A Winter Album

Last Tuesday evening, the weather forecaster told us we could expect perhaps an inch of snow overnight. It only took a quick peek out the window Wednesday morning to see he’d been a bit off the mark. The world had been rendered in black and white.

Six inches of lovely, wet snow fell during the night and continued softly all the next day, settling delicately on every branch and twig. I kept going out to see what new delights I could discover.

No Picnic Today

Arcs

Bittersweet

Twigs

Tree at the River’s Edge

Weighted

Secret

Everyone photographs this covered footbridge from the other side — the street side. But this is my favorite view, hidden away behind my building and challenging to reach.

Sentinel Fir

The little island, Jubilee Park, is locked up and inaccessible during the winter, but I still enjoy looking into it from the sidewalk and taking photographs of the trees, water, and changing weather conditions.

Winter Reflection

Resident Mallards

Apparently they missed the memo about flying south for the winter.

Lamp Post

Upriver

Island’s End

The Street Side

Contrast

Bowing Low

Hiding Place

Framed

Zigzag

Home Again

Time to thaw out my fingers with a cup of tea, snuggle under a warm throw, and spend some time with a favorite book. Thanks for coming along to play in the snow with me!

 

Checking the Mail

It’s time for Walk and Click Wednesday. Though the day I took this walk didn’t look very promising, I was restless and wanted to go exploring a bit, so I decided to walk down to the mailbox, a little less than half a mile from the house. Well, I actually went quite a ways farther than that, but that’s as far as I’m taking you today.

Nah, It’s Not Gonna Rain

The weatherman said no rain for us that day. He didn’t mention the snow that would fall overnight.

Mother of All Pigs

The folks who lived here before us raised pigs. I love this sign on the front of the tack barn.

Red Lantern

I’ve lived here for nine months and didn’t realize the glass in this lantern was red until I went behind it to take this photo and saw the light shining through it. I really need to get out more.

The Dr. Seuss Tree

These three Arbor Vitae are planted in front of the barn. I think the one in the middle must have been abducted by aliens and subjected to nefarious experiments at some point in its life.

Pine Cones, Extra Large

These cones are huge compared to the “normal” ones on the property. I gathered a basketful after I got home.

What Is This?

Halfway down the driveway is this huge shrub (it’s taller than I am) but I don’t know what it is. It looks very old. The ground beneath it is so riddled with animal holes that I’m amazed it’s alive at all.

At the Heart

This is a closeup of the trunk and the mysterious depths below. It makes me think of those children’s stories where a timid boy or girl suddenly becomes very small and goes sliding down a tunnel beneath the earth. Of course, s/he will save the fairy kingdom and return home safely by dinnertime.

Spring Song

As I passed by this row of pines, I heard a tremendous chatter of bird voices. As I got closer, I saw that it was a flock of robins, maybe two dozen of them.

Robin!

This made me very happy. I’ve only seen one robin here before, when he stopped at the bird bath last fall. They don’t seem to live around here, so I’m guessing they are just passing through on their way to wherever they spend the summer. By the way, that pink stuff on the ground is pepper berries. California Pepper trees are a common landscaping tree in this area. They have beautiful ferny leaves and long hanging clusters of glossy pink berries.

Brake for Cowboys

This sign is on the gatepost next to our neighbor’s corral.

Mini Moos and Friends

Another neighbor trains working dogs. She has a small flock of sheep and three miniature cows, as well as a large flock of ducks, that the dogs get to practice their herding skills on.

News Gathering

And here we are at our goal. On this day I took the long way home, walking up the road and circling back home the roundabout way. We’ll do that another Wednesday, okay?

Linking with Lissa’s Walk and Click Wednesday. Come check it out! Better yet, take a walk, take some photos, and join in.