Beaver Brook - An Extraordinary Snowscape

An extraordinary snowscape

The morning after our latest blizzard, I wanted to photograph open water set against the extraordinary snowscape. I trudged down into Beaver Brook and discovered a wilderness that had been reduced to nothing but white space.

The stoic pine trees were smothered with heavy snow, resembling an eternal landscape frozen in time. The vista was incomplete as an oppressive, gray fog had lurched into the valley and erased the big peaks from view.

The placid lake was encrusted with a thin layer of textured slush while the rocky shoreline was smoothed over by two feet of fresh snow. After receiving so much precipitation this season, the mountain environment has become a wetlands.

The swollen reservoir had flooded into the forest’s edge, creating an arctic swamp of tangled trees and small islands. The frigid water was perfectly tranquil as it reflected the unusual scenery with stunning precision.

The place was saturated with peace and solitude as glittering snowflakes continued to gently fall. The only disruption came from a stubborn woodpecker who tapped furiously into the loose bark of a lodgepole pine.

The summer birds are here, waiting anxiously for better weather. Usually by this date, the snow line has receded back to the summits but with this year’s cooler temps, we’ve been mired in a persistent winter since last October.

Open water and deep snow

The wilderness was a white space

The trees were smothered with heavy snow

Frozen in time

Gray fog lurched into the valley

The lake was encrusted with a layer of slush

Flooded into the forest's edge

An arctic swamp

The reflections were stunning

Mired in winter

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Lair O' the Bear and Dunafon Castle

Image
The restored Dunafon Castle Lair O' the Bear Park is nestled in a steep canyon about six miles east of Evergreen, Colorado. John and Matilda Johnson emigrated from Sweden with their two young boys and purchased the narrow meadow in 1902. They named it Mountain Nook Ranch, built a four-bedroom house and raised Red Durham cattle. Their two sons, Finis and Francis, attended school in nearby Starbuck, now known as Idledale. It was originally named for John Starbuck who won the town property in a poker game. John Johnson was a master gardener and his popular, fresh produce was sold in Evergreen and Denver. They planted over 200 cherry and apple trees in the area. If you look closely many can still be found throughout the park today. The unruly Bear Creek sculpted the beautiful scenery and provided the needed irrigation for productive crops but it also wreaked plenty of havoc. There was a constant fear of extreme flooding. The Lariat Trail (Highway 74 today) crossed Bear Creek s...
Read more

Ibis - A Symbol for Danger and Optimism

Image
White Ibis The white ibis is a wading bird that is very common throughout Florida. Their traditional habitat has always been the Everglades but they've recently adapted to a more urban environment. During our visit there this past summer, we frequently saw ibises on freshly mowed lawns rooting for large bugs as well as stalking aquatic prey along the shoreline of ponds, lakes and marshes. These splendid, white birds have evolved a long, downward-curved bill. This distinctive feature has helped them develop into efficient hunters. Their legs are long enough to wade in shallow water but they are also perfectly at home on dry land where they can use their pink beak to probe for insects. The white ibis is a symbol for danger and optimism because Native American folklore held that the bird was the last to seek shelter before a hurricane and the first to emerge afterwards.
Read more

An Approaching Storm - Colored Pencil Drawing

Image
"An Approaching Storm" Colored Pencil In the midst of an already grievous winter, an approaching storm gradually extinguishes the landscape’s last sliver of light. The inclement weather rushes in aggressively as it envelopes the magnificent range of rugged peaks. Extending across the page, a strip of turquoise sky is still visible above the embattled scenery. It won’t be long, though, before a cloak of cool-gray smothers the valley in a shroud of deep snow. The high mountains assume a defiant posture as their sharp edges tear through the soft atmosphere, creating patches of bare rock. The kaleidoscope of broken terrain sparkles in blue-violet before the impending storm’s onset. The forested foothills are distinguished by three different, overlapping tiers of conifers. As the woodland ramparts recede into the distance, the wintery colors gradually become several shades bluer. The wide, white meadow sweeps across the foreground, its smooth surface decorated with elongated shado...
Read more