Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Snow at First Light


View of my back yard at first light on Tuesday
The northern Piedmont got about two inches of snow on Sunday afternoon, much of which melted when the precipitation turned to rain on Sunday night.  Monday was cold, overcast, and dreary, but precipitation-free.  At rush hour on Tuesday morning, snow began again in earnest, finishing up around 3 p.m. after leaving three more inches. 
We intentionally left this dead pine standing in our front yard to attract woodpeckers; visitors call it the "totem tree."
Catching the first rays

Pink and blue
The second-oldest part of the house in which we live; the oldest part was built in 1791.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's amazing to me every time how beautiful the snow is and how much it softens and lightens the landscape. I hope someday soon to live where it doesn't snow, but I will always appreciate this beauty.

Love the totem tree.

packrat said...

That first photo is outstanding, Scott. You should have that made into a large print and frame it to hang on a wall. (Perhaps a Giclée print.) Nice job!

Carolyn H said...

Scott: This was a nice little snow. For this time in December, it was actually a lot of snow!

Gail said...

Hi and Merry Christmas. Great pictures of the season, nature and a view of part of your historic home.
Love Gail
peace.....

Mark P said...

That first picture looks pretty, but cold. We haven't had any frozen precipitation this year other than a few flakes one day. We don't often get much. Maybe we'll get a few inches this winter.

Scott said...

Robin Andrea: Snow makes getting around in an urban environment so much trouble that I can't see it as anything but a hassle any more. I'm going to have to re-learn to see it for its beauty once I retire and don't have to deal with it on an immediate, day-to-day basis.

Scott said...

Packrat: Thanks for your strong endorsement of my first image. However, I'm not printing or framing any more images--just more stuff I'll have to move when I retire.

Scott said...

Carolyn: I had to go to a memorial service in the middle of the "nice little snow," so I didn't appreciate it very much. The church's lot was full, so I had to park in the street where the slush was about four inches deep. Yuck!

Scott said...

Gail: Thanks for your seasonal greetings--and back at you, too. Merry Christmas! The Colonial-era house in which we live is very photogenic in the winter.

Scott said...

Mark: I lived in central Florida for seven years and didn't miss the snow one bit. We used to laugh when we'd see cities in the Northeast snarled by snowstorms while we went running and bicycling in shorts. (Of course, it WAS miserable all summer, so there was a tradeoff.)

Though the first image admittedly does look really cold, it actually wasn't all that cold the morning I made the images. I was using the camera without gloves to get most of the images.