Today is a winter day in a winter that hasn't resembled winter at all ... not for western New York. There is snow on the ground, snow flurries come down off and on, and it is about 26 degrees plus there is a chill wind blowing. Back before Christmas my husband bought me a pair of Sorell boots so I would be prepared for wintery days. I have not had one legitimate reason to wear them, though I often put them on just for the fun of it when I go out to get the mail.
Oh, that reminds me ... I have to take the trash out to the street. Well, I am off to bundle up again and will return to my blog in a little bit ...
... and, I'm back now.
What I have no feel for yet is the difference between lake effect snow and actual snow. Right now there is snow of some kind coming down and blowing all over the place outside, and from the weather reports I have seen it is lake effect snow. It is pretty no matter where it comes from, and "lake effect" sounds rather magical.
Back to my Sorell boots. They are awesome boots; black, and warm with felt liners. They come up to just below my knees. I have worn them in the house a few times, when there was a draft and I couldn't get my feet warm any other way. And, like I said above, I have worn them in perfectly fine weather out to the mail box or to take out the trash, just so I could wear them at all.
This morning as I walked around the farm shooting photographs, I had a very good reason to wear them. They kept my feet and legs warm, and withstood the watery goosh out where the temporary pond forms by our willow tree.
That pond, by the way, is only a few inches deep. This morning it was more frozen looking than I have seen it before, and some snow rested on its surface. Perhaps what we are getting here today is pond effect snow.
I enjoy the challenge of walking around with the camera on a day like this and looking for something interesting to shoot, or something pretty to my artistic eye. In the spring, summer, and fall it is easy to do so. Middle of winter; not so easy.
Unless, of course, you squat down and give an inquiring look into it.
People have complimented me about my photography on the blog, and I appreciate the feedback very much. I was thinking the other day about what it is I could say that I do with my photography that makes it different, and I think a big part of it is that I squat down, I look straight down, or I get down close to the ground and somehow that involves me more with the environment and the little sights and sounds that are always there but usually passed over. I am very curious about all the little bits and pieces of that environment out there, and I think maybe that shows up at times in my photos.
If you think about it, it is a bit lke life itself. There are usually at any given moment any number of wonderful discoverable things going on around any one of us if we would just squat down and have a look for a minute.
Wow, the snow is blowing pretty hard out there now; looking out the window as I type I see it whizzing by horizontally. I have no idea if it is snow coming from the sky or being blown off our roof. It looks exciting either way.
This last photo is of a doll I am making based on some characters I designed a few years back. She is only about four inches tall, and is only an experiment at this point. She'll be pretty cute, I think, by the time I am finished with her. Film at eleven.
Life is calling to me now to end off the blog and do some work for a client.
I am wishing you well, my friend. Thanks for stopping by.
~firefly
Copyright © 2006 J.L. Fleckenstein ALL RIGHTS RESERVED