074/2011 hastening spring, originally uploaded by rosipaw.
Old trick of putting electric wires, prodded by logs of wood, on the ice to make it melt it faster. Our neighbour has been diligently working hard to clear our yard of treacherous ice. It works nicely during the day, only to freeze up again, with the below zero temperatures at night. We are getting impatient.
037/2011 icy beauty, originally uploaded by rosipaw.
Heather branches encapsulated in crystal clear ice during the night – nature’s art at its best! Such natural beauty is surprising, unpredictable, and only visible if we take the time to stop and stare. It’s often ephemeral as well, as this tiny ice scuplture on our balcony, which soon melted away with the afternoon sunshine. The daily alternation of water and ice are sure signs of approaching spring!
Here is another interesting ice formation:
011/2011 treacherous ice, originally uploaded by rosipaw.
At long last, a little bit of asphalt visible in our yard after many weeks! I don’t know which is worse, though – a thick blanket of white snow, or the slippery icerink we have outside the door at the moment! I had to adopt my careful ‘winter walk’ again today, which, according to my family, makes me walk like a funny old duck! Better safe than sorry, I think – and at my age, I’m not worried or embarrassed about looking ridiculous any more.
Water, a prerequisite for life, and beautiful in a myriad of forms, can also turn out to be fatal in extreme conditions. We have been following the tragic news about Australian floods, and here in Finland, one person died and several got injured when, with the warming temperature, huge blocks of icy snow started falling from roofs. How powerful the elements are!
355/365 in the bleak midwinter, originally uploaded by rosipaw.
… frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow…
Shortest day of the year, already getting darker at 1.30 pm on a grey, overcast day! The only consolation on this winter solstice is that from tomorrow on we’ll be moving towards summer and light again, slowly but surely. Yay!
312/365 scraping times are here again, originally uploaded by rosipaw.
As always, winter has hit us unexpectedly, too soon. “Not yet, please”, was on many lips this morning.
Yep, frosty car windows, and good old scraping times for the next 6 months. What fun to live up north near the Arctic Circle! But on a more positive note, aren’t the little ice flowers pretty?
031/365 on the edge, originally uploaded by rosipaw.
“Wherever there’s an edge, there’s energy. Make a photo where two things meet: land-water, land-sky, etc.”
This Sunday Challenge made me drive to the sea today. I was lucky to catch a glimpse of the sun, which only came out for about 5 minutes this afternoon! The temperature was up a bit, so the seashore was thawing, and people stayed safely on land. Some energetic winter swimmer ladies were our on the jetty – you can just about see them in the distance.
I started thinking about water and the sea, which are very important elements in my life. I prefer living near some water, whether it’s a river, a lake or the sea. Turku, my present home town, is perfect, since there is a river that flows through the town, and the seaside is only 5-10 minutes away, too.
Nevertheless, I miss the infinity of the sea sometimes. You see, off our coast is the unique archipelago with thousands of islands, so we never see the vast open sea here. Naturally, the archipelago has its own magical charm, especially in summer, but the mystery of the great beyond and the roaring sounds are missing.
I love the Channel coast in Eastbourne, my husband’s home town in England. I could sit for hours there on the pebbly beach, and just listen to the sound of the waves and let my mind be carried away. It’s quite hypnotic! I always start imagining what’s on the other side of the sea. In England, on very clear days, you can just about see the coast of France in the horizon. The Pacific holds cherished memories for me – looking out in Santa Monica, California and picturing distant, exotic, totally unknown Japan back in 1997. And then being lucky enough to stand on the Japanese shore in Hokkaido, in 2004, looking out towards America. I must have been an explorer or a pirate in my previous life!
My longing for the sea has also made me particularly enjoy seeing @colemama’s pictures from the Gulf coast in Florida. They really inspire all my senses, and I can almost hear the wonderful sounds of the sea just by looking at them. Just look at this one from today, for example!
We are swamped by a thick cloud that makes every day dull and grey. Everybody seems to be a little low and tired. I didn’t have any energy tonight and was lazily snuggling under a blanket on the settee, ready to waste the evening channel hopping to watch anything on TV. That’s when my daughter dragged me up and out for a walk to our local supermarket. I’m so glad she did, since it gave me my photo for today.
These days any major shift in weather conditions starts speculations about the effects of global warming. This winter has been colder and the snow cover thicker than for ages here in southern Finland. Although this is nothing unusual – I have experienced many similar winters during my life – the speculations run wild.
Walking home in the dark tonight, this movie poster, aptly decorated with snow and icicles, made think about all this. I shouldn’t joke about the serious global threat, but I couldn’t help seeing the funny connection here. Have we entered the new Ice Age already?
Not only did I get this picture, but I felt much better and more alive after our walk, too.
365 photos a year 