The fluffy, powdery snow started falling Friday afternoon and continued throughout the night. By the time I got up on Saturday morning, we had about seven inches of fluffy, white snow covering the ground and trees. With no wind, it was beautiful! I headed over to one of the nearby golf courses. What I found was a beautiful study in the textures and lines of winter. The branches of the old oak trees were outlined in white. Their rugged bark was dusted with snow in places, and was a sharp contrast to the smoothness of the snow on the ground. And the side light from the sun was adding its own lines and shadows as it cut over the snow at an angle, sometimes creating a bright sparkle as it caught a crystal of ice just right. What seemed like a simple, nondescript scene became one of interest and beauty, and I found myself marveling at all the little nuances that were there before me.
Author: lindastaatsphoto
American lotus
I was traveling south this past week for the Thanksgiving holiday. In order to avoid a nasty ice and sleet storm I left a day earlier than originally planned. This gave me a bit of time to visit the Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge in northwestern Missouri. Located along the Missouri River floodplain, the refuge is on the flyway for migrating waterfowl and birds as they head south for warmer climates. As I drove through the refuge I was serenaded by the sounds of thousands of ducks and snow geese, all enjoying a gray late-fall day. Amongst the waterfowl were these past-prime American lotus plants and blooms. I’m sure that their bright blooms were beautiful in the summer sun, however their lines and shapes created beautiful patterns and reflections as the spent blooms rested on the water’s surface.
On the cover
I am excited to share with you the cover of the November/December 2010 issue of Northern Gardener Magazine. This is a publication of the Minnesota State Horticultural Society, and is crammed full of information for those of us living and gardening with the weather extremes in the USDA plant hardy Zones 3, 4, and 5. I am thrilled that they chose one of my photographs for their magazine cover. This image was taken on a morning last February when we awoke to a beautiful coating of hoarfrost covering our trees and plants. The white ice crystals clung to each stem and seedhead, accentuating their beauty and impermanence. For those of you that might be interested in Northern Gardener Magazine and/or the Minnesota State Horticultural Society, please check their website at www.northerngardener.org.
Winter’s arrival
We knew it was coming. We knew it wouldn’t be much longer. We knew it was inevitable. But we were enjoying our moderate temperatures and fall-like weather, when all of a sudden winter arrived. The temperature dropped 30 degrees, the wind blew, and the snow fell. And it fell, and it fell, until we had over six inches of wet, heavy snow. Overnight our neighborhood because populated with snowmen & women.
And with winter’s arrival, I’m reminded that the holidays and the new year are fast approaching. Please be sure to check out my holidays cards and 2011 desk calendars. With original and distinctive images, the cards are a memorable way to send your holiday greetings. And the desk calendars will brighten anyone’s day — a great gift to give, or receive. The information about both the holiday cards and calendars can be found as separate pages on the top of my blog page at www.LindaStaatsPhoto.wordpress.com or you can click on the links from my website at www.LindaStaatsPhoto.com. As quickly as the snowpeople appeared in our neighborhood, the holidays will be here! Don’t be scrambling at the last minute for cards and gifts!
The yin and yang of autumn
I spent today outside raking leaves and thinking about the season of autumn. With a sunny and unseasonably warm day it was delightful to be outside. And yet I was raking up a yard-full of dry and brittle leaves which have left our trees as skeletons in the landscape. I was sad that the brilliant colors of fall were now behind us, and I was missing the constant chatter of the geese as they would fly over our house throughout the summer. And yet I was appreciative of this warm and sunny day, and of the smell of fall that was evident in the air.
We were in western Minnesota yesterday when this image was taken. The high clouds created their own patterns in the sky, allowing the sun to filter through at certain angles. As we drove through this prairie landscape, I was amazed at the fall beauty. Here in the small town of Cyrus was a small slough with cattails and some trees — a very common sight. And yet when the sun cut through some of the clouds it brought a most brilliant shimmer and light to the surface of the water. It’s a common sight in Minnesota, and yet one that I will never grow tired of seeing.
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