Steve`s Country
For a smile as wide as a country sunrise
Art In Nature #9.
Hi everyone and welcome back to our weekly look at art in nature! I hope you all are having a great day, it’s cloudy and rainy here today. That rain is helping to soften and melt the snow nicely. There is actually very little snow left here now which is so nice. I am enjoying it anyway, especially after the last 4 years of having a late spring. And, of course with spring comes lots of opportunities to see so much art in nature all around us.
Like these leaves above poking through the melting snow. They are leaves of a wildflower called Pipssissewa, a unique looking flower with evergreen leaves. That means their leaves stay green year round. I didn’t see any flowers around this year or last, most likely because people pick them. Like many wildflowers, when the flowers are picked, they will never produce a flower again. Please don’t pick wildflowers, take pictures instead and leave the flower for others to enjoy as well. There are many wildflowers that can be safely picked and they will continue to bloom each year, but it’s better to be on the safe side and leave them.
Then we have this hole, in the pic above, in the little bit of ice that’s left on the river, making a nice frame for the rocks under the water. The water of this river is nice and clear, plus always cold.
Moving on to a warmer time last summer, we have in the picture above, a rose hip. This is the fruit of the wild rose. Wild roses are quite abundant here though it seems they are producing less flowers each year too. And even less rose hips seem to develop. But they are quite interesting and backed by some nice green leaves can make for a beautiful picture of wilderness art. Then we have the featured image at the top, something many might not even notice though it is a large surface area of granite rock along the river’s edge. It’s the many different colored stripes and striations of the rock, with bands of different minerals swirling their way through the main granite rock. It can be very interesting to look closely at these different bands of color and texture. But then, I like rocks and minerals, I enjoy collecting them, so it might be just me that would find such rocks fascinating. I hope you all have a wonderful day and God bless!
Steve and Muffin.
©2021 Steve McLeod.
Coffee At Steve’s Country #68.
Good morning everyone! Coffee is ready, just grab a cup and help yourself! It is such a nice morning, it actually stayed above freezing for us last night, just what we needed to help melt that snow faster. And this morning some rain to help it out too. There really isn’t much snow left now. I went for a walk to the river yesterday afternoon, there were two places where the snow was still 12 inches (30cm) deep, but most places were between 4 and 6 inches (10 to 15cm) deep. A lot of places there is no snow at all, especially closer to the river. Looking across the street from where I live there really isn’t much snow at all. Well, actually, I can’t see any snow across the street, not even a tiny bit, looks very nice that way.
Still some snow in this yard, but not much. Spring. Such a beautiful time of the year. The cold harshness of winter gives way to the vibrant new life, growth and hope of spring. Birds are everywhere again flying through the trees. Ravens are building their nests. Canada jays are sitting on eggs in their warm and cozy nests. They might even have young ones already. Most of the path was soft, water was flowing down the rocks and hills. But there was also ice. Slippery ice. I found some of that ice.
A small patch of ice on fairly level ground. Suddenly both my feet were gone from under me and I went down with a hard thud. I just lay there. In a lot of pain. That was just beyond the bench where I usually sit. I decided to go just a bit further than normal to see how the path was doing. I’ll stay away from the section for awhile yet I think. So I had my entire walk back to do after that fall. It was slow going. By the time I got back home it was time to lie down, my back was complaining a lot by then. I hope you all have a wonderful day and God bless!
Steve and Muffin.
©2021 Steve McLeod.
Steve`s Country 