With rain and warmer temperatures, most of our snow cover has melted. What surprised me was what has now been uncovered. Not only have I spotted tulips courageously pushing their tips above the ground, but I also found a beautiful dried hydrangea bloom. Somehow it survived the winter without being crushed by the weight of snow. I woke one morning to see it being blown by the wind across the front lawn. So strong, and yet so delicate, its blossoms are sheer with amazing intricacies. When backlit the bloom shines with the warmth and strength of the sun, and reminds me of other surprises to come in the change from winter to spring.
florals
Hoarfrost in the morning
Just when I think I’ve gotten tired of the cold and the snow, Mother Nature puts a new spin on winter. Yesterday morning I woke up to a beautiful scene. The fog that had crept in during the overnight was freezing and coating everything with a wondrous layer of white. Within a mile from the house I found these lovely flower heads that had been leftover from summer. On any other day I would have walked right past them. But with a frosting of frozen fog and their delicate arching, I became mesmerized and photographed for over a half-hour. It was as if each small snowflake was layered ever so gently, one on top of another. And yet this was all short-lived, as within a matter of hours the sun broke through the clouds and the wind picked up, eliminating any remnants of this morning scene.
Spring color in bloom
It’s winter outside — the ground is covered in white, the temperature is in the teens. But this morning I walked into a breath of spring when I visited the McNeely Conservatory in Como Park. The Winter Flower Show is now on display in the Sunken Garden, and it’s colors and sights are a treat to the eyes as much as its smells and scents are wonderful to experience. The pinks of the azaleas and the pale whites and yellows of the pansies were a beautiful combination of color — soft and delicate as only spring can be. In order to create a “softer” feel to this photograph, I placed a piece of plastic wrap over my lens. It had a wonderful effect of softening the lines and making the image more about the colors and the “feel” of the colors than of the lines of the flowers. As we deal with the snow storm that’s moving through over the next three days, I’ll easily return to my photos and my memories of the smells and colors of the conservatory garden.
Holiday roses
Whereas most people enjoy the year-end holidays with poinsettias, I’m fortunate to have a dozen red roses to celebrate my birthday. They’re beautiful and smell lovely, and are a nice change from the usual Christmas decorations. And with the subzero temperatures outside and our white coating of snow, they’re a nice reminder that summer will be here, even if it’s later than sooner.
This post marks the beginning on my second year of blogging. Thank you to those of you who have commented on my entries, and thanks to the many readers and followers. If you enjoy my posts, you can now subscribe to my blog and get email notification when I’ve posted new entries – just click on the “Sign me up!” box on the right side of the screen and enter your email address. Thanks again, and happy new year!
Fall colors
How quickly we’ve moved from late summer to fall! The weather change happened almost overnight, with cooler temps and much-needed rain settling into the area. Everyone was digging out their sweaters and jackets, and looking for cool-weather comfort foods to warm them up. With the season change it seems we all look to deeper, richer colors, as seen in the dark maroons and golds of the mums that are in full bloom in our area. Their colors remind us that the lighter shades of summer are past, just like the sun’s heat. But there’s great beauty in the fall too, and they’re a prime example. Soon the leaves on the trees will turn to the reds, golds, and oranges, and they will fall down to decorate the lawns and streets — one last blast of color before the white of winter settles in.
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