Our house looked like a gingerbread house this Christmas! Complete with icicles and everything! It has been at least 10 years or more since we've gotten more than a few inches of snow so no one complain that we never get a white Christmas anymore. Can you guess which window is mine? I had run some rubber based ink prints off the vandercook and they were STILL wet after a week. Garrett Queen wisely suggested that I set them in the sun to set up with UV light. I was leering of doing it at first because I thought it might fade out my colored paper but the color was fine and it worked great. Of course, I didn't want to miss this wonderful opportunity to take the camera for a spin in this weather. Plenty of beautiful shots for reference for more art!
This one is the most picturesque I think as I shot it in a way that the trees make an arch of snow that I am so fond of. I love trees arched over a pathway. Then again, I seem to be in love with the arch shape these days regardless.
I didn't know until I had to write an essay for an art class that bamboo is one of the three friends of winter in China. Actually, having written the essay there are really four friends. Bamboo and Pine are guaranteed their place in the category of the Three Friends of Winter but Narcissus and Plum have to duke it out for the spot and you never know which one will pop up there. I LOVE the color of spring green and to see a pleasant frond of bamboo swaying in the snow is magical.
And speaking of magical....
This image comes close to echoing my favorite part about a heavy snow. That first day after the heaviest of the snow had fallen the air was quiet and calm. Normally, (and disappointingly) I can hear a leaf blower somewhere, a semi barreling down the mountain, or traffic humming up and down the roads. That day there was nothing but the light ticking of ice crystals falling to the ground from the breeze. For once in a long time, you could stare down this road and actually have some hope of seeing an elf traveller and his steed bedecked in bells and gold trudging through the snow or perhaps watch the snow fall heavily to the ground from the pine trees as an ice dragon churns the air for a landing with his wings.
But I left out one sound that merrily makes its way through the quiet at the end of this road...
Our creek was gurgling and flowing over its icy path and it's banks were fat with frosty fluff. Perhaps I will see that elf traveller one day. We'll offer him some hot tea and listen to the story of his travels while is pony takes a rest.
