snow

The pendulum season

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We are in the pendulum season – where it is spring one day and winter the next, in which ever direction the pendulum settles. We’ve enjoyed a false spring of moderate temperatures where everyone had a smile on their face. Then quickly winter came again, with it’s surprise snow, cold winds, and freezing temperatures. The other morning we woke to a fresh coating of two inches of snow. It had rained before turning to snow, allowing the wet snow to collect on the branches and trees.

It’s a slow and unreliable process to change from winter to spring, and all we can do is swing with the pendulum. We keep winter coats, hats and boots handy, along with a light spring jacket. I have seen some open water, especially in the creeks where there’s a current flowing. And with that we’ve had mallards and swans that have come back into the area.

Eventually the pendulum will swing all the way forward to spring and we will put our cold and snow behind us. We’ll look to greening grass and leaves on the trees – it can’t be much further ahead!

Mid-winter, and newer images

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We have reached mid-winter. We had a string of sub-zero temperatures in mid-January, bottoming out at -32 degrees. Those were the days to hunker down inside, keep warm, and be thankful for modern conveniences and warm clothes.

We’ve also had a string of mild days, some with sunshine and some with gray skies. If the sun is out, the snow will compact or even melt in places. The roads become sloppy, then often freeze overnight as the temperatures drop. And when we have sunshine it seems our spirits lift – there’s the promise of spring and its warming sun. People, including myself, react to the prospect of spring with smiles and hope. Hope – something we’re all looking for this year in particular, in this part of the country (and elsewhere too). To me that hope is found in the setting sun each day, and the promise of its rise the following morning. The clouds and sun can give a symphony of colors, each one different as they sweep across the sky.

I’ve added a new page to my website that has some of my newer images. You can find it as a listing in the top menu of my website, or as a drop-down choice. As I look at this collection I see the hope and light that I just spoke of in the paragraph above. A light that brightens or softens, that reflects or shapes. I hope you’ll enjoy the 16 images on the page and appreciate the hope that abides in each season and day.

Structure in the snow

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This has been a hard week. My mind has been anything but calm, and the “news of the world” has not been kind. Sleepless nights and fits of anxiety have not helped.

The other morning I awoke to a fresh layer of snow on the ground. For most winters that would not be unusual, but this year the winter precipitation has favored a track around us. The meager snow has been icy and anything but photogenic. But this new snow had softened the immediate world around me. There was a layer of white covering the grass and lying gently on the pine trees. Even these allium heads welcomed the bits of snow in their centers, cupping it around the delicate stems. I marveled at the intricacy of the seed heads and their ability to weather and stand up to the winter winds and storms. Bravely they stand as a testament to summer and fairer weather.

It was a welcome relief to spend time with the alliums and the fresh snow. I forgot about the “outside world” and focused on the “news of the heart” – the sturdiness and resilience of nature.

Frost

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Our snow drought continues in the North. Where we would normally be looking out at a foot of snow or more, we are still able to see grass blades standing up through the snow dusting. Even my family in Kansas has enjoyed more snow than we have, although “enjoy” may not be the word they would use.

But we have had cold temperatures. Our lakes are frozen and we have had some lovely frosts – the kind that coat the tree branches and leaves, and the field grasses that are still standing. Even if we have no snow, for a short period of time in the early morning we can look out on a landscape painted carefully with white.

On another note, today was Jimmy Carter’s funeral in Washington, D.C. I was quite taken by the eulogies and remembrances that were said this morning. He was a humble yet inspirational man who accomplished so very much in his life. In the mid-1970s, I lived in Georgia for a short period of time while he was governor. Even then I was impressed with his honesty and genuineness. The world is a better place because of him and the people he touched.