Thursday, February 07, 2008

The Colour of Winter

Winter colour

I went for a walk one noon hour this week at a nearby natural area. It was a grey, misty and damp day like many we have had this winter. I sloshed through ankle deep slush and was soaked to my knees by the time I returned to my vehicle. There was little evidence of wildlife around except for the occasional caw of a crow flying overhead. I did notice some colour other than white snow, brown branches and leaden skies. A man-made blue sign marked the path to natural red, green and yellow patches in the woods.

Winter white

The woods were beautiful compared to the roads yesterday. I will post this group of pictures for my Ontario relatives who are in Arizona right now. Look what you are missing! Icy roads, heavy snow, traffic woes and plenty of heavy scraping and digging. Becka took these pictures while we drove home after work yesterday. We have received a foot of snow in this storm! I cannot complain when I hear the news of the deaths and damage from the winter tornadoes in the USA south.

Time to start my early morning adventure called "The Drive to Work"! Have a good day.

15 comments:

  1. I love that 'quiet zone' notation on the trail sign. We all could use more of those. Your pictures make me wish I lived in Ontario, well not the snowy ones. I guess if I opened my eyes here I'd see more nature right in my backyard other than squirrels gnawing away at my plastic trash bins.

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  2. Anonymous3:46 pm GMT-5

    I heard about all the snow in Toronto from my daughter-in-law. Luckily she and my son don't have to drive in it. I see you're seeking color, too. :)

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  3. Ruth, I'm so grateful I don't need to go to work at 6:30am anymore- we had over 8" snow last night.

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  4. Yes, Arizona sure looks good
    compared to the north country. Aunt R. arrived yesterday after having her plane de-iced in Toronto. Although Arizona has been a bit cool it sure beats shoveling that white stuff. Uncle H. is reluctantly returning to ON tomorrow.

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  5. Oh Ruth, those highway pictures are AWFUL! I could feel my heart rate increase just looking at them. I'm glad you had the nature pictures first.

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  6. Even winter colors are lovely--with your artful eye photographing.

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  7. I hope all of this ice and snow ends for you soon, Ruth. You all have had enough. Believe in the Forsythia.

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  8. It breaks my little Aunty heart to leave you in this challenging TO mess. You must admit...I did share some AZ sun with you to-day!

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  9. FMDoc- I don't think you would like Ontario too much this week. I had to look hard for something positive to post. I miss walking outdoors regularly now because of the weather.

    April- We usually don't get this much snow in this area. This is an exceptional winter.

    Jean- You have had all kinds of weather this season too. Thankfully I still love my job and that makes the commute bearable.

    OmaLois- Mom was saying Texas is cool too (all relative though because you don't have to shovel cool) I think Uncle H. will be hightailing back to AZ asap!

    RuthieJ- I have done a lot of winter driving in my home care job and hardly ever get white-knuckled anymore. If you take your time, you usually arrive eventually.

    KGMom- Thanks. I think there is always beauty hidden somewhere.

    Mary- I think we need to share some cold with NC. You are simply far too warm for the season. All I would ask for now is some more sunshine, even if it stays cold for a few more weeks. I must say we need the moisture from the snow after a very dry summer and fall.

    Anon,(Aunty R!) I am sure you are crying crocodile tears for me. If I was in AZ, I would be laughing! And the sun did shine here all day today.

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  10. Ruth, what nice photos. Is that redtwig dogwood? I love it here in Tucson, but seeing crocus and redtwig does make me miss the north. My grandmother's lawn in Connecticut always had crocuses blooming in the spring. It'll be anotehr month or more before they show up there. I bought myself a valentine bush to plant in my barren yard. It has tubular red flowers that the hummingbirds like. Now if I can only decide where to plant it...

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  11. Kathie- Yes, the red branches are Dogwood. I hope to plant some in my yard this year. I wouldn't miss the north too much if I were in AZ!

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  12. Nice set of photos.-I don't even know how to group photos together like that but I guess that I should learn how to do it.

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  13. Larry- I use the free Big Huge Labs for my mosaics. It works with Flickr or you can register for free and upload from your computer. I am sure other Photoshop type software can do it too, but this is the fastest.
    http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/

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  14. Anonymous8:10 pm GMT-5

    Wonderful use of colors and isn't it amazing what we find in the woods?

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  15. Tom- Thanks. You have taught me a lot about observation.

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