Forest Abstracts

The tail end of winter still holds some beauty, I just had to look for it.  These first two are details of a beaver pond in the woods that appeared to be new.  These bushes were still alive, albeit dormant for the season.  I loved the patterns the ice made while it was thawing.  All those bubbles.   The color is striking, too, like beer or champagne.  Getting them was a bit of an adventure.  I stood on what I thought was the bank since it was covered with snow, but it wasn’t.  Turns out there was ice under there, too.   Wet socks are not fun, but I laughed my head off, startling a nearby hairy woodpecker.  Luckily it wasn’t that cold so I kept on.  I bet the beavers were laughing, too.

It was a day for staring into icy puddles, too.  This leaf looks as if it’s trying to free itself and I love how different the colors are from the pond pictures.  At first I thought that purple hue was just a goof with the white balance, but it isn’t.  I even reduced the magenta in the image and the blues, it persists.  Just one of the wonders of the forest.

There aren’t too many signs of spring yet, but the birches had a good year.  So many of them are splitting their britches.

Also saw some porcupine tracks in the snow, so I hope spring isn’t far behind.

I am planning to head out on Saturday with some friends (the same guys I shot the Flume Gorge with last month, plus one more) and hopefully we get cooperative weather.  We’re going to try to find abandoned buildings and do a sunset in the White Mountains.  It’s gonna be a long day, but I hope we find some magic.