Ice crystals

 

                when the sun peaks over the tall conifer forest and spreads light throughout my little hollow

 

sparkles of ice crystals that grew through the night light up the world

 

winter becomes a magical realm of sparkly crystals

~

*

Winter Crystals

morning treasures

 

formed in the cold of night

 

they call my creek home

 

in their short lived life

 

often the crystals evaporate, take flight, disappear throughout the day

even though the temperature is below freezing

so interesting

moon shadows on the snow

our recent full moon

~

*

Seasonal Glimpses

sweet little mountain chickadee

autumn raindrops

It has been a very cold autumn, more like winter cold.

snow a number of times

has come and gone

I love how the snow reveals who has walked by

in this case an elf....

(or possibly a skunk)

Ponderosa tree bark

artful and beautiful

occasional snowflakes

 as well as

beautiful frost

~

*

Winter Magic

it was a cold night

perfect for crystals to visit our winter realm

then the sun rose above the forest of conifers

lighting the crystals

offering sparkles

for a morning

they glowed
offering magic for all to behold

delicate

feathery

ice crystals

I hope every one is safe and warm through all this cold weather. 

Though cold here, it is not like so much of the country. 

Be safe. 

~

*

 

Eartly Morning Forest Wander

before the sun revealed the blue of sky
in the early morning light 

 which barely kissed her world

she pulled on tall wool socks

bundled in cashmere, mittens and hat

wandered into the woods

frost transformed the trees

into nearly glowing beings

tracks revealed 
night time wanderers
in winter wonderland

winter has been mild in the NW corner of Montana

until last week 

when we woke to a foot of new snow

winter if feeling quite sincere now

~

*

Ice Crystal Realm

a few nights ago

it was clear and cold (5F)

mist rose from meadows

meandered through the branches of trees

inspiring ice crystals to grow

the trees fingers touched the earth buried in crystalline mounds of snow

sunlight arrived

showing off the night fairies work

every little branch was kissed with magic and delight 

until the sun arrived 

and kissed them with the warmth of light

yesterday

daytime temperatures are 40F+

gentle rainfall begins the winter thaw 

that will eventually welcome spring 

my roof of winter's snow has come crashing down

it will be a while 

before i see the first flower bloom

~

*

Ice Crystals

got down to 4F/-15C last night

I woke to a milky gray day

no sunshine

a forest cloaked in ice crystals 

that look like fairy wings

I love how the lichen on the branch adds 

a bit of color

a wing of crystal

on each and every 

spruce needle

~

sometimes the magic of winter 

is in the tiny details

~

*

Pond Writing

last night was starry

which means that it got cold

20F when I awoke

the morning was frosty

sparkling and full of rainbow lights

the ponds froze over

as i admired the surface of the pond

i thought it appeared like a foreign language

script carved into the ice

a temporary story

perhaps written for the fish below

or a tale

for the world above

~

*

Autumn and Winter begin to Mingle

appreciating the mushrooms 

 as i studied them 

clear night skies

inspire frost to grace life

sunlight is revealed as tiny sparkling orbs

when mixed with frost

colors dance before our eyes

good medicine

some trees 

naked

the sunlight chooses them to present, show off and reflect

finding new treasures

Basidioradulum radula, Toothed Crust fungus

like an artful mandala

Plicaturopsis crispa, a Crimped gilled Polyporales

this is the underside, the top looks like

it was growing on dead wood:

~

*