Ice Storm: the Good, the Bad, and the Pretty

One good thing about ice storms is that this one storm got me out of two night meetings this week, and so I can do blog posts this evening instead of discussing regulations :) The bad part is that traveling by car becomes a pain at best, and dangerous at worst. The pretty part is when the ice transforms the smallest things into works of art ...


These pine needles were right outside my front door, and were absolutely encased. In fact, the weight of the ice pulled several large branches down. I did not know the pattern in the ice was there until I pulled the picture up on my computer! And of course, red berries in ice are a classic. I found these on the walk in to work this morning.

Both of these shots were taken from underneath my giant umbrella, because the rain just didn't quit, even though the temperatures thankfully rose above freezing.

Fee Fi Fo Fum ...

If you are ever in my living room, beware of the giant cat!

It's a Set Up!

I've been meaning to share this, ever since Salty posted me taking this shot with Chad watching on. You can see the set up here.

It's obviously not a naturally occurring situation, but I am not above staging if I think the result might be interesting :)

Green & Gold (Leaf Filters)

Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.

-Robert Frost

A church near my apartment has this on its message board: "If you are reluctant to change, think of the beauty of autumn." I believe there is truth and comfort in this statement. When we were in New England, we drove by the church where the famous poet Robert Frost is buried. He lived in New Hampshire and Vermont for many years, and I think his words capture the pairing of autumn and change so gracefully.

If you are interested in the story behind the "leaf filters," my fellow filterer Chad has recounted the adventure far better than I could here. My Uncle has documented the technique (me manhandling a leaf) in his latest post.

Just a Little Guy

Not your normal warm & fuzzy critter, but he held still long enough to get a few good macro pictures, so he made the blog :) The little guy was hanging out on the road by my parent's driveway. He was probably about the size of a dime. Mom & I were excited by some Myrtle warblers in the neighbor's poplar trees and could've easily stomped the spider underfoot. I'm glad we didn't! I was surprised, because he was "facing off" with the camera lens, instead of turning tail and trying to hide.