January 2010 Winter Scenery

Winter, for many people, in Indiana feels like cold gray lifelessness. Sort of like the image of the photo below taken out of my office window.

Karen and I, trying to stay active, have been doing some winter walks in the late afternoons. Here are some of the scenes that we have encountered out on the country roads east of our place. With the snow cover low light and long shadows there are some rather dramatic views.

The texture of tree bark and the pattern of tree branches are hardly noticed in the warmer months when leaves cover most of the trees

An old red barn that would hardly be noticed when the trees are in leaf becomes an accent point in the middle of the small grove of trees below.

Farmsteads and distant woods and fence rows really stand out in contrast when caught between the subtle colors of snow covered fields and blue sky.

A simple stream becomes a mirror.

A hill, that has cattle stomping it into a muddy mound most of the year, when covered with snow provides a spectacular image, as does a single tree growing up in a fence.

Long blue shadows seem to almost reflect the sky and clouds.

An old weathered fence post, covered in ice, becomes the focal point of this scene.

The distant field beyond the trees would not even be noticed like it is in the winter.

I like winter! There are plenty of activities that I do and have always done in the winter that make this a unique time. Hunting, fishing, skating, sledding, trudging through snow, feeling the sting of really cold temperatures on you face and hands, all stir the senses and emotions.

I spent a couple of hours out ice fishing last Saturday afternoon. It was about 15 degrees, there was a light wind was from the north, so I sat on my ice fishing sled facing south. The sun shone on my face and chest providing some warmth through by dark clothes. I was the only one out on the lake that day. It was quiet, the fish weren’t bothering me at all. I began to think back to the days, years ago, that I had spent in this same place fishing with my dad, Karen’s dad and some of their friends who gathered to share in joy of fishing through the ice.

Pleasant memories those.

Perhaps one day my son or grandsons will have similar memories.