The Rhythm of Branches

 
Right now, there's not a lot of easy beauty going on outside. We got a dusting of snow today, but still not enough to have fun on. So I went looking for some trees that were making music in their own way.

First up is an autumn olive. This is not the same tree as the one in A Shadow Revisited (link below). That tree has broken. But this one might be in the running for a new place to find a similar shadow if the snow gets deep.



This apple tree looks like one of those dancers from India with six arms. When I was a kid, some ladies from India came to our school and danced with candles and little metal things that clicked. They only had two arms each, but I was impressed anyway.



The silver maples always seem to have a graceful swoop in their music. Too bad they are such messy trees, and don't even color nicely in the fall. Nice tone, but maybe not an instrument that is pleasant enough to listen to full time.



Another apple tree seems to be trying to dance in a mirror with itself.



Finally, today, I smiled at the jazzy symmetry of the staghorn sumac.



I think I have a package lost in transit, but can't check until the post office opens tomorrow.

In other news: I wrote two chapters and took a walk. On the days I write this many words, I really can't accomplish much else. However, I did get more copies of "Devotions For Hikers" printed and stapled. I was completely out of them. I think I've earned my evening cookie and a chance to read a book.

	See Silver Maple See A Shadow Revisited
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Curlique

 
Today's theme is curlique, curly-Q, or however you want to spell it. There are two entries in the competition:

First, dried grass leaves.



Next is the shadows of those twisty sumacs I love to picture.



It was up to 15 degrees today, but with no wind at all it wasn't even chilly on skis. My tracks from yesterday persisted, so I was actually able to do more gliding, instead of just walking on skis. Did all four hills, and three of them could be skied down instead of pushed.



There wasn't the blue sky of yesterday. The best that could be said of the sky is that it was occasionally dramatic.



In other news: I have the contract work just about finished- just a bit more to do tomorrow and Thursday afternoons. I wrote one chapter in The Hitchhiker and did some odds and ends. Hope to write a little more yet tonight.

	See What's Your Angle
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Best Photos of 2017

 

Last year, I took you through 2016 pictures month by month. That limited me to 12 favorites, but maybe eliminated something if there were two good ones in a month. This year, I'm just picking some good ones and arbitrarily putting them in categories.

Most unusual sunrise picture, so I'm calling it the best. September 26

Favorite landscape. Waves of pointy hills in springtime Ohio. April.



Favorite snow picture. Sumac trees against red pines. December 30



My favorite picture of a person. December 9

Favorite still life. At Shagway Arts Barn in the rain. October 22



My favorite sky picture.. The Stratocumulus undulatus clouds in November.



Favorite wildlife picture. Praying mantis with German yellowjacket remains. October 23



Favorite country road picture. From the Ohio hike. April



Favorite tree picture. The maple tree overhanging the driveway to the Shagway Arts Barn. September 5.



Favorite plant picture Horsetail. August 14.

Favorite abstract pattern picture. Ice on a wetland. March 12



Funniest picture. I thought it was going to be old/new fungus growth, and instead got a cute little shark coming around a reef. September 17



There you have 12 of my favorites. Comments always welcome!

In other news: I spent 2 hours messing with the snowblower. The plows had put a 2 foot wall across the bottom of the drive, and the bank around the mailbox is up to the top of the box and about 2 feet in front of it. Cleared. widened the bottom. Now the wind is blowing and the roads are drifting shut. School has already been called off for tomorrow. But we should be able to get out. Road trip for me- stay tuned. Also did some promotional stuff for books and finished (I hope) the extra material that will go with the Dubois Files books. Making split pea soup. Might write a little more, or not- kinda pooped.

	See Best Pictures of 2016
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Once in a Lifetime Pie

 
This is a chocolate peppermint pie. Take a good look because you'll never see one like this on my blog again.



It's good, there's no doubt about that.



It has chocolate graham cracker crust, chocolate pudding filling, cream cheese and whip topping with red and green chips (which don't show) above that, and real whip cream above that, and peppermint sprinkles on top.



However, for the amount of work and fussing it was, it would need to be drop-dead-absolutely-astoundingly-spectacular, not-to-be-approached-by-any-shortcutting-of-the-steps good. Says the person who made it, who isn't really a kitchen fan any longer, "it's not THAT good." Omer says, "Oh, wow!"

If you are a kitchen masochist and want to try it, the recipe is at No Bake Candy Cane Pie

I went out on snowshoes again today. I LIKE snowshoes. The sky was interesting.



There was blue above the sumac.



A nice ending to 2018. See you next year!

In other news: I wrote chapter 15- DISCOURAGED AND PURPLE, in The Secret Cellar, cleared the driveway again, and worked on the sock. I may go to bed early with a book. Who knows.

	See Time for Friends for the last cream pie I had, which I did not make
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One Unique Shark

 
On first reading, that title might appear to be redundant, since "one" and "unique" should be the same thing. However...



Omer had this one designed and made for me by a friend of his. It is truly unique... the only one like it in the world. Laser-cut wood, in case you can't tell.

However, I do have two shark Christmas ornaments. You've seen the other one. It's very cool, but not unique- mass produced. The jaws open and close when you twist his tail. So, I have one unique shark.



These are the two holiday examples in what has become a reasonably decent collection of sharks.

Of course, I like to think that I'm a pretty unique shark, so maybe I have two unique sharks, but I don't wear a Santa hat.

I also went skiing today, but did not see a shark or a hawk. Lots of snow, though. It was hovering just above zero, but didn't feel as cold as yesterday when the wind was blowing. I do like the variety of textures and tones in this picture of sumac trees against the pines.



In other news: I blew out the driveway, did a bunch of stupid little jobs and I guess, not much else (that I can seem to remember). Tomorrow, it's back to work.

	See Christmas 2009
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What's Your Angle?

 
It seemed to me that there haven't been many posts recently about things outdoors, so today I went for a little walk (in the rain), and gave myself a simple photo assignment. I decided to look for angles. The results you see are presented in the order I took the pictures. If you can find meaning in that, more power to you!

Of course, the first thing that pops to mind in the outdoors when one says "angle," is tree limbs. I forced myself to be limited to one such picture. Here's my choice... lichen covered dead sumac branches.



Next, I found three autumn olive leaves plastered together by the wind and rain. The fact that one was back-side showing gave the composition some color interest, and I liked the angles between the points. That rotten plant might as well be good for something, even if it's only an interesting picture.



Beetle bark galleries oddly echo the same pattern as the tree branches!



And there I was at the railroad tracks, with their parallel straight (180 degree) angles.



Angles galore at the space station (AKA grain elevator).



The best two finds were last. I'd never noticed these before. There are some old slabs of concrete that were dumped at the back of a neighboring property. On what was previously the underside, you can see the impression of large equipment tracks left in the dirt before the concrete was poured. Although it softens the impression of the angles, I especially like the encroaching moss on the right. One can almost see those tracks as huge dike or elevated highways with whole neighborhoods of green trees and rooftops in the valleys.



On the next hunk of man-made stone were more tracks with a different tire pattern. These certainly have angles!



So I got a little wet, but I got a little exercise, and although none of these is high-quality art, it was fun setting an assignment and doing it.

	See Crosshatched
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Finally, Some Color!

 
It's getting really late in the season, but we finally have a bit of color showing up. Took this on the way out of the driveway this morning. The red is staghorn sumac, and the yellow is grapevines covering everything. I really should cut those down, but I could spend at least four hours a day just doing upkeep on the plants and supposed gardens here. Not gonna happen.



But the best is that wonderful hybrid cherry tree on the other side of the railroad tracks. This is the tree that has been occasionally used on logos or ads for this blog. It's also the tree that took so long to identify. It is apparently some sort of cross between a commercial and wild cherry. Anyway, definitely some cherry.

I thought I'd lost it this summer in the fire. Some tree went up in a towering blaze. I couldn't tell what tree with all the smoke, but it was just about in the same place. My heart sank, because I love to watch this tree go through the seasons. But after all was under control I realized the fire was on our side of the tracks and this tree is on the other side. (Which of course, means it's not my tree at all. I just hope the owner never decides to cut it.)



Here's the picture from 2010. Which do you like best?



I like today's better. I want you to know that ever since that day in 2010 when the tree glowed like that in afternoon light, I've been hoping to have another afternoon like that. This is the first year that it's had such good color since then!

Accountability report:
Worked all day. Came home and worked on the trailer till dark. Spent almost two hours on the phone with various people. Not my favorite activity, and it put a fatal damper on writing. Also made a potato soup in the crockpot that wasn't so good. I don't have to keep that recipe.

	See Robert Tackles the Mystery Tree
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