Farewell, Winter

[OakAshandThorn]

The chill days are quickly fading here in the Northeast US - since the beginning of this month, temps have surged to near 15 C during the day, quite unusual for this time of year. Nevertheless, it seemed a grand day with pleasant weather, and now that most of the snow has melted, I can retire my Sorels until next winter.


I made my way to the nearby stream which connects two lakes, its shallow waters once again running. It is deceivingly clear, and I've witnessed many a fool cup their hands, guzzle, and slurp away, seemingly oblivious to the fact that it drains from a large, open water source. I've pulled out all kinds of rubbish from the shores...I can only imagine what gastrointestinal horror awaits those who are careless (or should I say "stupid"?) enough to not filter it.


The easiest way to identify American Beech from a distance when the woods are bare is to look for their tan leaves...do Beech leaves remain attached throughout winter on your side of the pond?


Nature's auditorium - I brought my Pan-flute with me (sorry, no video ) and enjoyed the wonderful acoustics...I think the wind did, too, as it appears my performance summoned gusts . I really need to get my hands on a decent camcorder sometime.


Reindeer moss! Didn't think its range extended this far south, but I saw more patches amongst the sphagnum. It did make a rather tasty nibble.


I spent a little while carving these, destined to become pendants with a bit of jute twine for a neck cord. It is also my first attempt at kolrosing, and I engraved an 'Algiz' rune on each piece. I'll post my results later .

[headshot]

wow what a spot,you can really see winter has lost its grip,would love to hear you play the pipes/flute.
our beech lose their leaves though the ones at work hold on till near enough mid winter before the trees bare...atb kev

[FishyFolk]

Very little snow left here in the North of Norway as well. Looks like spring is coming 2 months early. But winter have kicked our faces in later than this before...

[saxonaxe]

This year the local Beech Trees seemed to hang onto their leaves for ages, and then one good gale and they were all bare.
That stream does look tempting but I had it drummed into me.."Clear doesn't mean clean" and coming from an open water source makes it even more risky. A beautiful area though and lovely photos Pal, it's great to see the Wheel turning on your side of the World too, blue skies and snow melt.Thanks for the photos.

[jbrown14]

Looks like a lovely day, I'm sure the panflute tunes would have been a joy to hear. I enjoy carrying one or two of my penny whistles when I'm out.

March is doing it's proverbial "in like a lion..." up here in Syracuse right now. It's been snowing steadily since about 9:00 this morning and looking like we'll get anywhere between 4inches to a foot depending on who's doing the predictions. Temps dropping from 50 degrees (F) yesterday to single digits tonight and tomorrow.

Thanks for sharing the pictures. Great looking carvings!

All the best!

Josh

[OakAshandThorn]

wow what a spot,you can really see winter has lost its grip,would love to hear you play the pipes/flute.
our beech lose their leaves though the ones at work hold on till near enough mid winter before the trees bare...atb kev

900 or so acres of woodland, lakes, and meadows . Too bad the town owns it - they don't look after it much...
Interesting...I do know of a few of the European variety planted in the area as ornamentals, yet they don't retain their leaves . Very curious - I wonder if it depends on the location, such as being in deep woods or in the open.

[OakAshandThorn]

Very little snow left here in the North of Norway as well. Looks like spring is coming 2 months early. But winter have kicked our faces in later than this before...

I wouldn't mind another 15 cm...but when the temps rise like this and spring tweeps have returned, winter is pretty much over in my area. Boo-hiss .

[OakAshandThorn]

This year the local Beech Trees seemed to hang onto their leaves for ages, and then one good gale and they were all bare.
That stream does look tempting but I had it drummed into me.."Clear doesn't mean clean" and coming from an open water source makes it even more risky. A beautiful area though and lovely photos Pal, it's great to see the Wheel turning on your side of the World too, blue skies and snow melt.Thanks for the photos.

We've had our fair share of strong winds, but with all the hills and valleys, the gusts always change direction and are never consistent.
The only waters I trust are from springs, and even then I make sure that the source has nothing contaminating it. There is one spring which flows down one side of large hill, and a few years ago it had a deer carcass lying right in the middle of it, probably scavenged by coyotes. Rock seeps are also good, but again one has to be careful.
It's beautiful now...just wait until summer, and there will be hundreds of idiots at all times who throw their beer cans, water bottles, and doggie **** in plastic bags everywhere.

[OakAshandThorn]

Looks like a lovely day, I'm sure the panflute tunes would have been a joy to hear. I enjoy carrying one or two of my penny whistles when I'm out.

March is doing it's proverbial "in like a lion..." up here in Syracuse right now. It's been snowing steadily since about 9:00 this morning and looking like we'll get anywhere between 4inches to a foot depending on who's doing the predictions. Temps dropping from 50 degrees (F) yesterday to single digits tonight and tomorrow.

Thanks for sharing the pictures. Great looking carvings!

All the best!

Josh

I just started the tin whistle - love the sound, but my clumsy fingers need to get used to the movements .
Wow ...we had a similar scenario in January - 45 F plummeting down to single digits for two weeks. Right now we're supposed to get rain . All the snow goes to the north.
Thanks .

[OakAshandThorn]

Here are the kolrosing results for my pendants...I am quite pleased . They are both Black Oak pieces from part of a large branch which fell back in 2011.