Cold Blue

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ColdBlue1It’s hard to resist the beauty of a really cold morning (-25c early this morning, according to our thermometre). At the edge of the rapids the turbulent water shifts the forming ice into different shapes and during the cold nights the surfaces grow carpets of feathery frost. The horizon is lost in a fog of water vapour.

FeatherFrost3A closeup of feather frost on an icy surface

GoldenEyeDucksAs I was out making photographs I spotted many brave ducks that seem to be willing to tough it out and spend the winter in and around the open water. Pictured are a couple of shy goldeneye ducks above, and what I think is an American black duck below.
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The-Misted-CityA little glimpse of the city which is not far away

[Similar ice compositions to a post I did last year here, but the cold is a month earlier!]

© Karen McRae, 2013

Gold & Silver

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GoldenMussel shells just under the surface and golden light on ice

Flight-and-fall2A chickadee in flight and leaves in the creek

It’s quite cold here now. Yesterday I bundled up and spent several hours outside. The birds were very busy foraging for food and the chickadees were especially friendly. They would land on my shoulder or hand, unexpectedly, expectantly. A gentle whirring sound of wings in my ears. And the most tender questioning “peep peep” from a nuthatch that flitted close by, wondering too, if I had little seeds in my pockets. I did.

As it becomes very cold the landscape transforms in strange and wonderful ways. The ice forming at river’s edge is bordering on Seussian but I haven’t yet found a way to make good photographs. Photographs that show the magic of it. Part of the fun is trying to figure that out, I suppose. Anyway, if you are looking for gold and silver, it’s not far away. You just might have to dress warm.

StarlingsWater reflections and starlings in flight ~ there seems to be a flock of them hanging around for the winter

© Karen McRae, 2013

Dances in Light

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These little insects caught my eye while they were out playing in the shafts of afternoon light. There can’t be too many more days that will be warm enough for them to venture out but today was beautiful.

It’s not easy to focus on their flitting movements – which appear much like trampolining without touching the ground – but I like the tiny sunlit shapes, and their delicate presence signals a small reprieve from the cold.

© Karen McRae, 2013