A shadow woods in winter

After the snows when it rains -- yuck!

Winter sculptures

Sun + snow = winter at its best

Yeoman's work

 

I yearn to buck the crowd,  but,  yikes,  I am yielding to the urge to post this photo and join the throng of mellow yellows*  on ABC Wednesday. 

My neighbor at 84 continues to do yeoman’s work,  clearing her quarter-mile long driveway of snow, and this week she did it two days in a row!   This is not the Yukon,  but we do live in the southwest Michigan snow belt.   Lake effect snow buries us when cold northwest winds blow over the warmer  water of southern Lake Michigan. 

We have one of these scoops, too.  We call them Canadian snow shovels,  but I don’t find reference to this name on the web.  We also have a little snow blower and a friend with a plow on the front of his pickup.  Compared to Joanne we are wimps!

*Donovan did a lot with Colours!

Winter pond

Steffe, we took your admonition to heart and didn't stay only by the fire yesterday, but wandered through the woods, oohing and aahing at the beauty of the snowfall which continued all day.  And as requested, took photos.

Our pond is a vernal pond that has lasted into the winter given heavy rains these past months, so this is an unusual sight for us to see it surrounded by snow-covered fallen trees (2011 saw a bonus crop of fallen trees all around us that started with last January's ice storm, became violent with an F1 tornado in May that devastated the Hermitage and Abbey woods, and ended with soggy ground that couldn't hold onto some trees this fall). 

Lake effect snow has been falling since yesterday afternoon and has continued into today.  A winter wonderland is perfect for a holiday when you can snuggle up at home in front of the fire and watch the snow fall through the window! 

Happy New Year!

Willow in the winter

Earlier this month Willow waited to hear  my wishes on which way to go, the lower pond path or the upper.  That was a wonderful snowy morning, but today is woefully without snow as we wend our way to Christmas.  We are witnessing fog and rain and temperatures quite above normal.  So the lyrics of the Wassail Song are very appropriate to our winter weather:

Here we come a-wassailing
Among the leaves so green,
Here we come a-wand'ring
So fair to be seen.
Love and joy come to you,
And to you your wassail, too,
And God bless you, and send you
A Happy New Year,
And God send you a Happy New Year.

Whoops, I got ahead of myself.  Let Good King Wenceslas and me wish you a very Merry Christmas, first with Robert Shaw Chorale

and then wigging out with Mannheim Steamroller.  Happy Holidays to all!

Many more holiday wishes await you at ABC Wednesday!

the glimmer of hope on a snowy morn

For Skywatch Friday, another look at last Friday's first heavy snow and the glimmer of sun on a snow-filled cloud.

Winter came with a snow that began around noon and didn't stop until a heavy, wet two inches was covering everything when we went walking this morning.  The clouds were trying to part to let the sun come through and hopefully take the snow burden off the trees.  It was the evergreens that were groaning under the weight since most of the deciduous trees are bare now.   Luckily we did not receive the snowy blast that hit the U.S. east coast almost two weeks ago.  Some have just had electricity restored this week.

To escape snow skies, please stop by Skywatch Friday. 

Reality

Yesterday was dreaming, today is reality........... However, I must admit the drifts of snow in the sunshine are beautiful, too!  The tree trunks mirror yesterday's sail masts, but no one is strolling through this snow.  Willow and I have been kept from the paths in the woods for a week now and we long for a thaw.

Snow blossoms

To imagine that these clumps of snow are blossoms means I am wishing for spring already!

weekend reflections

Everywhere you look you find winter beauty.  Here the Amur maple in its snow coat is reflected in the garage window.  It is 0 this morning and our morning walk has been called off!

Visit the Weekend Reflections site at James' Newtown Area Photo.

morning, oh so lovely after a snowfall

These January days give us dark winter mornings, except on a morning like today, after a snow fall when the white crystals of water called snowflakes transform everything and make you exclaim as you open the door, Oh!   In the face of the crisp yet soft beauty, you forget that it will have to be shoveled away as some point in the day.  You trudge gratefully through drifts not worried that the sun might not shine today through the clouds blowing off Lake Michigan.   And if the sun were to appear, it would rise just behind the lighted windows of the house, as if in answer to its beckoning glow.

Winter Abstract

Yesterday the sun was shining and the patterns of the shadows were wonderful to behold.

Hello

Do we know each other?

big snow coming?

The blizzard warnings are out, but hopefully we will miss the worst of it.  This is the woods this morning as it became light and the snow became heavier.  It is winter!

Tools of the season

When it first started snowing  Sunday, we used the broom every few hours. However when we woke up yesterday, we had to get out the shovel.   I have found myself buying bright colors for use in winter.......

Portrait of Late Fall in SW Michigan

And now the Lake Michigan snow machine is revving up.  Up to a foot of snow expected tomorrow for the county right next to us.  We should not get that much -- I will let you know.