For two years in a row we all paid a dear price with lots of snow that we all had to deal with, climb over, dig out of, tunnel through, fall on, slip on. The ice, too was quite a problem and simply walking and driving was very difficult and required so much extra care and vigilance on our parts that we were tired seconds after starting.
This year of 2012 has been quite different and for me that has been quite nice and I have enjoyed working less hard at getting to work and home again and every other day walking our terrier-mixed breed dog : or affectionate mutt. That's okay : every year does not have to be filled with snow and work at moving and navigating it.
I love that layer of delicate brown leaves that have not fallen off yet in the picture above. Are they birch leaves? I think so.
Like today there was supposed to be a wee bit of snow and we in fact here in Annandale Virginia on Monday, March 5th, 2012 ( my father's birthday : happy birthday dad!! You would have been 83 today ) there were a few flurries and they melted upon contact with the roads and the grasses. Nice. Fun to watch and have the flakes fall all about me as I left with a nice haircut out into the parking lot afterwards. I liked that very much. made me smile.
The picture above is what our terrier mixed breed and I see when we walk through our woods.
These pictures are taken by me when we walked one morning back in 2010 when there was indeed lots and lots of snow. Invigorating and she led the way , pulling me along on her leash that our nice neighbor gave us that she purchased with us in mind at the Philadelphia museum of art. Looks nice as a contrast to all the white snow, doesn't it?!?
I like to take pictures of foot/shoe prints. Like leaving crumbs on one's path to find one's way home safely. That's important.
More temporary footprints that have simply here rented space on our path for a very short period of time. Nature is working hard to erase them as a matter of fact as I snap shots of them to remember that they were ever there in fact?!? Who would else ever remember them? Is that alright that we remember them?
I love the dormant vine that is thick and has established the same color of the tree trunk here for camouflage I suspect : the better to blend in I paraphrase the fox speaking to Little Red Riding Hood.
Now who would ever want to rock in this hammock at this time of the year? Must be awfully lonely for this poor hammock all alone and so cold and brittle and still all by itself in the cold and wet and dark and now white of the moment. Perhaps a clever creature could devise a clever way to slip under the cover of this thin layer of snow and get some much needed winks of sleep before continuing on, like our red foxes of the neighborhood? Sounds possible.
I love the patterns and the way the many fine needles above slice through the air above and look sharp and both fuzzy at times on this particular morning.
More patterns of dark and cold and wet greens to cut through the air in the photo above and make me want to snap away to record the moment.
Phone lines and lots of bare branches and trunks and some dark greens, too : all alive, all in deep slumber : all hiding and protecting themselves from the cold, the snow, the wind and more.
What an amazing shot of winter wonderland : our very own winter playground of white snow falling and branches deep in white blankets already of snow and with pretty poor visibility, too. How much thicker will everything get? How much heavier will everything become and will we still have power when the light leaves us and the night envelops us?!?
Now here's an amazing photo above of so many older brown branches of one tree covered in white snow thickening by the minute! I love it. Best to be inside snug looking out at this small yet wonderful " happening ".
The white snow covers these branches and shows the lines in the thick trunks and branches and makes me feel really cold just looking at it. Brrrrr!
Walker and dog returning home from a good jaunt/ trek in the snow just then and taking a picture from outside looking inside to the warmth and the comfort promised at home.
Fun to see the reflections on our storm window of myself and our dog and many other things, too.
It was a good walk. I do not think that our dog was ready to come in quite yet?
I love all the thick spread of thin brown branches from the trees outside. What a wonderful winter wonderland. Pretty amazing feat of Nature. I was glad to be a part of it : also a witness to it. Cheers. Will we get such a winter storm this 2012? There is still time. You never quite know for sure. Best to not make any assumptions and simply go with the flow. Cheers and enjoy and stay-tuned for more.
Happy birthday once again Dad. I miss you, really I do. We had some grand times together the two of us. I'll raise a glass of wine to you shortly as I fix dinner for my wife and my son. That's next on my list of things that I want to do now before watching later with my wife the next episode on t.v. of " The Voice ". the singing show with Adam and Cristina and the other two judges and all the talented people singing for them and for us trying to make their mark now in the world. Cheers, Anthony ( TONY ) Quinn
