Frost Flowers

In the midst of any season - even though we are tired of it and wish with all our hearts for the next season to appear - there is always beauty.  These 'frost flower' pictures show just how truly beautiful cold weather can be.

Ice sculptures like this make me shiver when I look at them, but they also make me thankful that there is beauty even when comfort itself is hard to find.  Its sometimes difficult to value the moment, the day, the season while it is here - but soon it will be gone and new sights, sounds and temperatures will be here.  Meanwhile, these visions are saved for posterity.

Dust of Snow

The way a crow

Shook down on me

The dust of snow

From a hemlock tree

Has given my heart

A change of mood

And saved some part

Of a day I had rued

Robert Frost

{I thank my friend Dot for sending these images to me - she too received them from a friend and I'm following the tradition by passing them along to you.}

Spring? - Winter?

 

On Monday afternoon I took my walk in sunshine.  The sky was deep blue as I captured the bare branches.

Down at the pond the sun shone on the water and the water reflected the trees above.

The early daffodils were putting on blooms in a circle - they just knew Spring had begun.

On Tuesday morning we awoke to a whole other world.  Ice on all the tree branches.  The small birch looked as if it had been frozen in time.

 

The trees at the corner were a Winter wonderland.

 

A small branch by a chair out front glistened with frozen rain drops.

 

One day I reveled in Spring - the next day I look with wonder at Winter.

"In the depth of winter I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer." - Albert Camus

Decorated With Ice

So much has been going on in my life these past few weeks that I am just now getting out pictures of a beautiful sight that greeted me on one of my winter walks.  Walking has been more of an exception than a daily pleasure lately.  Our weather has not been conducive to walking (or even driving). 

But one day, a few days after an ice storm I was able to get myself out and about.  The first thing that greeted me as I walked out the back door was a walk covered in what looked like bits of glass.  It was ice that had blown off the trees and bushes.  It looked like someone had broken hundreds of panes of glass.  Then as I walked I heard the tinkle of 'glass' above me.  Looking up into the tree branches I saw the sparkle of ice hanging from every branch.  As I walked bits of ice would trickle down amongst the branches of the trees, landing on the ground below.

It was a magical sight to see - the sun sparkling on the bits and pieces of ice which still hung from the trees.  I know it is treacherous and I know it causes a lot of damage but still it was a beautiful sight as I trudged up the hill enjoying one day free of snow/ice/sleet or rain.

"When all is said and done, the weather and love are two elements about which one can never be sure."- Alice Hoffman

Winter Solstice Figure

She walks through winter.  Silver reflecting the light of the winter moon; shades of grey match the branches of trees, early morning light, fog filling the valley, cold river water; pale blue like the sky before the sun finally comes through. 

She walks through winter as snow falls and piles up against downed trees and boulders strewn along the way.

She walks through winter in the footsteps of the deer who passed by earlier and she passes as silently as the elusive fox and bobcat.

She walks through winter reveling in the icy cold - where each breath makes a puff of steam.

"There is nothing in the world more beautiful than the forest clothed to its very hollows in snow.  It is the still ecstasy of nature, wherein every spray, every blade of grass, every spire of reed, every intricacy of twig, is clad with radiance." - William Sharp

Wandering Through Winter

A winter snow has once again graced our spot here in western North Carolina.  The snow fell quickly last Friday afternoon.  Big flakes coming down in record speed and covering everything with a soft blanket of white.  Unfortunately not a 'warm' blanket for then it wouldn't be snow.

See the metal dragonfly (above) touched with snow and leaning precariously?  He is a reminder that spring will be here before we know it. As for the cupcake snow frosting on the planter pots they speak for themselves.

And it will be awhile before these back deck stairs will be used.  Meanwhile I love the pattern of the darker wood and the white snow.

The pond outside my studio window never fails to draw me.  In the summer the frogs keep me entertained - jumping into the water everytime I walk out the door and then when they feel safe soaking in the sunshine around the edges of the pond.  But at this time of the year, when the ice forms there are patterns that make me shiver because they represent winter so well. 

This winter has been colder and snowier than usual here in my place in the world -- but what a wonderful excuse it gives me to stay inside my warm nest and bead with absolutely not one bit of a guilty conscience.  Yes, snow can be good!!

"Winter is on my head, but eternal spring is in my heart." - Victor Hugo