winter

Winter’s arrival

lindastaatsphoto1 Comment

We knew it was coming.  We knew it wouldn’t be much longer.  We knew it was inevitable.  But we were enjoying our moderate temperatures and fall-like weather, when all of a sudden winter arrived.  The temperature dropped 30 degrees, the wind blew, and the snow fell.  And it fell, and it fell, until we had over six inches of wet, heavy snow.  Overnight our neighborhood because populated with snowmen & women. 

And with winter’s arrival, I’m reminded that the holidays and the new year are fast approaching.  Please be sure to check out my holidays cards and 2011 desk calendars.  With original and distinctive images, the cards are a memorable way to send your holiday greetings.  And the desk calendars will brighten anyone’s day — a great gift to give, or receive.  The information about both the holiday cards and calendars can be found as separate pages on the top of my blog page at www.LindaStaatsPhoto.wordpress.com or you can click on the links from my website at www.LindaStaatsPhoto.com.  As quickly as the snowpeople appeared in our neighborhood, the holidays will be here!  Don’t be scrambling at the last minute for cards and gifts!

The woods of northern Wisconsin

lindastaatsphoto2 Comments

We spent the past weekend in northern Wisconsin near the shores of Lake Superior.  It was a true late summer’s weekend with hot sun and blowing winds.  To get a break from the heat, we drove to the southern part of Ashland County.  Off a remote gravel road in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest is a trailhead leading along Morgan Creek to a cascading waterfall.   Here in the forest with the canopy of trees and the gurgling of the creek, we found a welcome respite from the summer’s heat.  The trees are still a glorious green, but occasionally we saw a few leaves that were starting to change in anticipation of autumn.  With this image of Morgan Creek I wanted to bring together the green of the forest, the blue reflection of the summer sky above, with a few hints of autumn color also visible in the water’s reflection.   These are the photos and memories that we will be savoring in the middle of January when our scenery has turned to white and the temperatures have plummeted into winter.

Hats of winter

lindastaatsphoto2 Comments

This is now my fourth winter in Minnesota.  When I moved here, I owned one hat – a baseball hat used to keep the rain off my face in Washington.  I didn’t really like hats.  But I quickly learned there is a whole culture of hats in Minnesota!  People love their hats,  and there are so many different styles of hats to love.  There are lightweight hats for early winter, there are hats that are meant to keep the top of your head warm, there are hats to tie under your chin to keep your cheeks and neck warm, and there are hats or hoods that are connected to your coat.   And then as winter progresses and the temps get colder and colder, there are hats that keep every part of your head, ears, and upper body warm — these are the ones with flaps that come down and around, and are your very best friend on a sub-zero day.  These are just some of my current hat collection (ok, one of them is borrowed but it’s so cool I just had to model it too!).    The other cool thing about Minnesotans is they don’t care if you have hat-hair or not.  Hat-hair is what everyone has, it’s a fact of life, and it’s just the way things are when the temps are hovering around zero.  Practicality wins out over the fashionistas when survival is at stake.  Winter hats are just one of the things I like about Minnesota.

Book Across the Bay, 2010 edition

lindastaatsphoto2 Comments

We’ve just returned from a delightful weekend in Ashland, Wisconsin on the shores of Lake Superior.  With a dear friend from Seattle who wanted to experience the fun of a snow-filled winter event, our visit coincided with the 14th annual Book Across the Bay.  To celebrate the uniqueness of our upper-midwest winters (and just because we can!) over 3,300 people donned their skis and snowshoes and crossed frozen Chequamegon Bay from Ashland to Washburn, Wisconsin.  The distance of 10 kilometers was lit by frozen luminaries, and included warm bonfires on the ice marking each kilometer.  After snowshoeing for a bit more than a kilometer, I looked back to photograph this winding curve of luminaries leading to the lights of Ashland.  Although the event started under partly cloudy skies at dusk, the clouds cleared  as we worked our way across the bay, ending under a bright partial moon and a canopy of stars.  The promise of a big party, great friends, and good beer at the finish-line was our incentive to “book” the distance.

Hoarfrost in the morning

lindastaatsphoto3 Comments

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.