The Storm

Following the progress of today's storm from my office window. There is about an hour between each shot.

Taken using the black & white setting on my camera.

Cold

I realize this may make you all roll your eyes, but I love the squeeking sound that snow makes when it's really cold. It's cold here, but not as cold as a whole lot of other places. I spoke to a colleague in Minneapolis this morning - it was -20 there which makes the 8 degrees when we left the house a veritable heat wave. Keep warm!

(This picture was taken during one of the December storms.)

Weston Ski Track Snowshoe

Our snow pack is pretty small, about 2 inches or so. Despite this I pulled out the snowshoes yesterday and headed to the Weston Ski Track (aka the Leo J. Martin Memorial Golf Course). Because the snow pack is so small the snowshoes were not really critical, although they did help on the icy spots. They do make snow at the Ski Track, but it is on a limited section and that was being used for a children's race. So I headed to the other side of the Charles River which is the 16th, 17th and 18th holes of the course.

The day started out chilly (34 degrees) and grey. Over the course of the hour and a half that I spent walking the sun came out with a force. When I got back to the car the temperature was 47.

For the most part I had the trail to myself. I was joined briefly by a family (2 adults and a pre-teen) and their 2 dogs. One of the dogs in particular was hiving a great time frolicking in the snow. Toward the end of the walk another couple passed by with their dogs. Other than that it was just me, the snow, the ice and the river.

There weren't many critters around but I did see some small birds, including a few red-winged blackbirds, a couple of camera shy swans, and a few geese, oh and several dogs (see above).

This trek was less about the snowshoeing and more about getting outside with my camera. It was a slow walk with lots of stops to shoot pictures. I took about 100 shots (gotta love digital photography). Below is a sample. You can see more here.

Looking through the railing of the bridge over the Charles.

Charles River

Frozen Leaves and Grass
This section of the golf course sits very close to the water level of the river.
Clearly it had flooded during some of the rain we've had recently.

I was fascinated by the patterns in this tree.

All in all it was a lot of fun, although I really would like more snow. So, tell the snow gods to quit dumping on Maria, who is sick of snow, and give us some. Well not Tuesday or next Sunday so we don't have to deal with airport delays.

Unique's Photo Challenge: White

Snow

See more white photos here.

See It Sunday: Snow

We have a lot of snow, although they're predicting rain for tomorrow :-( .
I looked out the window yesterday and noticed the azalea bushes holding little snowballs.

See more See It Sunday here.

Shutterday: Bokeh

Oak leaf caught in our dogwood tree.
An explanation of bokeh is here.

See more Shutterday here.

Thursday Challenge: Weather

Hot, sticky weather is making me wish for snow.

Larger View: here
More Thursday Challenge: here

Icy Tree

We've had a mostly snow free winter, at least until today - yucky snow /sleet /rain /ice storm. A couple of weeks ago we got about 1/2 inch and the dogwood in our front yard ended up coated with ice. I love the way trees look when iced over, although I know that it's really bad for the trees.