winter | My Everyday Photos

Category Archives: winter

Cold and Clear

January 14, 2013 – 3:46 pm
Posted in winter
Tagged cold, dog, ice, Methow photography, snow, trail, winter
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The last few days have been full of contrasts – brilliantly sunny skies paired with temperatures in the single digits, if not below zero. There has been no time for standing around enjoying the views. Walks are brisk; ski trips are purely aerobic. Little birds have swarmed the feeders while the Sharp-shinned Hawk keeps an eye out for the slow ones. The dark night skies are full of more stars than you can even imagine, however as cold as it is, it’s hard to do much star gazing.

One day a light wind filled in the trail with compacted snow.

There’s something about this line that I really like.

Hard to imagine how cold it is in this picture.

Those are the sledding trails from New Years!

I tried digi-scoping with my little camera on my scope. There’s a real knack to getting it right.

Long shadows on a sunny day

Pine needles stuck in the snow

Luna got a little hoar frost on her muzzle

Interesting ice form on the deck railing

Signs of the Season

December 17, 2012 – 4:42 pm
Posted in winter
Tagged cow, dog, Douglas County, maple seeds, Methow photography, snow, winter
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Despite the calendar, it really is winter now! Christmas Bird Counts started this past weekend and last night we received nearly a foot of new snow! My first CBC was the Bridgeport circle, about fifty miles south of here. That meant a very early start to meet the other volunteers and find out which area we needed to cover during the short daylight hours available this time of year. The weather started out gray and then went to misty and then to snowing hard by mid-afternoon. Despite that, we saw lots of fun birds and enjoyed the company and celebrated with a wonderful dinner shared with all of the counters. Many thanks to the organizers and compilers for a fun day. If you want to learn more about Christmas Bird Counts, see this link.

Some areas of Douglas County can seem pretty remote

This cow wanted some company

Foster Creek in Douglas County. I think the green plant is watercress.

The neighbor’s snow measure stick

We have a reliable snow plow service and needed it today

A little bit of color

Luna reluctantly broke trail

Too much fun in the snow!

It’s a hard job but someone’s got to do it!

Riser Lake

December 7, 2012 – 11:02 am
Posted in winter
Tagged apples, Methow photography, pears, pine tree, Riser Lake, winter
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Luna and I drove into the lower Rendezvous yesterday in hopes of maybe spotting a Snowy Owl. Again, no luck finding Bubo scandiacus but we did see a variety of raptors including a Golden Eagle, female Northern Harrier, two American Kestrels and a few Red-tailed Hawks. Near town there was a Northern Shrike hunting from a powerline.

After the owl-less drive, we stopped at Riser Lake to stretch our legs and see what else we could find. The lake is almost entirely frozen over and the little bit of open water held a pair of Mallards til they realized we were going to walk around the lake. They took off and then returned before we left. The only other birds were Northern Flickers, a couple of Black-capped Chickadees and a lone Bohemian Waxwing.

It was a good day for a walk with a little bit of crusty snow and no precipitation. Luna is still nursing a sore back so she doesn’t have the energy to run like she always has in the past. It seems harder for her to jump in the car and she sleeps more than usual.

Abandoned fruit trees indicate that people once attempted to make a living off the land in these arid hills.

The colorful fruit is welcomed by the wintering birds, especially the waxwings.

Thin ice

Frozen in time

What thing doesn’t belong in this photo?

Interesting low-growing plant on top of the hill overlooking the lake

And one lone pine tree too

Whose nest? It is about ten feet off the ground. Seems low for a Common Raven but what else would use a nest so large?

I found pears, but no partridges

After the Snow Fell

March 18, 2012 – 6:15 pm
Posted in Uncategorized, winter
Tagged Methow photography, snow, spring, winter
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Yesterday, St Patricks Day, another four inches of snow fell! Much as I love winter and snow, I am ready for Spring. The weather gurus say this wet weather pattern will continue into next month although with maybe more rain and less snow. And after that, more typical spring weather, whatever that means.

As always, the fresh new snow was beautiful and now it’s melted and there is mud in the cleared areas.

Mt Robinson appeared as the clouds began to part

Rose Hips

Lichens

Likin’ these lichens.

Today the driveway is mud again

Says Phoebe singing from the highest peak of the roof

Across the valley

Patterns

After the storm yesterday, this morning is glorious with sunshine and the promise of spring. I took my macro lens out for the morning walk and in retrospect I should have also taken a tripod and waterproof pants (for kneeling in snow and ice and puddles). There were patterns everywhere I looked. In the pine bark. Pine needles. In the ice and snow. In the frozen puddles. In the branches, leaves and unearthed roots. So much to see. After yesterday’s long struggle with SEO and finally coming to the conclusion that it’s a battle I am destined to lose, it was a relief to do what I really enjoy – make images of the patterns of everyday life – My Everyday Photos.

Lichen