Cooling her jets after fetch in Bend snow
Snow
Under the Snow Exhibition
When I entered the Under the Snow exhibition at the High Desert Museum on a busy weekend, I thought of one word: engaging. I watched young children dash from one part of the gallery to another, voicing their excitement the whole way. Adults paused and pointed out interesting facts and features. The interactivity of the displays drew everyone in. This exhibition, created by High Desert Museum staff members, displays information in English and Spanish.
Under the Snow presents information on twenty species of wildlife, plants, and fungi on large and small screens. They live in the area beneath the snow called the subnivium. The snow provides insulation, maintaining a steady temperature even when it’s below freezing outside.
Continue readingFrosty around the edges: Macro Monday
These Oregon grape leaves were frosty around the edges. This picture, taken in November, shows the leaves getting their fall color.
A winter wonderland: Thursday Tree Love
There’s a winter wonderland in my yard near Bend, Oregon. My favorite western juniper is dressed up for the season with a few inches of snow.
Snowfall softens edges while sharpening the contrast. It can also mute colors, as it did in this photo. The structure shines through, even on a cloudy day.
April showers?: Wordless Wednesday
Lichens with frosting: Wordless Wednesday
Snow-capped mountain ash: Thursday Tree Love
Walking with Winter in B & W: LAPC
Walking with Winter along a River of Falls
Where snow softens hard edges of steel

And creates ephemeral works of whimsey

Where snow and ice form furrowed bridges
Continue readingMy badger painting in the snow: Wordless Wednesday
The softness of snow: MM, SS, & Six Sentence Story
Peering through a branch-lined portal at the softness of snow.

Where frosty starbursts emerge from the desert soil.

And wise elders rejoice, reaching to the sky with arms contorted by the years. Ancient trees collect the bountiful flakes falling from the sky to share.

They tuck the next generation under downy crystalline blankets. When spring awakens them, they will change into new beings who will continue the cycle and share the softness of snow.

Monochrome Monday (MM)
Canada goose sculpture at dawn: Sculpture Saturday
The sun was rising and it was snowing lightly when I walked by this Canada goose sculpture in Bend, Oregon.
Here’s what it looks like with a bit more snow.
This life-size bronze sculpture is by artist Peter Helzer. “River Geese” is part of the Art in Public Places initiative in Bend.
There are plenty of real life Canada geese in this neighborhood to keep the artwork company. The Deschutes River, and the Bend Whitewater Park, is directly behind this sculpture.
First dusting of snow: Monochrome Monday

The first dusting of snow covered this old shed near Redmond, Oregon. Winter is on its way to the High Desert!
Monochrome Monday
Resplendent with crystals of snow: LAPC
Winds shift and winter blows
In from the farthest reaches of
North, carried on cold fronts
Turning landscapes into
Enchanted scenes
Resplendent with crystals of snow
Prickly pear in the snow: SMM
Sunshine’s Macro Monday (SMM)
Spruce Cones in Snow: SMM

We got some much needed snow in the last few days of our mild winter. This close-up of spruce cones in snow was taken in my yard in Bend, Oregon.
Sunshine’s Macro Monday (SMM)
Ordinary to extraordinary: Monochrome Monday
Even a little bit of snow turns the ordinary into the extraordinary. Here are some patterns in the snow I noticed on my morning walks.




Monochrome Monday
Snow in the Sage: Monochrome Monday

Monochrome Monday
Covered in coldness poem: LAPC
Covered in coldness
Obscured from view
Layered in lightness
Dazzling and new
Lens-Artists Photo Challenge (LAPC) – Cold
Where could my dog be?: Monochrome Monday

Oh where, oh where could my little dog be?
Monochrome Monday
A 24″ snowy cake: Monochrome Monday

Care to join me for a piece of snowy cake?
Monochrome Monday
A snowy day at home: Wordless Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday
Patterns in the Snow: Wordless Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday
Nature’s Icing on Christmas
Just enough of Nature’s icing on our wreath to brighten up the holidays.

“He who marvels at the beauty of the world in summer will find equal cause for wonder and admiration in winter.”
John Burroughs
Reaching for the Sky: Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday
A dusting of snow: Wordless Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday
Sun kissed bunchgrass: Silent Sunday
Silent Sunday
Snowy Cairn: Silent Sunday
Silent Sunday
Waiting out the storm
And counting…: Wordless Wednesday
Snowfall makes
Snowfall makes
Mountain ranges on branches
Snowfall makes
Stars burst forth below
Snowfall makes
Logs into letters
Snowfall makes
The roughest spots smooth
Snowfall makes
New tracks in ancient places