reflect the microbe.

Or, what if the observer of the snowflake held the philosophical belief that we live in a single living universe, as did the ancient Stoics? [2]

It appears that we have at least two clear instances where preserved snowflakes can indeed be considered fossils.

[1] https://asm.org/articles/2019/january/snow-is-coming-whats-t...

[2] https://modernstoicism.com/modern-stoicism-expert-panel-post...