Snow Crystals

When I was little, I dreamed of living in a cabin I had seen in a photo, surrounded by snow, fireplace smoke coming out of the chimney, and a peaceful landscape all around. In south Louisiana, snow was a rare event.

While I am not living in that cabin, I do get to see snow here in Nebraska. And when the weather conditions are just right, as they were this morning, the snow crystals are stunning.

The first photo is simply sunlight reflecting off the snow. Note the symmetry! I could not see this on the screen as I took the photo. All I could see was a glint. What a beautiful surprise!

sunlight reflecting on snow

The next photo shows a sectored plate. You can see most of it in the bottom center of the photo. The snow crystal's branches are fairly thick and pointed. This was revealed as I pushed back some snow that had accumulated on a wooden deck.

Here, a real beauty: a stellar dendrite. Note the side branches on each arm of the snow crystal.

Yet another lovely snow crystal. This one was melting as I took the picture.

All of these snow crystals form at a fairly narrow range of atmospheric conditions. Not every snowfall in Nebraska produces these. I am so happy I was able to grab a camera, kneel down in some snow, and share this beauty with you.

If you keep your eyes and heart open, the world is rich with beauty.

New Beginnings

2017 has begun! I have been away from the blog for a while, making lots of changes. I hope that you will enjoy them. First of all, as I hinted last fall, I am going to use this blog to focus on nature and art again. This is where I am happiest: the intersection of my professional life, and my heart.

I painted my studio the grey color I mentioned. Everything is off the walls, and I am enjoying the peaceful color. The next stage is to decide whether to add curtains that are patterned, or bamboo blinds. Pictures to follow.

Thank you for reading, and sticking around through the break. I hope you will enjoy the blog's new look!

Surprise Lilies

A previous owner of our home planted these beautiful Surprise Lilies. At least, I've always called them Surprise Lilies. I've also seen them called Resurrection Lilies, and Magic Lilies. Gardeners have always had regionally popular names for some flowers. This is why scientific names, in this case, Lycoris squamigera, are important. In any case, the foliage is long gone on these plants. For weeks now, I've had a withered brown mess of dead leaves. But I knew what was coming.

They smell lovely, and the colors are stunning! This morning, it was 69 degrees, so I was out taking pictures and enjoying the cool weather.

Close up...

These lovely flowers hail from Japan. They are in the amaryllis family, one of my long-time favorites.

Aren't they beautiful? And the young buds have a deeper color. The artist in me is mulling over what colors of paint would mix to produce this deep rosy-lavender. Quinacridone rose? Ultramarine violet? Permanent mauve?

More young flowers...

The only creature that didn't seem to appreciate the cooler temperatures was this bee on some goldenrod in the garden bed. It was moving very slowly.

I'm going to be doing some work on this blog over the next few weeks. I'm planning to highlight more plants and flowers, as I transition back to nature writing. I'll still be visiting art topics, and that will continue to have a botany and nature focus, as always. Thank you for visiting!