We are in the midst of the coolest celebration on earth – the Saint Paul Winter Carnival. One of my favorite events to attend is the snow sculptures. Teams work for hours taking a huge block of compacted snow and cutting and carving and sculpting it into a work of art. In years past I’ve only seen the sculptures after they were completed, but this year I decided to take in the actual carving. I found some teams with elaborate hand drawn sketches and plans for their sculpture, and other teams that had small dolls or toys that they were using for their design. The tools, measurements, and time that go into these works of art is amazing. The temperatures have been warmer than usual which created some challenges for the sculpting but the end results are always amazing.
snow
A brief winter sunrise
The snow had started to fall at sunset the previous day and continued all night. The morning dawned quiet and lovely with the fresh snow blanketing the landscape. The clouds had remained thick and then there was a brief opening, long enough for the sun to penetrate the cloud cover with its hazy rays for less than a minute. The sun disappeared behind the clouds, the snow began again, and this brief scene was the only sunshine for the day.
Diamonds in winter
Sometimes the beauty of winter takes my breath away – the clearest of blue skies, ice and frost lining the tree limbs, the bright sunlight beaming down, and the fresh snow reflecting that sunlight in small diamonds all across the frozen lake in front of me.
Celebrating a new year of nature’s beauty
The end of 2019 brought a beautiful fresh snowfall to Minnesota and Wisconsin. What started out as sleet and rain ended as three to four inches of snow that clung to the wet branches and leaves. Our surroundings became a true winter wonderland. Without a strong wind and with temperatures below freezing, we celebrated the start of a new year surrounded by this beauty. The setting sun through the winter forest brought a stream of golden light onto the frozen pond in front of me. I stood here for awhile, marveling at the light blue tinted snow and the golden sun piercing through the trees. Quickly the sun moved further below the horizon and the moment was over, replaced with the dark of night and a canopy of bright stars overhead.
A winter morning
Winter has been fickle this year – snow, more snow, thawing, ice, rain, sleet. What will greet us in the morning is entirely up to Mother Nature. But on a recent morning it was cold enough for frost to outline the trees and leaves, and cold enough for the snow to still be lovely and white. The intense pink and magenta sunrise was fleeting and quickly gave way to fog and low clouds. The wind was still and the air was silent as I stood by this creek, reflecting the trees and overcast sky as the water meandered through the outlet.
Wishing all of you experiences of joy and wonder in the upcoming new year!
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