Winter Adventures

Saturday morning.  It is the weekend.  I wake to the radio screaming (so it seems) Bruno Mars at me, trying to tell me it is time to get up.  I hit the snooze and look to see it is only 5 am.  My body cusses at my mind asking myself, why..why did I even think it would be okay to wake so early for a photographic journey in the cold morning hours...on the weekend.

I hit the snooze again ten minutes later trying to figure out how I could maybe back out of this schedule.  After all...we were going to Lake Michigan for sunrise on the frozen waters.  Walking on uneven frozen waters has never been something I found very appealing.  Photographing frozen ice...not a big passion.  I have journeyed to Door County and done a bit of it but it was included with other stops of interest on the way...and we stood on land...not the frozen lake.

Well...maybe something interesting would come of the day.  We departed in the dark.  The sky was still overcast. No stars could be seen.  As we slowly made our way east a bit of light, colorful at that, started to greet us so hopes rose a little.

Colorful sunrises during the winter when there is a fresh blanket of snow and barren trees can be...is always very breathtaking.  It is a favorite time of the day for me and many days it is a pure miracle I show up at work.

We were running a bit later than some of the others that actually were going to be there at 5 am.  We started thinking maybe we left too late and worried we would miss the sunrise.  We arrived shortly after 7 am.  The sky had some colorful pinks and yellows to it and clouds still off in the distant.  We crept out on to the frozen water to find the right perspective to hopefully catch something.  We shot ice formations and chatted and waited.

The sun just didn't seem as if it really wanted to rise and hid behind the clouds. Surprisingly, when least expected, it popped out above the lower clouds and blessed us with a colorful sunrise.  The sky was painted reds, yellows, oranges and pinks.  The ice sculptures seemed to come alive.  I still didn't seem to have a lot of passion for what I was trying to capture so I didn't have high expectations of what i had captured but was glad I was experiencing the sunrise, regardless of the temperatures.

I learned a bit.  In the end, my photos weren't winners to many I am sure but I was pleasantly pleased with what I did capture.  After seeing some of the photos captured by others that were there, I know what I need to look for next time.  My concept of my photographic excursions is that if I can learn one thing from them, it is all worth it.

It still has not necessarily increased my passion for it but it has given me enough interest to continue to try in hopes that it will some day.  After all, I'm all for new experiences to help me grow in my creativity.

FROZEN

It’s the Midwest.  Winter.  Someone must have really made Mr. Winter upset to have him send this frigid frozen tundra our way.  It’s the first time since I moved in to this 130 year old house that I have not had my pellet stove running. The furnace is set to a warmer 70 in order to allow the heater itself to run more to keep the house warmer and to  keep the pipes from freezing. After having lived in the south many years where colder winters were few and far between,  I learned to let the water drip ever so lightly to decrease the chance of frozen pipes.

As I sit here in my studio writing, I hear the frozen breath running through the tree limbs outside.  The wind chimes with a voice that calls for a little warmth.  The floors and walls creek as the cold grounds allow the house to shift, hopefully only slightly.

If it weren’t so dark right now I would be able to see the ice crystals in all their magnificence on the window panes. If it were sunrise, they would be sparkling in a cheery but cold  ‘morning’ voice as the sunlight hit them in a rainbow like way.  Promises of warmer days. 

The breeze…not so much a breeze but a gust of wind is enabling the cold air to come through the little gaps in the older windows that surround me. All of this creating the heavy desire and burdensome thoughts of the need to put the house on the market again in hopes that it will sell this year.

Not a sound of a bird.  Not a scamper of squirrel feet on the roof top. Only the whirl of the wind and the snow flakes that might still be  a bit fluffy.  Off in the distance I can see the ski hill lights dancing between the swaying tree branches.  I often wonder how those skiers can really enjoy swooping down those cold slopes even when it is slightly below freezing.  I’m guessing those slopes will be empty today.

I woke early this morning in order to be able to begin my hopes for myself of being productive and creative going forward in this life.  All the while my body yearns to be back under the warmth of the covers snuggled with my pup who didn’t even think twice of following me up to the colder areas of the house.  She instead snuggles on the warmer floors of downstairs, belly full and bladder empty.  Dreaming of biscuits  and warmer days when the kong can be thrown more.

I listen quietly over the whirlwind for a telephone ring…possibly in hopes that work might be called off.  The radio communicates of temperatures 45 below, blowing snow across the highways creating ‘ice skating rinks’ for those careless drivers that believe nothing can get in their ways.  Knowingly, realistically, I know that within the hour I will have to wrap up tightly in a winter coat to warm the car.  Dashing quickly in hopes of making it without a wind blown hair to drive ever so cautiously to work.   Once arriving, the dash from the car to the building will be a bit longer and possibly more dangerous with ice laden parking lots.

No phone ring. Hopefulness of no work today is probably just that.  Hopefulness.  Wasted energy thoughts.  It’s time to finish preparing for the day and bravely confront Mr. Winter.

Spring Spring Spring

Super super excited....Phil, the Groundhog, is predicting an early spring.  Can I saw loudly and clearly....WOO HOO.

(My personal groundhog...I have named Harley....ground 'hog'...Harley...hog.  It works for me. Under my apple tree in summer last year.  )

Groundhog or woodchuck...I asked myself.  Well...they are one and the same.  The largest member of the squirrel family also called a ground squirrel that can climb trees and swim in water.  This little one had clearly come up from the Milwaukee River at the foot of my property as she was totally wet when I first sited her. They are one of the few mammals that totally hibernate somewhere between October and April, waking in the spring to raise six little ones.  Their spine is lined with two layers of fur.  They let out a high pitched sound when alarming the approach of a predator and they have their own little bark and grinding or chattering of the teeth when upset and protective. (This I know for a fact.) And...well...they are just downright cute.

Thank you for predicting an early spring this year.  Thank you.



Can not wait.  Early spring.  I do love the winter...when it is about 28 or 32 or 35 and covering us with a fresh blanket of snow...as it did last night (oh wait...it is 7 degrees out).  I have a new found love of getting out and photographing when it is snowing...not necessarily when it is 7 degrees.  I love the four seasons but I hate the length of the extremely low temperatures.  A day or two here and there, fine.  It helps me slow down. (Which is my one little word project for this month...to slow down.  Maybe it is the Dear Lord's way of helping me out.)  I find...that as I go through the years...I'm a woos about the cold...or just getting ....lazy. Nah.  Just. Need. To. Slow. Down.

Spring. Tulips.  Crocuses. Daffodils.  New growth of tree cover. Migrating birds.  Pelicans returning.  Daily trips to the Horicon.  Hikes in the woods. Spring flowers. Sitting out on the 'patio' drinking coffee and writing.  Sunrise.  Sunset.

Digging in the dirt.  Digging in the dirt.

I just can't wait.  Super excited.

For now....a day of riding the roads for a fresh blanket of snow covered landscape.  In the cold.

I've been in the Midwest almost 7 years now, having moved up from the deep Gulf humidity southern portion of the states after 30 plus years. I love the four seasons. I've said it many times. I'll say it many more. I love the spring bulbs...although after 4 years in this house, I have yet to add to the small sampling that already exists here. Summers....not so brutal...yet lots to do. Festivals. Fishing. Hiking. Canoeing. Birdwatching. Bicycling. Falls...My. Most. Favorite. The earth tone colors. On really great years...a plethora of colors to satisfy the senses. The smell of fallen leaves. The crunch. The scurrying of the critters as they prepare for winter that could just pop in faster than one wants. And...then....there is winter. Blankets of snow to cover the drab browns left behind. White, virgin snow that reflects the sun and even adds awesome lighting to the darkest of winter nights. Fresh blankets with...the pitter patter of feet prints from squirrels trying to remember where they hid that midnight snack to young children so excited as they head to the hills for sledding. Not to mention the parking areas filled with snowmobilers stopping at the local tavern for a refreshing sip of something.

But this winter. It has been long already. Long days of teen temperatures that slow the initiative for getting out and walking. Teen temperatures that keep you shut up inside. Teen temperatures that even keep it hard to warm up inside unless you are prepared to spend lots of extra green stuff for the energy bill. Winter. Couch potato. Four walls. All looking alike after a while. Creative juices...all clogged up. Bouncing off the walls of the inside of ones head; ones body...jittery. Watching the thermometer. The weather channel daily. Hoping. Hoping. For that one day when the temps will be a hot 32 degrees...or even 28...when boots and gloves and jackets will allow...a stroll. Outside. Fresh air. Sunshine.

Oh....dear spring...please send winter home til....2012.

Looking Through

Have I mentioned that one of my favorite things is taking pictures 'through things'? Have I mentioned that one of my favorite things is wide apertures? Have I mentioned that moments like this....make some winter days....worth the cooped up moments?

To Hike...or Not

I can't imagine being at a point where I couldn't walk....couldn't hike off into the woods....on a snow laden, winter day...or any day throughout the year, for health reasons.

To not be able to enjoy the crunch of the ground, snow laden or not.

To not be able to discover the simplicity of a sumac spent blossom in its rosy winter color. (Wide aperture wonders.)

To not have the opportunity to 'stumble' across the quaint, hidden treasures of the forest pathways. (Remember ....don't look just straight ahead. You never know what you will miss.)

(Photos taken at Butler Lake Loop Trail - Northern Kettle Moraine)

I can't imagine not being able to enjoy the world of wilderness.

I hope....I won't ever have to. Experience it.

Winter Wonderland

Someone told me once that the desert was ugly....then....I took a trip from Houston to Los Angeles. The smorgasbord of rock formations and earthen colors was breathtaking.

Winter, in the MidWest, isn't something that many residents look forward to. Four to six months of being locked up inside, bundled in extra layers of clothing, sitting by firesides, drinking hot brews from coffee to teas, cuddling and getting caught up with literature.

Some...brave the cold...to rid, if even for a short while, the winter blues. Some...upon a treasure hunt for gifts of nature.....will pleasantly surprised by the icy treats that await.

What treasures have you unexpectedly found during your escape from winter?