And as January vents its last shuddering gasps, we dance happily on what will be its grave (just so it can see us do it) with the month-end abstract. Ss. Plural, actually, and they all have a theme, though they didn’t have to, but such is the nature of nature abstracts. Sometimes.
During the first of the cold days, we’d get some patches of ice on the pond here and there, and this is one of them, reflecting the sun – that was the angle that I approached at, though it would have been better with the sun at my back so there was less chance of spooking it, but my exemplary stalking skills were still up to the job and I got quite close. The starbursts are courtesy of a smaller aperture, of course.
Later in the month, we had a different composition.
While we brought along four or five Japanese maples when we moved, there were still two that were already in residence, and you’ll see more of this one throughout the year, since it’s a wonderfully twisty and gnarly one right in the backyard. Some varieties drop their leaves readily as autumn passes through, and some want to retain them like little tree hoarders, thinking they’ll come in handy one day, and I suppose they did. Shows me, right?
And finally,
This was long before any hint of snow, and I don’t know what causes ice to form so roughly – probably something to do with the last vestiges of duckweed or other plants and differential cooling. It certainly sounds like I know what I’m talking about.
And so we roll into February, which shouldn’t be spelled like that, with its closer deadline for the month-end and thus the distinct chance that I’ll do worse than this. Can’t wait!