Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Year Ends on a Gray Note



A mid-afternoon New Year's Eve walk through the preserve revealed about two inches of snow remaining from Saturday's brief but intense storm.  For the most part, the sky was leaden and fellow walkers few.

Split Indian-hemp seed pods (Apocynum cannabinum) amid Little Bluestem (Andropogon gerardii)
The creek in a somber mood
An outcrop of gneiss boulders
Along the Beech Springs Trail (route of One Trail Twelve Times).  I was the first person to leave footprints on the trail since the snow fell.
Happy New Year from the northern Mid-Atlantic Piedmont!

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Happy New Year to you! Love the creek and snow pics. Ah winter.

Gail said...

Happy New Year - as always, I so enjoyed walking w/you about your lovely nature-land. Great pictures - the calm and stillness are beautiful.
Love Gail
peace.....

Stevie said...

We also had a gray walk to start the New year. Took kids and dogs for a hike by the Eno river. This time of year we enjoy the emptiness as fall gets so crowded on the nice trails. So we'll take the solitude of the drizzly days :) Stevie @ ruffledfeathersandspilledmilk.com

Scott said...

Robin Andrea: Thank you for your kind words. Do you get snow where you live, or just rain? (If you don't get snow, you can have mine!)

Scott said...

Stevie: Thanks for your feedback. We receive the most visitors of the year during the autumn, but frankly I don't feel like the trails are too busy. Sure, we come across lots of people, but it's not like it's a trail superhighway. The only problem with my walk on New Year's Eve was that the snow was melting and the ground was soggy in places, whereas in other places the trampled snow had frozen into treacherous icy patches. But, I survived.

Scott said...

Gail, your comments are much appreciated, as always. We only got two inches of snow (not a foot, like you did) and it's almost all gone now (Jan. 2nd). Back to brown and gray...

packrat said...

That third image would make a great painting, Scott--perhaps a watercolor or an acrylic w/watercolor overtones.

Scott said...

My dad, who died in August, became a watercolorist after he retired. I could have sent him a copy of this image to see if it would have inspired him.