Sunday, February 3, 2013

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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39 comments:

  1. I love the snow we got this past week! I even got 2 college classes cancelled because of it. It makes everythingso pretty! That wind sure was icy cold this morning when I was walking to the gym.

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    1. Beauty AND cancelled classes! Hard to beat. Thanks for dropping by, Sarah! :)

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  2. Beautiful pictures! There is no snow around here anymore, only rain and a cold wind.
    groetjes,
    Thara

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    1. Thank you, Thara. I much prefer snow to rain. :)

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  3. Good Morning Sue!
    Beautiful walk in the sunshine. I long for it. Anyway, we went for a walk yesterday but it was grey and cold. I woke up and saw new snow ... Winter isn't over yet. But there might be more sun and light from now on. Have a good week. Regula

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    1. You too! It was wonderful to see the sun - those grey skies can be depressing after a while.

      :)

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  4. Gorgeous snow shots! I love the wavelets on the surface of the snow just like we see on the sand! Looks like you're in for lots of snow! That's so lovely in the country, but a little messy in my urban environment!

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    1. True ... and even here it can get messy. A warm day or two, and all the piled-up snow turns dirty. It's much nicer when the temps stay low. :)

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  5. What a fantastic looking forecast. I think ours is to be windy cold and wet - just not quite cold enough for snow. Shame! Juliex

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    1. Let's hope your barometer drops just enough....

      :)

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  6. You made my day, Mrs. Micawber! Snow is my love forever. I'm so grateful you share winter with us, and me, I miss it very much here.
    Have a nice week and keep warm in your low temperatures :)
    Hugs,
    Anna.

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    1. Thank you, Anna!

      (I grew up in California where we had very boring weather. Even after 20 years in Wisconsin, the snow is still exciting.)

      :)

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  7. Beautiful pictures Sue, I bet you needed some hot cocoa and a warm shower after you made it home.
    Hugs,
    Meredith

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    1. Roast lamb, actually ... but we have been drinking our fair share of cocoa the last week or two. :)

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  8. Lovely snowy shots. We're back to our winter norm of grey, brown and dirty green. I wonder if we'll get any more snow before winter ends.

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    1. I hope you do - it's so beautiful and makes the air just sparkle with freshness.

      :)

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  9. All gorgeous photography! But I typically zeroed in on the snow SPARKLES, which you captured. :-)))))))))))))))

    Oh what lovely photos all, though!

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    1. Ha! I thought of you when I took that photo. :)

      Thanks, Auntie!

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  10. The sparkles! So difficult to capture and you got it!

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    1. Yes - they are difficult. I had my camera right down on top of the snow and it WORKED! :D

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  11. As always your photos are incredible!! You always see sic interesting things! The snow looks as if it's there to stay with you! Here we just have wind and rain! Joan

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    1. Thanks, Joan. I hope the snow will stay for a while. Usually it does, but this winter and the last have been warmer than usual - so I appreciate a more traditional snowy winter like this one.

      Hope you're doing well. :)

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  12. The sparkles are so beautiful. Nothing prettier than the world blanketed in soft white snow.
    We had more snow over night. Looks like cloudy weather for us all week. Highs right around 30. I will not complain.

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    1. I think we're forecast for highs in the 30s late in the week - and rain (darn it). Honestly I hope it stays colder. :)

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  13. Thanks for bringing us along on your wonderful walk.
    I could never imagine living in a place where there was no Winter and sharing its beauty.
    Susan

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    1. Thank you, Susan. You live in a nice snowy area too. :)

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  14. Yay! The shadow shot, the shadow shot! You need to get Mr. M to go on a trek with you so we can have a twin shadow shot. :) I too, would like to know what that seed head went to. Do you have any kind of buckwheat plants in your area? Lastly, I see the Wisconsin NOAA weathercasters are better than the Washington NOAA weathercasters. Ours recently thought it was 80 degrees out for a couple of weeks. :)

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    1. Wow - where did they get that figure?

      Yes, NOAA is usually pretty good, even though our numbers come from a point about 25 miles away.

      I was hoping Mr. M might come along on this one, but he wasn't up to it. Maybe next week.... :)

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  15. YOu take some amazing shots. I love the row of evergreens laden with snow. I love the dried flower and I don't know its name.
    Yes the days are getting a bit longer! 530 and its still light out here in Chicago

    I am loving the pretty snows we are having this week

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    1. Thanks Kathy - to me a row of snowy evergreens is the quintessential winter image.

      So nice to have longer days, isn't it?

      :)

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  16. Oh I am so very jealous!! I wish we had snow like that too. :(
    Love your photos, as always they are beautiful.
    Rosie x

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    1. Thanks Rosie - perhaps you'll get some snow before winter is out. :)

      How's the sewing machine working?

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  17. So very very fabulous, Sue! I never tire of your photos and descriptions. But I wonder, what sporting event could have kept people indoors? The only thing on TV was Downton Abbey - right?

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    1. As far as I'm concerned, yes - though we don't have a TV and usually watch things online a day or two late.

      No idea what could possibly be worth staying inside for on a gorgeous day like Sunday. :)

      P.S. Did you appreciate the conversation on Anglicanism vs. Romanism in this week's episode?

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    2. Oh, yes! Too bad there are still people around who still feel that way.

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  18. I wouldn't mind some of that snow ... we're back to just rain!

    Beautiful images in this post Sue, and I reckon that row of fir trees could be adapted for your next year's Christmas cards :)

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    1. Good idea - if only I can remember that when the time comes.

      I hope you get more snow before winter's out. :)

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  19. Now I'm even more convinced we are twins separated at birth. I'm sure you've mentioned before you have no TV, but my head never wrapped around it until now. Sista!!

    Around these here parts, the big event on Sunday was the announcement of this year's RtR route. Had to stay up until midnight to register! :) Outside our house, those who don't appreciate the pigskin think fondly of the day as the best day of the entire year to go skiing because the slopes are so bare! Only this year, they are a little extra bare, not just of skiers, but white stuff, too... Thankfully, we did get a nice mountain dump the week before, so they said the skiing was great. Now we have more on the way this weekend, which means no riding. Dang.

    LOVE your photos and your walk. And a twin shadow shot would be really cool!

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    1. Ha! Another non-TV-er! (But I confess we do watch TV programs online - Hulu and pbs.org come in very handy. And sometimes USA Network.)

      Good luck with RtR - hope you guys get in this year! And I hope you get some snow too ... even if it does interfere with riding. (Just try to think of it as fire insurance.) :)

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