When this sky greeted us in the morning I should have known something was up. But checking the advanced forecast, the call was for warming and rain, the usual January thaw, which Boom and I dislike. So we thought we'd better get moving, and reap while the sun shone.
No this is not the moon, it's the sun having a hard time breaking through the clouds. So much for that" farmy reap" stuff.
In fact it looked like the sun was going to lose the struggle, and the day would be overcast.
Yet to the west, the sky was brightening a bit. They should have a white balance called " when you and the weather man are uncertain".
And the western sky continued to brighten as the photo opposite shows.
The River was still unconvinced of any sun and continued to show black against the ice rim.
The sun showed with a little bit of yellow, allowing me to catch the River in a golden mood. The River had been steaming all morning, and this photo shows the mist rising.
That heavy mist means frost, and it turns the forest to a glimmering jewel.
These shots show the frost on the trees along the River.
The shot below shows the frost along the ridge, as well as along the River bank.
You can also see the day lightening, but still the weather is pretty undecided. The next series of shots don't need a commentary, but the frost adds another dimension to the already snow covered forest. The ending of the story was that this exceptional hike was followed by rain, and freezing rain, and Boom and I are home bound as everything is now icy. A post to SWF @
http://skyley.blogspot.com/ Camera Critters @
http://http://camera-critters.blogspot.com/ and Scenic Sunday @
http://scenicsunday.blogspot.com/
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Seeds |
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Seed Pods Coated with frost. |
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A Frost Coated Bush. |
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Frost Coated Branch. |
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Frost and Snow Coated Nest Of Some Sort. |
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Male Pine Grosbeak. |
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Male Pine Grosbeak in Frosty Branches. |
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Close Up Male Pine Grosbeak, and Female Evening Grosbeak. |
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Male Evening Grosbeak and Male Pine Grosbeak in Background. |
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Female Redpoll. |
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Male Redpoll |
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Black-capped Chickadee |
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Black-capped Chickadee In the Cat Tails. |
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Mourning Dove. |
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Blue Jay |
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Blue Jay |
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Mourning Dove. |
Wonderful post, I enjoyed the sky, birds and the cool looking seedpods covered in frost. Great photos.
ReplyDeletewonderful photos as usual. I don't mind the snow...freezing rain is another issue altogether. Hope you get more sun soon.
ReplyDeletelove the seed pods and frosts. :)
ReplyDeleteHey Gary,
ReplyDeleteWhat a fantastic story with brilliant photo's. Last weekend it was garden birdscounting day overhere. I saw a lot of birds, wanted to make photo's but the weather was against me. Never mind there will be better days.
Have a lovely week and thanks for sharing all this beauty nature brings us.
Marijke
Beautiful snowy scenery.
ReplyDeleteThe birds look so delicate in that harsh weather. Lovely images.
ReplyDeleteLooks cold, but beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI really like the pictures of the moon and the river.
ReplyDeleteGreetings,
Filip
The males have it all...from the Male Pine Grosbeaks to the male Redpoles, you have the handsome ones! I really enjoy seeing seed pods in the snow...what will their beginnings bring forth...~
ReplyDeleteA great group of Snow Birds Gary! Love those Grosbeaks!
ReplyDeleteI love the Pine Grosbeak it's not a bird I have heard of before.
ReplyDeleteGreat shots as always,
Gill
Love the frost in the trees and always swooning over your birds!
ReplyDeleteI love this series Gary and I am so glad you (and Boomer) got up early enough to get out there before it froze up. I am green with envy as always over your birds and your frost pix are almost enough to make me long for some real winter (almost ;>) Thanks so much for sharing.
ReplyDeleteMan, that looks cold. It must be hard to get out of bed that early when it's that cold. Love the frost pictures.
ReplyDeleteOh wow - love all these snowy shots. The first three of the sun are just magical!
ReplyDeleteWonderful .....my compliments Gary.
ReplyDeleteGreetings, Joop
The moon shots are gorgeous. Happy sky watching.
ReplyDeleteSkywatch
Beautiful moody photos of the sun struggling to make some kind of presence known to the earth! And the dark waters are quite intimidating! But the photos of the birds colour the snowy world wonderfully!
ReplyDeleteIt looks like a greay day like we had here for ages it seems. I love your bird shots. All beautiful.
ReplyDeleteGreat shots Gary! Cold like here :)
ReplyDeleteWonderful early morning shots along with such lovely birds.
ReplyDeleteIt does look snowy and cold, but beautiful!! Love your birds as always and particularly the Grosbeak and the Mourning Dove! Terrific captures as always, Gary! Hope you and Boom have a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteSylvia
Excellent shots Gary, we have had our first flutter of snow here in thew UK today. about 1/2 hours worth, and already people are going a little crazy about it.
ReplyDeleteI love the lunar shots they are so inspirational
Super photos, Gary. I always love your birds.
ReplyDeleteK
Beautiful pictures, - I love them!
ReplyDeleteI wish you a Happy Friday!
I thought it was the moon. :)
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photos, love them!
ReplyDeleteGreetings from Mette
Beautiful snowy scenery, I love the moon among the clouds.
ReplyDeleteOh gracious goodness your photos are beyond beautiful!! It's my wish someday I could roam around in winter time and take good photo like these. By the way how you take care of your camera? For sure it's too cold when you are out there. That is my concern when I go out taking photos on a snowy weather ^_^ Thanks for the visit I do appreciate it.
ReplyDeleteSWF
I love the way the sun looks like a silvery moon in these shots. You get such good ones of the wildlife in your part of the world. It is fun to see how birds plump themselves out in the cold for warmth. They look double and sometimes triple their size.
ReplyDeleteFantastic captures Gary. The sun is awesome!
ReplyDeleteVery pretty but oh so cold! Love the little birds!
ReplyDeleteVery good and nice photos.
ReplyDeleteRegards and best wishes
Your pics of the son trying to break through are stunning!
ReplyDeleteSo beautiful with frost on the trees!
ReplyDeletebeautiful images Gary!
ReplyDeleteThe frost covered bushes and pine cones are superb!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photos of the frost coating everything. As always - your bird photos are great!
ReplyDeleteh boy thats a lot of snow. you have tons of amazing pictures here. i enjoyed watching them all
ReplyDeleteLove the sun photos--just beautiful. And, the birds are a delight to see. Mickie :)
ReplyDeleteYou still managed to capture some very beautiful photos! What a joy to view them!
ReplyDeleteWonderful images Gary and the images of the sun are incredible.. your birds are as always so lovely to view.
ReplyDeleteI like how you are finding bits of colour here and there amongst all the white and grey!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful birds.
ReplyDeleteMy CC pic is up too.
What a great post - the pictures of the sun are really different. Like the suggestion for the white balance setting.
ReplyDeleteStewart M - Australia