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.
snow
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.
Not your usual ice fishing houses
In Minnesota we are proud of our winter sports and activities. Although many people don’t understand, there is a complete culture of ice fishing fanatics who count the days in winter until they can slide their ice houses out on the frozen lakes and pursue their catch of the day. On a bay of Medicine Lake on the western side of Minneapolis you will find an unusual collection of what looks to be ice fishing houses. But this is a different collection of people — this is a group of art shanties that are set up on the ice for about five weeks each year. The collection of 20 “houses” includes a teepee shanty, dice shanties (where you can sit inside and play card games), and a dance shanty, where the music has a great beat, and people keep warm by dancing on the wood floor with a chandelier overhead. If one ventures further out on the lake, you’ll find the more usual collection of ice houses, with the dedicated fishermen and women, but Medicine Lake (and Minnesota) is big enough to cater to all types in this cold season of winter.
Photographic exhibit now on display
I have a photographic exhibit now on display at the St. John’s Hospital Gallery of Art in Maplewood, Minnesota. The exhibit runs from January 6th through January 31, 2010. St. John’s Hospital is located just off Interstate 694 and Highway 61, at 1575 Beam Avenue. The exhibit includes 26 framed photographs, including this image of “Winter dusting.” All the images are available for sale, with a percentage of the price benefitting the Newman-Wicklund Teen Volunteer Scholarship Fund. For additional information please email me at Linda@LindaStaatsPhoto.com.
Snowshoeing
We ventured out today into the Minnesota winter wonderland. Like much of the country, we’ve had our share of snow, and yet there’s a beauty and peacefulness to being out in nature at this time of year. We snowshoed within the Hoglund Wildlife Management Area in Wright County. The air was crisp, the snow was falling, the deer were running, and there was a stillness that settles after the hustle and bustle of the Christmas holiday. These are the times that I appreciate the beauty and power of winter.
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