OK this is not fun anymore . . .

Does the world not know it's SPRING?

Light and shadows

f14, 1/60s, IS0100

Yesterday I spent a couple of hours out and about trying to find my photo for the day. I wasted one hour of that around noon when it was so bright I could hardly open my eyes - forget taking a photo! I went home, ate some popcorn and watched "The Young and the Restless". Much later I decided to go out and try again - hey, it's hard when it's minus 20C and there's brisk breeze blowing. Anyway, when I finally found my photo it was 6:02 pm. Well worth the wait, I think.



I shared this with 'Theme Thursday' on April 21/2011


My photo was picked as a favourite on 'Theme Thursday'

Fields of Snow

Well, what else? More snow!

The beauty that is our County

I can't do anything about this weather so today when the temperatures rose slightly above bone-chilling dangerous I went out to take some landscape photos. I think it's beautiful out there. It is pure white, flawless beauty, everywhere you look. A visual feast. I'm going out for more tomorrow.

Reality (bites)

Sorry folks. I would have liked to post a beautiful photo of some tulips peeking out of the ground but alas - this is our reality here in Alberta on March 1st. Temperatures are hovering around the -30C mark and that's without the windchills. If you factor in the winds, which according to Environment Canada are swirling around 15 km/h, it's feeling closer to -40C. It's the kind of weather that can freeze exposed skin in less than 10 minutes. It's downright dangerous! This was our view as we made our way back home. Luckily, we made it safely and are snug and warm. I guess I can always buy a bouquet . . .

Chilly Collage

My layout for the Weather Challenge at Digital Scrapper

Logs of snow here . . .

Still marveling at the amount of snow we have.

Snow Rollers Phenomenon

We were driving to our place at the lake this afternoon when we spied these mysterious balls of snow all over the fields! I knew right away what they were but I don't remember ever seeing them (only in photos maybe). As soon as I got home I googled "snow balls rolling on fields" and found a good explanation on Wikipedia (hope its right)! Anyway, here is what they had to say:

"A snow roller is a rare meteorological phenomenon in which snowballs are formed naturally as chunks of snow are blown along the ground by wind, picking up snow along the way. To form, the ground must be covered by a layer of ice to which snow will not stick. The layer of ice must be covered by wet, loose snow with a temperature near the melting point of ice. The wind must be strong enough to move the snow rollers, but not strong enough to blow them too fast. The precise nature of the conditions required makes them a very rare phenomenon."

How cool is that?
PS I'm not bragging about my photography here . . .

Winter Snow Cream Recipes

DESSERTS THAT FALL FROM THE SKY

Lemon Snow Cream

This will be the only time you can tell the kids its ok to eat the yellow snow.

1/2 cup of Lemonade (made from powder mix, like Kool-Aid)

1/8 cup of sugar

1/4 teaspoon lemon extract

4 cups fresh snow

yellow food coloring (optional)

................................................

Mix the lemonade, sugar, lemon extract and food coloring until dissolved. Mix in the snow slowly. Serve quickly!

Vanila Snow Cream

by Paula Dean

8 cups of snow

1 (14oz) can sweetened condensed milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

..............................................

Place snow in large bowl. Pour condensed milk over snow and add vanilla. Mix to combine. Serve immediately.

Hawaiian Snow Cream

From Cooking Light

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup fresh lime or pineapple juice

1 cup coconut milk (reg. or light)

..........................................................

Stir all the ingredients together in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stiring often, until the sugar dissolves completely. Remove from heat and set aside to cool completely.

Poor over 8 cups of snow in a bowl. Mix carefully. Serve immediately.

Double Chocolate Snow Cream

1 gallon of snow

3/4 cup sugar

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup mini-chocolate chips

1/3 cup cocoa powder

..............................................

Put the snow in a large bowl. Add ingredients to snow. Mix carefully.

Strawberry Snow Cream

1 package frozen sliced strawberries, thawed

1 (14oz) can sweetened condensed milk

1 small package sweetened-flavored gelatin

8-12 cups of snow

...............................................

Mix all ingredients together in large metal bowl. Serve quickly.

*tip - making the Snow Cream in a metal chilled bowl and stirring while outside will keep these from melting so fast.

I think my bench is

waiting . . .

Just popping in to say hi! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! I took a photo of this willow bench I made many years ago, added some overlays and filters and did a bit of dodging and burning.

Spiny Snowy Spikes

Well, I tried to ignore this but it just wouldn't go away. It kept growing and growing all day yesterday until last night I was forced to take a picture simply because it was so comical. It seems that last fall I neglected to totally empty my urns - I left the spikes, we went away, and they froze. It looks like some kind of alien artwork and I don't know how to put a spin on it for Christmas. I guess I'll just leave it alone - it is what it is!

Snow much inspiration today . . .

and it just keeps coming . . .

A good day to stay home . . .

Snow Mushroom

Winter snowfall warning

It's a bit of a winter wonderland around here today so I braved the cold and snow and went out and took a few photos. Guess where some of these logs are going to end up tonight!