Hoarfrost
In the early winter morning,
the soft, lacy leaves of a Japanese Maple
have been transformed into sharp swords.
If we succumb to a long, winter sleep,
we might miss the gentle frost
that melts away in a moment.
Mary Dahlin Graf
As I walk around our garden, little pieces of art show themselves to me. Most of the time, I am just wandering when they appear. Something makes me stop and look closer. I imagine how I can best treat the gift appropriately. Sometimes they need to be accurately represented with fine detail. Other times they can be converted into an abstract blur. Still other times they are best processed by photoshop manipulation. This time I used a touch of Photoshop and Topaz Degas adjustments to achieve the end results.
I love to walk in our garden and enjoy all the little gifts that are given to me!
Hoarfrost is amazing. The small ice crystals build up on each other as the frost forms. Here, the hoarfrost continued to build up over a two day period. The frost looks like multiple sharp spikes on the exposed Japanese maple branches.
I was prepared for a sharp prick when I touched a branch. As soon as I got close the frost melted. No pain!
The weather continues to be warm. It almost feels like spring. I need to remember that we are just starting the third week of winter. I am sure that the real winter weather is yet to come. So to keep things in perspective, I reflect back several weeks ago when a cold spell hit and we had two days of hoarfrost. It was beautiful but very cold. It was too cold for me to mess around with a tripod, thus my images are not as crisp as I would have liked.
Can you believe that it was 56 degrees in our Eastern Washington garden on 1 January 2020. It was over 20 degrees warmer than the average New Years Day temperature. I took the opportunity to spend several hours working (playing) in the garden both with my camera and garden tools. Such nice weather makes me excited about starting new spring projects early. But I must be patient and wait for the winter season to run its course. However, I can be contemplative and creative using my camera to record the progression of the season through the garden. Spring will come soon enough.
“Silhouettes”
Hawks perched above
On high bare winter trees,
Waiting for dinner below.
Winter continues to persist. Birds of prey frequently perch on surrounding trees looking over the snow covered pastures waiting for slight creature movement below. It is a good time for bird watching.
Neighbor’s Pasture
How beautiful the snow is, but it is really cold. Today was -6 degrees when I got up. It is “dry” cold, so not too uncomfortable. Since Punxsutawney Phil made his prediction of an early spring, winter has hit Eastern Washington hard. We have had our first real snow of the year and the temperatures have dropped below zero. We are in for more!
The only good advice I have heard is to not trust the groundhog. Out of Phil’s 103 predictions, he has been right only 39% of the time! I see that he has about the same prediction accuracy as our regular weather forecasters.
“First Snow”
It is about time that we had our first real snow of the year. Our luck of having mild winter weather has just run out. Last week I was out golfing. I don’t think I will make it out this week!
This morning was 20 degrees when I went out to photograph. I came in after about an hour walk around the house. After warming up, I decided that I would rather review and work on my images instead of going out and shovel snow. I guess I can’t put it off any longer … it’s time to go out and get to work.
Backyard Fog
I looked out the window and watch the fog roll in. Ghost images appeared where just a few minutes earlier trees stood. I couldn’t resist going outside to try to capture the feeling. I was thinking, “Look at all these cool silhouettes!” It only took a few moments for my fingers to freeze, making it difficult to operate my camera. I took a few images and scurried back into the warm house.
Yakima Valley Wine Country near Zillah, WA
On a clear day, Mt Adams prominently displays its beauty on the horizon. Well this was not a clear day, but the rows of the various vineyards were on display against a light dusting of snow. In a couple of weeks, the Yakima Valley wine country will be bustling during the February Red Wine and Chocolate festival. It will be a good weekend to take a break from eating wisely and indulge in the wine and chocolate.