Late Fall Colors

Every morning I walk out to the pond wondering if this is the morning the first ice appears. It's been a warm fall and I am still waiting, and in that waiting there is the enjoyment of watching the pine needles, shaken off in last weeks wind, form their patterns on the waters surface. Bright gold when they first fall the color has dulled and become more subtle.

Pine needles forming their patterns against the water lily leaves, 2015

The colors becoming more subtle, 2015

at the pond, 2015

Patterns of pine needles, 2015

The Geometry of Transformation

There is a great pleasure in watching the pond ice become fluid; the shapes are bold, the contrast is high; there is the movement of the ice patches as they drift around the pond. When the temperature drops the ice pieces try to knit shore and land. Sometimes this mending looks like wings, but everyday the mending grows weaker until today there is only open water, and frogs singing.

returning to water 1, 2015

returning to water 2, 2015

returning to water 3, 2015

Outside / Inside

Out side all is melting: water is running high in the streams, stone walls are exposing more of themselves every hour, where the snow has melted the grass lies matted and best of all is the smell again, damp earth, a soft scent. Watching out the studio window as the snow creeps back towards the woods, I realized I wasn't paying attention and had dripped water over some of this practice paper [last post]. As I pulled it off the table the light shone though the water marks, what beautiful shapes.

Shimmering

The wind blew hard the other day, shaking the leaves into a wild dance to the ground and rustling the usual placid surface of the pond. Light glimmered and waved and shone and I was entranced. Not much got done in the studio.

The Blues of Water

It's strange that when I think of the color of water in the pond, I think of peat, of forest floor, shades of moss and gold; and forget that at this time of year, before the trees leaf out, it reflects the sky. Blue in varieties my eyes have missed. There is something so mesmerizing about watching water: the wind scudding across the surface, the patterns of the wavelets, the reflections of the trees, and the glint of the sun. My mind empties and I watch.

The blues of water

Water Worlds

There has been a lot of extreme weather about lately. Vicious tornados in the States, flooding in Australia: a hard and scary time for a lot of people. Here the wind is howling as I write this and we are going through the usual pre-spring gamut of conditions with various stages of water about, snow, rain, ice pellets, icicles and puddles. And with the macro lens, I am still trying for that elusive water drop but until that moment these will do.

Another water drop

Condensation on the kitchen window

Shimmering Pond

I am loving using this grid idea. It's seductive and addictive and playful. So here are photos of the pond. It's almost my favorite time for the pond, the only thing is it's to cold to swim.

Shimmering pond