Going Outside

The first day of the new year, T. wrote a post called How to Go Outside and it was lovely, the pictures were fantastic and I made a note to do the same.

It only took me two weeks of wishing for warmer weather, but I did it.

It was cold, 1 degree, but no wind. We had a light rime frost on every surface so I grabbed the camera.  It was marvelous, the walk and the playdate with a bored, housebound dog.

It was frustrating, though, trying to just see. I have the worst eyesight, progressive bifocal lenses that sometimes make things worse, and permanent blurring in one eye from a cataract which will need repair one day. My camera wouldn't zoom on autofocus, so I fought with it, and messed with the functions and fretted that the pictures would suck. They looked pretty blurry to me. Turns out they didn't suck, once I got them on screen so I could see them better. Some were pretty magical.

Here's what Tucker and I saw on our romp around the yard.

So much gray and white, but peeks of sun too.

Bet you can't guess what this is....

 It's salt runoff from slush that fell off my car in the garage. Looks like a lunar landscape to me.

It was one of those frosts that followed a light fluffy snowfall where everything reflected light like diamonds. So hard to capture, but etched permanently in my memory.

I couldn't see these crystals on the closeups until I downloaded the picture, and these were the ones that looked out of focus on my display. What a surprise. 

 The leaf portraits were also a surprise - impaled with ninja starflakes.

This one is my favorite. I was happy thinking about the buds, dormant under the frost, knowing that they would be next years flowers and leaves, not knowing they were balancing such a delicate bouquet of snow crystals on their tip.

Another surprise, big enough to see with my own eyes - a bird nest I did not know was hiding there.

And my little girl with basket statue, she looks frozen to death, but so peaceful.

Also a surprise were the snowflakes on the end of every seed on the coneflowers. Magical.

Tucker had the best time. We haven't played in the yard in weeks.

Eating snow is a favorite activity. Or he's pretending to be an ostrich.

Cleanup was not a breeze -this was the clumping snow. Those snowballs on the towel were between his food pads. Must have hurt to walk on.

It was a three dog towel day, but a good one.

Stay warm...

Sparkly Things

We're on our second sparkly, light snowfall. The kind that makes diamonds in the sunlight, and something even more stunning in moonlight. It has been magical, and impossible to capture with a camera.

And yet I try. I almost got a good shot of the snowflakes perched on this leaf.

There are fewer berries left hanging this winter, though I don't know why.
The old sled is standing by the front door to greet any who stop by.


Another year has rolled by, another volleyball tournament in Chicago. The city lights at night and the sunrise from the 29th floor were spectacular.

All is calm, all is bright. Hope you are snug and warm and seeing beautiful things of your own.
My heart is lightened by the solstice's arrival, knowing that we get a minute of daylight back every other day or so starting tomorrow, the magical full moon eclipse and meteor shower, even though the snow will keep me from seeing them, and the spirit of the season. Peace to us all.

Very Sparkly....

Saturday morning I awoke to a sunny 22 degrees, which felt pleasant after the latest artic blast. A light breeze floated sparkling snowflakes to the ground through the morning sunshine.
Amazing. Enchanting. Magical. Joyful.


Click on any photo to enlarge and see the detail.

With the help of this Snowflake Chart I know that the temperature was about 15 degrees when the snow fell. I was eager to catch any of it with the camera, and ran around outside with the dog in my slippers and bathrobe. I don't even care who sees me anymore, honestly. Of course, the dog was oblivious to the magic snowflakes, he just wanted to play.

First Snow and Happy December

My Back Yard in Winter, 2008

December came on as quickly as the flu, little warning, then Bam! Winter, cold, wind and a dusting of perfect snowflakes. I have a midwesterner's love/hate relationship with snow. It is lovely, it protects my plants, but after a few months, it just gets depressing and annoying to negotiate. Muddy pawprints, muddy boots prints, yukky slush glomping off the car making salt puddles in the garage. Illinois winters are not the winters of my childhood. I grew up in Brigadoon, on a spit of land buffeted from both time and temperature by the waters of the Chesapeake and Delaware bays, marshy, sandy land filled with sassafras, cypress trees, mountain laurel and holly berries. I am a foreigner here, these winters and wind chills still shock me, though I came in the summer of 1984, when Mary Lou Retton scored her perfect 10's and won Olympic gold. My first 40 below wind chill was a rude awakening, and I've been complaining and commenting ever since. I am an old dog. And complaining is one of my best tricks.

But not today. It's 20 degrees blowing cold north air, flurries sparkle in the clear moonlight night, and winter is just getting started. It's going to slap us around a time or two, show us the meaning of snowfall, windchill and blizzard. Those who can't handle it are welcome to move south and those who stay, and seek diversion, need look no farther than the amazing snowflake. One of my favorite creations, outside of giant moths and lovely chickens and smiling babies. And flowers. And ice cream. But I digress.

Snowflakes. Up close, thanks to the scanning electron microscope and a few crazed scientists, especially Kenneth Libbrecht, from Caltech. Amazing doesn't begin to describe what the eye can see. Look:

This is not my first geeky post on the amazing snowflake. I could write for hours about Snowflake Bentley, the man who first trudged a camera into the cold to photograph snowflakes. He died from pneumonia after walking home in a winter storm, and never made a cent from his amazing photographs:

If you've the time and curiosity, I have a more in depth blog about this on my nerd page, my sanity saving 35 degree below Zero Diversions. If you have the time or the curiosity, enjoy the many links and videos, including vintage Suzy Snowflake! Happy December. Let the games begin!