Spring Flowers, Montana Style

along the lake shore

kneeling

and 

what do I see

flowers!

(we are still under a foot or two of snow, 

so nothing is blooming yet)

under a layer of ice 

reflections of shadow and light

of snowflake like flowers

this little video reveals a bit of the beautiful story:

 (have your sound on
maybe click on the square under the video to see it large)

I was, still am thrilled by this sweet beauty

something I had never seen before

at home, while going through photos

I zoomed in to find small ice flowers on and in the 
surface layer of ice

they were too small or invisible for my eyes 

to see in person

these ice flowers are how the shadows came to be ...

maybe they are formed much like a snowflake?

have you ever seen this before?

seems like the art of fairy folk, to me.

I have so many gorgeous photos

too much for one post.....

do you have a favorite from the above photos?

~

our world

our precious world

full of endless treasures to bring joy to our hearts

and inspire our minds

nature, truly a spirit helper

~

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Evidence of Spring

on the first day of spring

I donned snowshoes and went looking for signs of new life

 it was a warm day at 57F 

snow melts daily and the music of the creek grows louder each day with the thaw

buds of cottonwoods, birch and aspen swell noticeably each day

the furry aspen (male) buds are just beginning to push their way through winters protective shielding

 spring begins slowly in NW Montana, no green, no flowers... still it is happening and is a bit thrilling

it was a joy to see this lovely and healthy orange lichen colony

this cute little pine sisken appears to be posing......

 Each season is a treasure.

Lovely spring or perhaps autumn to you!

~

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Ice Ice Baby

along the water's edge

find mystery and majesty

crystalline caverns that make one sing

miracles and frozen things

it's winter’s lovely paradise

along the water’s edge

~

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Winter Outing

the winds blew

 creating waves on the lake

surface ice shattered into snow clad islands

in a similar way

artful ice formations came to life

it was a beautiful day at Lake McDonald

I was missing our colorful rocks

so beautiful when under ice and water

this day we were under storm warning

for clouds, snow and big winds

instead we were given a blue sky day

a perfect way to share my birthday with friends

~

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Bald Eagle

she flew in front of me

wings spread wide

gliding

landed on a tree quite close

 a feathered being of the sky

an obvious queen

there is no denying

we are in the midst of a 3 day snow storm

this sweet little creek photo was taken before the storm began

I think we have 8" so far, two more days to go

I think winter is showing off at this point ;-)

~

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