Thursday, December 27, 2012

Winter's arrival

As we left home late last week to celebrate Christmas with family that lived some distance away, we also left behind a worsening winter storm - exactly on time for the official start to winter. Fortunately, along the way the weather turned from wet snow to rain and then even that ceased - perfect winter travel weather. We returned last night in the darkness, but even so we could see that winter had settled in.

This morning the pale sun did its best to brighten the day, and I had to go out - after acclimatizing the camera and lenses (and myself) to the -15C/5F temperature - to record the beautiful winter landscape. Everything was frozen under a thick blanket of snow.

And as I'm writing this, the wind is swirling around the house ushering in the next thick layer.

The winter sun ...






Quietly awaiting the warmth of spring ...

Sasha in her element ...







28 comments:

ju-north said...

Beautiful images! No snow here - just rain, with floods in many parts of the country. Enjoy the snow!

Katherine said...

Wow Rick these photos are amazing. I hope you and your family had a lovely Christmas, which of course I'm sure you did. I would love to experience a white Christmas sometime.

Unknown said...

How beautiful Rick. We got snow last night but the rain is melting it already. Great picture with the dog too. He's a beauty!

biebkriebels said...

What a lot of snow you have! Beautiful pictures. We only have rain with high temperatures of 10C.

Lúcia said...

The first shot is beautiful, I have no idea what means -15°C, I think I've never experienced less than 4°C.
It's beautiful to see everything covered in white. :)

Fábio Martins said...

Beautiful set! I love the dog. So cute with many hair :)

Ruth Hiebert said...

WOW Rick,you have outdone yourself with these pictures. They are so gorgeous.I love that light.

PETRO50 said...

Very nice photo. Snow and sun against. Great connections. For you it is pretty cold. Here's this year's rains and warm. There will be no photos with snow.
Into the new year I wish you good health and happiness. Peter.

Cheri said...

Truly beautiful pictures.

Unknown said...

Nice pictures of snow. I like the picture of your dog, give the viewer a good idea of the freezy temperatures ;-)

No snow here, anymore. It went crazy a couple of weeks ago. But now, the temps are fluctuating between 22 °C and 9 °C, in December :-D

Greetz,



Joseph

Marty said...

sasha is always beautiful ! elle supporte the winter ! so much neige !
incroyable ! it's très très beautiful, very very blanc and froid!
le soleil on the snow, the shadows sur le blanc ! sooooo beautiful !
I really love these images Rick !
un vrai temps de Noël !
bisous de France où il pleut too much!

Pamela Gordon said...

Such beautiful photos Rick. I love the first one. We are getting the blizzard here tonight. It's really wild out there.

Michelle said...

Beautiful shots of the snow. The first is my favorite!

Amelia said...

Hi Rick, thanks for sharing the winter pictures. Look so beautiful, I especially love the 1st & 3rd picture. The garden chair. I can imagine sitting on the iced chair... woooo sure cool and freezing. LOL

Happy holiday and have a great week ahead,regards.

Stephanie said...

Gorgeous shots! Love the dog!

Karen @ Pieces of Contentment said...

Such a beautiful landscape you have to share with us. The sun makes it look like a wonderland. Sasha has the right gear to enjoy the climate! So cold, like a deep freeze for food.

Just Be Real said...

Rick those are awesome pictures you captured! Makes it even colder looking. But lovely. Blessings.

Lisa Gordon said...

What beautiful photographs these are Rick, and Sasha does indeed look very content!

Wishing you a wonderful weekend.

Laura Delegal - Leroy Photography said...

12", wow! Love the whiteness. My favorite is the second with the sun rays. Perfection. Have a happy new year, Rick!

Bob Bushell said...

Snow, snow, snow, it is glorious. Especially the dog, white and so lovely. Happy New Year.

Buttons Thoughts said...

Beautiful photos. B

Valentina Dragan said...

I wish you that the coming year will bring you peace, good health, good cheer and prosperity. Happy New Year! Valentina D.

imac said...

Gee Rick, if we ever get that much, the whole Country would come to a stand still.

Wonderful.

Happy New Year.

Leslie said...

That second shot is wonderful. I love the way the sun is just peeking under that arch (and the lovely details of weathered wood and vines.)

As for Sasha, I think she's actually a polar bear!

Wishing you and your family a very happy new year!

S. Etole said...

So much winter beauty that you've shared. We have very little snow here. Hope your New Year is filled with God's blessings.

darlin said...

Rick you've taken winter and made it into something beautiful! I love your shots, your attitude shines through each photo you've posted. Sasha is such an adorable dog, she sure makes for a beautiful photo! I can see calmness and contentment in all of the shots I've ever saw of her, does she spend most of her time with you? They say out animals take on our personality, I sure seems this way with Sasha and you. Makes me wonder though, Abbie goes stir crazy for about 5 minutes whenever we get company, no matter who walks through the door she's so happy to see them. Does she get that from me? ;-)

Have a fantastic week; I'm looking forward to some sunshine and beach photos!

Here I Am Carrie said...

Oh Rick even though I am constantly surrounded by snow, your photos just brought a smile to my heart. The scenes you captured were pure joy to see. I had been having problems with my camera lens getting stuff and after getting new batteries it still happened. So finally googled and found a blog on step to get your lens unstuck. So I proceeded with the steps then I got to finally taking canned air and blowing around the lens. Well that fixed my lens, but also seem to blow some dirt onto the inside of my lens. I was so happy then so sad. At least I still have my really old camera to use till I get my new. I can still take photos a crop out the little part on the edge that looks like a little fussle.

Manu World said...

seems cold!!
:)
lovely photos, as usual.