I awoke on the first day of spring, stepped outside, and inhaled. Brrrrrrr; the temperature was 4 degrees and all the hairs on the inside of my nose froze. As I looked around, the landscape was knee-deep in snow. There was nary a blade of grass to be seen or a flower shoot to encourage to grow, but there was a blue sky above and a bright sun shining. Spring (as commonly defined with blooming trees, flowers, and green grass) has not physically arrived in Minnesota yet…we remain hopeful. Rather than post another photo of snow, I went searching for evidence that we were at least starting the transition from winter to spring. I headed to the Mississippi River in downtown Saint Paul where I joyfully found it is not frozen solid, but the water is actually flowing in this area. There were chunks of ice drifting by on their journey southward from our cold northern climes. As I stopped and listened I could hear geese calling and I saw ducks flying into the open water. And there was also a hint of warmth in the bright sunshine. Soon our snow will be gone and we will see green grass and green leaves and know that spring truly has arrived.
Author: lindastaatsphoto
Winter sun and shadow play
We headed out before dawn to Willow River State Park, located just outside of Hudson, Wisconsin. The temperature was a cold 9 degrees, but the eastern horizon was beginning to glow so we knew we’d have a bit of sunshine to warm us up. At one time the Willow River was used to operate mills for grinding grain, and later logs were driven down the river to Lake St. Croix. Today, in the cold of a winter’s morning, the area was quiet. We arrived early enough to observe whitetail deer that were starting to rise after being bedded down for the night. We saw an eagle soar overhead. And the snow all around was animated by the sun. Any small hills were accentuated and visible by their shadows, and where these small flower stems were standing tall through the snow they shed their shadows too across the white landscape. The sun caused the ice in the snow to sparkle as if it was filled with a thousand diamonds. It was a wonderful time to explore a new area and see all that offered up to us.
Picnic in the snow
Our wintry landscape added another 10 inches of snow last Monday and Tuesday. The snow started lightly but it quickly became much heavier, and continued for almost 24 hours. The end result was a beautifully outlined landscape with snow up to your knees and drifts that were deeper. After it was over, I ventured to the picnic grounds at Como Park. The snow was piled deep to the benches, leaving the picnic tables to appear like they were floating atop the drifted snow. And the trees were graced with the wet snow that was clinging to their bark and branches. It was quiet and peaceful at this time, waiting for the transition from winter to spring and the people who will be flocking to the area for picnics in the park.
Orchids
I took some time this morning to photograph at the McNeely Conservatory at Como Park. Their winter flower show is always a welcome breath of bright colors and greenery, helping us get through the cold months of winter and snow. I spent over an hour in the Sunken Garden photographing the pink cyclamen, the blue pansies, and the gold and maroon primroses that were all blooming brightly. And I was joined by many others too as we all were soaking in the promise of spring. As I was leaving the gardens I noticed a collection of orchids that were arranged on a table near the exit. There was nothing special about them, but they caught my eye. The diffused light was coming in at an angle across the hallway, and it appeared to me that the orchids had arranged themselves. Their delicate stems gracefully supported the blossoms that arched upward as well as the blossoms that hung delicately over the edge of one of the pots. Their casual arrangement struck me as a beautiful sight – a pleasant contrast to the planned and orderly display of flowers in the Sunken Garden.
Winter colors
Our winter landscape has been blanketed in white since early December, and each week a bit more snow has been added to the ground. I headed out for a snowshoe walk early yesterday morning at the golf course on the University of Minnesota Saint Paul campus. The city was quiet for a Saturday morning — no commuter traffic, no snowplows clearing the roads yet, and most people were still in their beds. As I got into the center of the golf course I realized that it really wasn’t as quiet as I had thought. There were birds flitting from tree to tree chirping their greetings, and tracks in the snow where the squirrels had scampered from one area to another. And then I noticed that the landscape wasn’t really quite so white. Although the gray sky was reflecting in the snow cover, the oak trees still had their reddish-brown leaves clinging to the branches, some of the blonde grasses were blowing lightly in the breeze, and the pine trees were green with a coating of snow. The landscape was a study of muted contrasts and colors.
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