A Recent Frosty Morning

Sunday morning dawned sunny and frosty.  After days of dreary weather, the sunshine beckoned.  I strapped Toby into his harness, grabbed my camera and lenses, and we went out for a long walk.

Our first stop was the unmown yard.   All the tall weeds were crystalline - quite lovely to look at.

And just down the road the starlings were flocked in "their" tree.  This is a wonderful old oak, full of oak apples and lots of holes.  The starlings have moved right in and made each cavity a nest site.  It reminds me of Dr. Seuss's book "Thedwick, the Big Hearted Moose."  I loved that book as a kid.

Toby and I don't do any skiing these days.  A) there's no snow, and b) with his poor coordination and arthritis, it's just not in the cards any more.  Still, that's no reason to let the skijoring harness gather dust!  It is a wonderful rig for walks.  He doesn't get strangled and he can wander about while still attached to me, and both my hands are free!  It's a beautiful thing.

The frosty grasses were just delightful.  I tried applying some of the techniques I picked up at the photography class at work a week previously.
 

We walked the 2.5 miles (give or take) around our "block."  I was surprised to find so little to photograph along two of the four sides.  I spent a lot of time shooting the frosty grasses and weeds along the first leg, and then shooting the frost and water drops along the third leg.  The other two sides were a bit of a bust.

This bit of flowery board caught my attention.  It was the remains of what I presume was a no trespassing sign.  Apparently they used whatever wood or board was to hand - it looks like the scraps of wallpaper are still clinging to it.  Sort of sad.  What was the board part of originally?

If you have followed my blog for a while, you know I have a fascination with water drops.  I am ever trying to master capturing their images...and the reflections they hold.

By the time we were coming down the third side, the sun had melted much of the frost.  Add to this the heat from Toby's footpads, and his feet left behind dewy tracks in the road.

And even though wild cucumber is pretty common here, I still love it.  I only ever saw it once where I grew up, until a couple years ago when I discovered a vine crawling up a utility pole just down the street from my folks' house.  It's a neat plant, with nifty fruits.

My days are just packed with work.  I have so little time to get out and explore.  I keep telling myself that the next season things will be better, but in truth I fear that it will be some time before I am able to spend as much time wandering as I used to in the Adirondacks.  But hope springs eternal.