The last day of February

Where did the time go? Well, some of it went to walking in the woods.

Light and shadow and it’s still wintery enough for the light to be all golden.

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Weather

We’ve had rather a lot of it, haven’t we? Today it’s raining and the snow is super-saturated and heavy (this is the Voice of Experience speaking, as I went out and shovelled) and it’s altogether miserable and nasty. And yes, I know that it will melt, but it WILL MELT A LOT FASTER if one shovels.

January ice

It’s been more cold than not for a month or so now, and that means ice on puddles. And I love taking pictures of ice. So here’s a start, from recent excursions.

The ice is pretty thick; this chunk, tossed up previously from a puddle, is a couple of inches thick. (And today I caught Our Dog walking across the ice on the slough—argh.)

You find interesting things in the woods sometimes; this bucket was left by someone working on an unofficial trail. As far as I could see the ice in it was solid all the way down.

And it’s so varied, especially when we start getting a bit of hoarfrost.

Gorgeous.

From January 14th

From yesterday’s walk in the woods.

Snowy walk

From a couple of days ago.

Hoarfrost

We live in a dampish area, and if it gets cold there’s a section of our yard that tends to grow hoarfrost. Which it did over the past few days, very satisfactorily. These were taken yesterday—today it’s gone, alas.

Happy New Year!

To celebrate, pictures of frost flowers from the last hike of 2015: proof that beauty can expand from the most ordinary beginnings.

Frosty needles

And a few other things.

The dew on the needles had frozen overnight and was just starting to melt, so if I bumped into a tree I got showered in tiny ice pellets.

There were also pretty stumps…

And broken trees…

This broken tree trunk was so interesting I took a black and white picture too.

An altogether satisfactory morning walk.

Winter hiking trails

Well, yes, actually, this is the trail.

And so is this. Winter hiking is when you find the weak points in your Goretex footwear liners.

Bonus photo: ah, the soothing quiet of the forest… but hark, what is that sound? Ah yes. The mobile mulcher eating another stick.

Frost flowers

They’ve been pretty spectacular lately. (Though not today; today it’s cold, it’s pouring with rain, and to be honest I’m avoiding excursions.)

Green ice

Well, it has green reflections from the cedar, at any rate.

 

Snow and bigleaf maple leaves

Pretty, pretty.

Hard light

I know spring is here—I’ve been taking pictures of the early flowers—but I’m not quite ready to give up on pictures of ice.

Like burnished metal

Almost like it’s flowing—but not quite

I mean, how can you give up on something like this?

Ice edges

It’s going to be a monsoon tomorrow, let’s post pictures of ice.

Ice lumps

I forgot to turn off the pond pump when it got really cold this winter. I did remember before any harm was done, but in the meantime—ice lumps where the pump spits water into the little “waterfall.” The pond water is very tannic, so some of the lumps have some interesting colour highlights. 

Snow without destruction

Thought I should post some pictures of less catastrophic things so that it’s clear it wasn’t all doom and gloom.

Those would be duck tracks. It was just like watching wee icebreakers.

Snow on snake fencing is always pretty.

Snow hanging from a roof can be pretty too, if a little more immediately threatening.

This is why we were a little twitchy on Monday.

 

 

Snow events

Monday Feb 24, noon:

This is the current view from our dining room patio doors. I just watched these trees crashing down from the neighbouring lot—more exciting dining entertainment than I usually get at lunchtime. I guess the fence repairs this year will be more significant than usual.

I’m so very glad they didn’t come down 30 degrees to the right, or I would be wearing the skylight.

And it’s still snowing. Hard.

—————

Tuesday February 25th, late afternoon

So.. what has been happening in our neck of the woods?

Floopy snow

It’s snowing again. I was inside working today instead of outside taking pictures, so I’m posting pictures from the Previous Snow. It was a floopy snow; big soft lolloping lumps on everything.

Floopy and dangly at times.

And kinda cuddly, in a chilly sort of way.

Snow on leaves

More pix from the snow. It was lovely and light and fluffy and sat on all the salal in a kind of friendly, lumpy way.

There are blackberries coming up through the salal. Sigh. Oh well, they’re pretty when they’re not actively stabbing me and colonizing the whole yard.

More salal. It’s pretty too.

Okay, it wasn’t all snow on leaves. Some on flowers.

Hang in there, little strawberry plant!