Burrowing Owl

Burrowing Owl by Wagner Machado Carlos Lemes, source Wikimedia Commons

I saw this gorgeous photo of a Burrowing Owl and couldn't help posting it here. It has one foot tucked away under its feathers so completely, you'd almost think it only has one leg!

Winter Weather At Last: A Fairytale World

All photos by me.

After spending most of my childhood in Texas, where there is very little in the way of a discernible change in the seasons aside from hot and hotter, I have an utter and complete fascination with snow. For a child who loved reading the fairy tales of Hans Christian Anderson and the various Red, Blue, and Violet Fairy Books, all of which have tales of Snow Queens and winter lands, the rarity of snow or even sleet was extremely disappointing.

Thus, when my family moved to an area where there was at least one good snowfall every winter, I developed the habit of wandering for hours in our woods every time it snowed, reveling in the enchanting sound of falling snow and the way the ordinary world could be transformed in a matter of minutes into the world of the fae, dangerous and beautiful, silent and yet full of music.

To an artist's eyes as well there is endless fascination and inspiration. Ice and snow exhibit some of the most exquisite, detailed patterns one will ever find. If you bother to slow down and look closely, new worlds reveal themselves to the naked eye. I invite you to try it next time you're outside in the snow.

Mirow Casle, Poland

Mirow Castle, Poland. Photo: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mir%C3%B3w-03(tz).jpg