The Depths of Winter

This year is beginning to seem like a repeat of the previous one. We've had a number of snowfalls so far but we probably have a way to go before we approach last year's records. Most of these photos were taken shortly after the most recent accumulation. A couple are from last winter. Please remember to click on each photo to enlarge it.

“There is still vitality under the winter snow, even though to the casual eye it seems to be dead” ~ Agnes Sligh Turnbull

I'm not sure how this plant looked in the warmth of summer, but you can still see where its flowers bloomed. (please click to enlarge)

"It's snowing still. And freezing. However, we haven't had an earthquake lately." ~ A. A. Milne from Winnie the Pooh

Most of the pond is frozen over, but the ducks work hard at keeping a small portion of it open throughout the winter. (please click to enlarge)

"Nature is full of genius...so that not a snowflake escapes its fashioning hand." ~ Henry David Thoreau

Just some snow on the bark of a tree - up close and personal. (please click to enlarge)

“Advice is like snow; the softer it falls, the longer it dwells upon, and the deeper it sinks into, the mind.” ~ Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Usually a welcoming site, this park bench was just a tad inhospitable after the snowfall. (please click to enlarge)





"The first fall of snow is not only an event, it is a magical event. You go to bed in one kind of a world and wake up in another quite different, and if this is not enchantment then where is it to be found?" ~ J. B. Priestley
I've posted photos of this spot before. The tree branch which extends over the pond catches my eye in all seasons. (please click to enlarge)

"The snow itself is lonely or, if you prefer, self-sufficient. There is no other time when the whole world seems composed of one thing and one thing only." ~ Joseph Wood Krutch

Here's the same tree as seen from its pond shore, further along the path. (please click to enlarge)

"Silently, like thoughts that come and go, the snowflakes fall, each one a gem." ~ William Hamilton Gibson

A small sprig of needles which fell from a nearby evergreen, partly buried in the snow. (please click to enlarge)

“Sunshine cannot bleach the snow, Nor time unmake what poets know” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

This Downy Woodpecker was partially obscured by a small branch. Photoshop is my friend. (please click to enlarge)

“There is nothing in the world more beautiful than the forest clothed to its very hollows in snow. It is the still ecstasy of nature, wherein every spray, every blade of grass, every spire of reed, every intricacy of twig, is clad with radiance.” ~ William Sharp

This one was actually taken last year, immediately following one of our many snowfalls. (please click to enlarge)

"When they looked out into the whiteness of the world the wind flung it sharply at their narrowed eyes and foreshortened their view of everything." ~ David Guterson from Snow Falling on Cedars.

Another one from last winter. (please click to enlarge)

“It snowed last year too. I made a snowman and my brother knocked it down and I knocked my brother down and then we had tea” ~ Dylan Thomas

I snapped this shot this morning from inside my kitchen. The little boy next door built this snowman a couple of weeks ago. It's still standing, clothed in hat and scarf, ready to greet passersby. (please click to enlarge)

Benny and Other Flakes

Walking and photography go hand in hand for me. I only need two hands to operate the camera but the challenge comes into play when Benny joins me. Now, ordinarily Frank handles the leash, and he endures the arm-jerks which signal Benny's desire to forge ahead. I can roll my eyes through his quickly-executed run-jump-tackle sequences which he does with all four paws when he's impatient and wants to move on, but his Herculean tugs and jolts make sharp pictures an impossibility. This past weekend, Frank wasn't feeling tip-top, so I was dog-walker and frustrated photographer rolled into one.

The snow poses yet another difficulty where Ben is concerned. When walking alongside me, he looks at every wayward bit of snow my boots kick up, as a contest. In his frenzied little doggie mind, he believes he has to consume each and every flake. So he hovers near my left foot, and watches each time it lifts a clump of snow. Then he pounces on the newly-landed white stuff, and devours it. That was how the first third of our walk went. Hover. Pounce. Devour.

The second third consisted of him shivering uncontrollably and stopping every three minutes to pee what appeared to be enough urine to overflow from an elephant's bladder. And yet he managed to repeat that shaky stream no less than three times over the next ten minutes. When he wasn't peeing, he was barfing. That crazy little pup was filled to capacity from one end to the other and his body did what it could to expel the volume of snow he ingested. Shiver. Pee. Barf.

During this same phase of our walk, I tried to distract him and keep him moving, so that he'd warm up. Benny can't resist a stick. If I have one in my hand, he wants it. He'll jump alongside me, trying to clamp his teeth down upon it. Once he gets it in his possession, he'll challenge me to come get it back, stick at his front paws, tail wagging, head cocked to the side and eyes locked on my hand. If I make a move toward it, he's off like a shot, prize in mouth. In fact, the only way to get it back from him is to find another. Once he sees the new one, he'll drop the first, leaving it forgotten while he tries to master a new conquest. I kept him occupied this way, occasionally allowing him to chase it down and trot along with his trophy. Jump. Chase. Trot.

On the final third of our walk, Benny had warmed up considerably. He was no longer shivering, and both his stomach and bladder seemed to be devoid of melted snow. This of course meant that he was ready to go back to hover-pounce-devour mode. The cold discomfort he suffered minutes earlier was already forgotten. Such is the nature of a terrier. Silly. Little. Twit.

Despite Benny's antics, I still managed to take a few shots of our snowy surroundings. Please remember to click on each photo to enlarge it.



Here's Benny, tromping through the snow, waiting and watching for when I take my next step so he can kill that clump of snow. His face is all frosty from this activity. (please click to enlarge)




The tree branches were weighted down by the snow but the tips of its pine needles glistened in the sunlight. (please click to enlarge)




There wasn't enough snow to disguise this recent branch break. (please click to enlarge)




There are many apple trees along the path. This one has seen better days but it's probably been sitting here since autumn. (please click to enlarge)




The pink pods of the Spindle tree have faded since autumn, but they still contrast strongly beneath their white caps of snow. (please click to enlarge)




Back at home, the fresh snowfall drew several Cardinals into my yard. This beautiful male watched me through the glass door - his mate partly hidden behind him. (please click to enlarge)




When the male moved to the feeder, I could see the female, looking inquisitive and bright. Despite her subdued colours, I think she's even more lovely than the male. (please click to enlarge)




More snow later in the day. I had seen the apple on one of the trees to the left of this path. (please click to enlarge)




Big, fluffy flakes. (please click to enlarge)




The only open water in the pond seemed to have a dull, pink-hued colour. I don't know what caused it but it cleared up by the next morning. (please click to enlarge)




The geese appeared quite unaffected. (please click to enlarge)