A Bright Walk

We've run the gamut of weather this week. Last Sunday, an ice storm; Tuesday, 50º and foggy.  On Wednesday, falling snow (6 inches!) and plummeting temps. By Friday morning it was -10º, with even more fresh snow on the ground.

This weekend has been beautifully sunny, with highs in the teens. A sharpish wind is blowing as I set out for my walk - enough to make it feel about ten degrees colder than it actually is.

The marshy lake-around-the-corner is striped with tree shadows:

Snow on the trail is deeper than I expected...

...but very light and fluffy. Also very sparkly:

More stripes, this time white on brown:

The snowmobile trail has been getting some use, I see. (Though there's no one out today - some sporting event or other is keeping everyone indoors and glued to the telly. All the better for me.)

I love the way the wind sculpts the snow, like the marks of wavelets on sand:

Yes, Marigold, it's a good day for shadow shots. :)

My walk today is a long one. I leave the trail proper to skirt a field or two, and am soon wallowing through drifted snow up to my knees. It's a mile or more before I take the next photo, of this fascinating dried flower growing at the edge of a quarry:

(Does anyone know what it might be?)

After taking the flower photo, it's time to turn for home. The wind is in my face now, and a darned icy wind it is too. I distract myself by letting my thoughts turn to yarn and crochet (shame on me - I should be focusing on the great outdoors), and trying to come up with a design for some glittery ribbon yarn I received for Christmas. No luck with the design, but it keeps me from thinking about how cold my face is.

What a relief when the trail turns away from the wind and heads into a small wood. Some kind soul has plowed a wide path through here, making the walk much easier:

Behind me, the sun is sinking and tinting the sky with opal:

On the other side of the small wood stands a breathtaking line of snow-laden pines, the essence of wintry loveliness:

Across another field, and I'm in the prairie restoration project. All the delicate grassy seedheads are backlit and engoldened by the westering sun:

I can never pass up a clump of goldenrod....

A hollow tree trunk marks the edge of the field, with a clump of snow nestled inside:

One last shot of the setting sun over the pond behind the high school. (In summer, this pond is rather unattractive - but the ice and snow of winter transform it into something lovely and magical.)

The above photo was taken at about 5 pm, and there's still plenty of light left - a sign of the lengthening days. The sun's angle has changed noticeably from what it was a few weeks ago. Winter is half over, and spring will be here before we know it.

But we've lots of cold weather yet to come. Here's a glimpse of our weather forecast for the next few days:

Look at all the snowflakes marching across the week. (Isn't it wonderful?) Bring it on, I say - we need all the moisture we can get before spring.

Happy February! How's your weather?

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