Those big April skies
April seems stuck in the beauty of winter.
A couple of weeks ago, we enjoyed
A pink panorama of big skies and fluffy clouds.
And only a couple of days ago,
The snow cover on the lake was gone
And the cold mist seemed to make
The clouds as silver and soft as silk.
Gently, almost secretly, spring is approaching!
For more panoramas, please visit: Skywatch.
Snow face
No matter who you are
Or what you look like,
A bad hair day can be much improved
By adding some extra sparkle and snow!
I’m off to Paris with my daughter for a few days, so please excuse me if I don’t visit you.
For more glitter, please visit: Camera Critters.
Snowscape
When the morning light hits the trees
In just the right way;
When the blue bowl of the sky
Hangs like a silken canopy over the frozen lake;
And when the sun sets
In soft pastel purples…
Then … yes then!
Winter is a glorious place to be.
For more amazing skies, please visit: Skywatch.
Snow blossoms
There is something so delightful
About the bright light of spring
And the cold of a lingering winter.
If you look carefully, you can find snow moons
Dancing on the snow.
And instead of flowers,
We have snow blossoms
And dazzling light.
And – just as in real life –
You might be lucky to find
A diamond in the rough.
For more hidden jewels, please visit: Our World.
Expectancy
You never know what might be waiting for you
Over the brow of that hill you’re struggling to climb;
(Can you see Oscar waiting for me?)
Or what small delights await
Around the corner.
Please forgive me if I don’t get around to visiting you this weekend.
We’re having problems with the Internet, which makes it incredibly slow and painful to visit blogs at the moment.
In the meantime, pay a visit to: Camera Critters.
Perfect balance
We celebrated the spring equinox
With three days of snow.
But that doesn’t matter –
The equinox is the time when the world is
In perfect balance:
That moment when the light of day
And the dark of night are equal
All around the world.
And now, here in the northern hemisphere,
We go towards lighter times…
Even if we are enjoying the coldest ever winter this spring!
For more, balanced skies, please visit: Skywatch.
Tropical cold
I love the contrast between the cold of winter
And the humid tropical temperature of visiting the greenhouse of the Botanical Gardens.
First off, you are greeted by a vibrant
Splash of colour as you go in…
Wandering around the more temperate parts of the greenhouse
You can see signs on some of the trees:
Happy Winter! I’ll wake up again when it’s spring.
(The same could be said for some of those people who don’t like winter…)
As you walk further back, you enter different regions — much hotter ones.
My camera lens fogged up and as it cleared,
I could just make out some kind of orchid
Swimming towards me like a fish with petals.
I fell in love with the fronds
And patterns of some tropical ferns.
Before I left, I spied the delicate
Pink tutu of a flower.
“All the flowers of all the tomorrows are in the seeds of today.”
– Indian Proverb
For more stories, please visit: Our World Tuesday
The pink dog
You’ve heard of pink elephants, haven’t you?
Let me introduce you to Oscar,
The pink dog!
This was taken during a very pink sunrise early one morning
When my world was … well…
Tickled pink.
For more colourful pets, please visit: Camera Critters.
The many shades of cold
Since we’ve had fresh snow and sinking temperatures –
Down to minus 19 C this week –
I am inspired to show you the colours of cold.
Sometimes the cold is a golden fog,
Sometimes an intense orange framed by trees.
When the dawn is really cold,
The fingers of the sun paint the treetops
With frosted red.
My favourite winter colour
Has to be the diamond carpet of snow
Topped off by dazzling blue skies and sun –
It’s moments like these that lift my spirits.
For more winter/summer shots, please visit: Skywatch.
Spring Schpring!
People want to know if I’m tired of winter and longing for the spring.
The answer is no.
Late winter is a fabulous time of dazzling sun;
Of lacy art made out of ice and rainbows:
Of exhilarating days of trees made out of curtains of lace.
It’s still minus 14C when we wake up
Making it pleasant to walk on the iced over lake
To enjoy the sight of sunken boats and endless blue skies.
The secret to happiness is not to long for something you don’t have
But to enjoy fully what you do have.
For more bedazzled posts, please visit: Our World.
There’s snow business like snow business
Life doesn’t get much better than this:
Freezing mornings with glitter and diamonds;
A good long walk in the thick snow
And plenty of play and smiles.
No one snows this better than Oscar.
(OK – I know I’m on thin ice here, so snow more puns!)
For more happy animals, please visit: Camera Critters.
Dawn’s blush
That first blush of dawn
Is a marvel of pink and purple and cold.
The hidden birdhouse
Enjoys wonderful views from its perch.
As dawn’s blush fades
The crooked trees stand still -
And like me -
Enjoy the moment.
For more colours, please visit: Skywatch.
Frosted delight
Come and let’s take a walk through my enchanted world.
In the early morning, the freezing temperatures
Create art out of silver beeches
And the hoar-frosted trees frame
The pyramid of the swings at the end of our street.
Once out on the lake, I walk past
An enchanted red boat house
Hiding among frosted branches.
Zooming out with my lens, I see the boat house
Belongs to this summer cottage
Patiently waiting for warmer days.
As for me, I’m enjoying the last cold days
Of magical hoar frost and ice.
For more delights, please visit: Our World.
Under home skies
I might not live anywhere special –
My little house is in a row
Behind the houses you see on the left.
But we do have a great location
Right by the lake.
And when the sun shines through
Magical frosted trees,
The skies — and all underneath them — suddenly seem so very lovely.
I’m so used to living here
That it was only when I walked out onto the iced over lake
And looked back
That I realized how very lucky I really am.
Like most things in life, a new perspective
Can promote appreciation and joy.
For other perspectives, please visit: Skywatch.
Frosted freedom
For nearly three weeks,
My world has been wrapped
In shades of silver and grey.
I can never get enough of
One of my favourite winter scenes –
Silver-haired trees
And hoar frost on birdhouse and bridge.
The scene has both thrills and beauty
When a sudden snow shower
Sprinkles Oscar, my dog, with diamonds of snow.
For more frosted shots, please visit: Our World Tuesday.
Feeling the joy
Oscar may be over ten years old now,
But he never loses his joy for life –
And teaches me so much
About just living in the moment.
The only sign of spring around here
Is the spring in our steps
As we rush out to play in the snow.
For more Zen, please visit: Camera Critters.
Golden cold
Who knew that the cold
Could be so enticing –
And so warmingly
Golden?
For more golden skies, please visit: Skywatch.
Snow fairies
I love it when the snow fairies come to visit:
Turning pine trees into candles;
Decorating reeds
With garlands of ice –
And giving them hair-dos
Made out of spiky crystals.
The sunlight filters through
Icy fairy art to warm a long-forgotten leaf
And to remind us that we are intertwined –
Together, we can make
The mundane magic.
For more fairytale worlds, please visit: Our World.
Romancing the snow
The romance of winter -
And the deep snow -
Never fail to surprise and please
When wrapped up in
A sky of pink tissue
And a bow of dreamy fog.
For more dreamy shots, please visit: Skywatch.
Snowy walk
A few weeks ago, the sun was shining
And the diamonds danced on the snow.
A perfect day for a walk with my furry buddy, Oscar.
This boat has been adrift
On the snowy landscape all winter.
Our neighbours placed their impressive gingerbread church
Outside for us – and the birds – to enjoy.
Walking down twisty lanes
I spied a vibrant splash of colour in someone’s garden:
An old red pump.
On the way home, we crossed the railway lines
In time to see the train disappearing
In a magical golden mist.
I felt as if I were living out a dream
In this enchanted winter wonderland.
For more magical moments, please visit: Our World Tuesday.
The snowy desert
Silence falls as the snow does –
Turning the world into a peaceful place
And the lake into a snowy desert.
My dog, Oscar, is like a camel of this desert:
At one with the environment
And never too tired to enjoy the weather.
And just in case you forgot what the jetty really looks like when the snow melts,
here’s a picture from September
When we went balloon hunting!
For more amazing animals, please visit: Camera Critters.
Golden lace
About a month ago, the ice was finally thick enough
For the snowplough to come and make an ice skating track around the lake.
This was happy news as I was finally able to walk over the lake
To enjoy the beauty of the setting sun
As it cast its net of light
And turned branches into golden lace.
I met a woman out with her camera too –
And for a few minutes, we shared a bond
As we enjoyed the simple gift of the sinking sun.
For more golden skies, please visit: Skywatch.
A blue dream
A clear blue winter sky
Lends its colour to the ice beneath my feet.
My furry friend and I
Dance on sapphires
In the early morning light.
For more cool photos, please visit: Our World.
Chandeliers in the sky
Endless blue skies,
Beautiful snow,
A sunbathing dog –
And crystal chandeliers
Glittering in the sun.
My paradise!
For more sparkling skies, please visit: Skywatch.
And swing by Camera Critters too!
Who says what?