Winter Settles In

J. called me to see the delicate frost formations under the side entry roof.  I stood shivering on the pavers attempting to capture the intracacy of the hanging crystals. None of my photos do them justice.

The furnace exhaust puffs out a few feet to the left of the entry and doubtless causes the cold air to form these dainty hanging ornaments.

Each of these crystal pendants is hung by a thin strand of frost and they turn slowly and constantly in the movement of cold air.

Ice feathers the metal of the entry lamp.

Pebbles waits impatiently for her morning feed.  She is well aware that we are up and about, but not rushing out to fill her hay bin!

These four paperwhite bulbs are a gift from a co-worker.  They were packaged as a "kit" with the plastic pot and a disk of compressed peaty fiber. I dropped the disk into the pot and soaked it with warm water. Several hours later it had expanded and could be fluffed up and the bulbs tucked in place.  These are thriving on the windowsill over the kitchen sink.

The paperwhites planted in November now have three stalks in bloom and their scent is noticeable in the room.

Again I have fiddled with various camera settings but not achieving the kind of close-up I wanted.

At 10 A.M. this is all we saw of the sun, a pale flattened round of light behind the frosted branches of a cottonwood. Half an hour later it has cleared the tree tops and a wash of faintest gold has crept in the south-facing windows.

J. went out to the entry porch with the older camera which, with his greater height and reach, captured better images of the crystal creations.  This was taken at close range and makes the pendant appear huge.

The largest of these ice feathers is about three inches in length.  Others are tiny bobbles ranging from half an inch upwards. Try and imagine them moving delicately in the cold air which is stirred by intermittant puffs from the furnace exhaust.