I love this week’s photo challenge: Dialogue. I almost feel like I am back in art school again, but without the all nighters and cigarettes. Still have the drinking and music, so I guess half isn’t too bad for an old lady. Wink wink.
I decided to create my dialogue with 3 images, kind of a triptych, yet technically more of a triad, since they are a grouping not to work as a whole.
Looking out my window, almost ALL the snow is gone. 😦 Boo. I really love winter, the quiet solitude, the unusual beauty. We didn’t get any snow here in Ohio last year at all. This year we got a lot! It was really great, even though most people (especially the weathermen) complained about how “awful” winter was. Our weatherman always rates the day’s weather, and even if it is beautifully sunny, he gives winter days under a 4, on a scale of 1-10. What is up with that? Winter haters. It was a great winter! Full of snow and ice and cold and just the way a winter should be. I will miss you winter! I will take a day under freezing over a day over 80 any day of the week!!
Juxtaposition: One of my all time favorite words. I think I learned this word while studying art. A word that makes a visual oxymoron have meaning, purpose, delightful complexity. I like the contrast of many things. To find images that show juxtaposition is a bit daunting, at least with how I feel about the word. I feel like a juxtaposition of things is deliberate, whereas these images reveal things that happened on their own, only to be frozen in time by my camera. For example, my kitchen combines an aqua colored glass tile backsplash, clean and cool, like a pool, next to the natural mossy greens of my formica counter that almost resembles polished cement. I had a friend think this combination was absurd. But her kitchen is beige, tan, off white, and a big explosion of less than dull to me. So, to each his own, but I choose juxtaposition any day of the week! Viva la expression!
First off, I have missed my blog! Things happen, time used elsewhere, etc., etc. No excuses, just facts. Second, the photo challenge “Object” features a really cool phenomenon with snow that I have never seen before! Snow Rollers! The conditions need to be just right. Loose snow on top of a harder layer of snow and enough wind to get the ball rolling (haha)! At first when I saw them, I thought it was something the birds had done, or kids, but there were no footprints. Then, everyone said they were talking about them on the news! Well, I have NEVER seen them. And I even lived in Buffalo and Minnesota. So, I am pleased to show you the magnificent snow rollers. You can pick them up, they are light, but don’t fall apart. Too cool. I didn’t see them actually rolling. But you can see their paths. More blog catch-up tomorrow! I am tired after my big 2 hours of shoveling heavy, ice covered, snow today. I should sleep well.
Watching a beautiful sunset never gets old. No matter if it is dull, cloudless, or full of color, something is beautiful. OK, maybe a totally full on gray stratus blanket is a little boring. But that keeps the warmth in on a cold night. It has it’s good points, too. Last night was cold. Not so much because the temperature, but the wind was fierce. And I couldn’t even find a hiding spot, the wind coming at full force from the west right over the iced up water. Brr. Luckily, I had coverage. Our footsteps were covered over within minutes where the snow built up. (Notice the dog footprints pulling the human footprints.) Cold, yet beautiful. And fun! Interestingly, 2 other people were there taking photos. They were over by the parking lot, a short distance from their car, but it was nice to see some other sunset fans! Neither one had a hat or scarf, so a hike along the edge wouldn’t have been good anyway. Plus, I like the solitude. P.S. These photos were not touched up at all. No color tweak, no erase of the dust. Nada.
We got our first snow of the season 2 days ago, last Tuesday. So pretty, a bit cold, but it was neat to see the fall foliage with the snow. An unusual sight. Most of the snow is gone now, except my north facing front yard.
Not so long ago, we had a really cool weather day full of snow squalls. It was really fun and pretty. One minute beautiful skies then suddenly a barrage of low clouds and furious snowfall, dark and dense. Then, poof, gone were the clouds and snow & back was the sun! And it was really fun saying snow squall and making my kids laugh! Snow Squall! Not often do I see a sunset while snowflakes are falling. I am glad I got to see it.
I love this photo of fallen wood. Wood is beautiful in all it’s forms. There is life there even after the plant has died. I love how many colors and textures and shapes are on this, contrasting with the snow and ice. It is too pretty not to share. If you have a better title for this than I, please let me know. A good one is not coming to me. Maybe because I have the wood-chuck rhyme stuck in my head.
One of my favorite things to do is go for a drive. No, not a drive to get somewhere, although that can be fun too, singing and driving, tra la la, but I LOVE a drive to see whatever I can see. I have loved doing this as long as I can remember. I like seeing the country especially. There is so much to see, no matter the weather. Driving though a city is fine, neighborhoods too, but the country….ahhh! We had several gray days so when the sun popped out the other day I hopped in my car. It was so pretty and the colors of the sky combined with the white of the snow was just breathtaking. The sky reflecting in the water was just beautiful, too. I almost kept driving past the barn, but the varieties of the whites were too amazing to let go. This particular area was very quiet with not many cars. That makes it even better. I find people driving on my bumper stressful, that is never fun, but this day I was in nobody’s way. And these days, with GPS, I don’t get lost at all! 😉
ArtBea 