Reflections on Nature

I love the color of shadows at this time of year. Somehow, when the sun is lower in the sky, and when it's playing off of snow and ice, shadows are more blue, purple and all the shades in between. I see the sunset from my studio and can throw up the window to shoot photos--quickly these days because the temperatures are just so low.

Purple in the natural world pleases most people, be it sky or shadows, grapes or berries, buds or flowers, feathers or fish. Purple worn as apparel or accessories is probably not for everyone, but I love it. This newest pearl piece finally uses a set of glorious purple pearls I've been hoarding for awhile. They are just huge-about 10 mm-and I paired them with lots of shiny sterling silver and a dustier purple Irish linen. This piece has been listed in my Etsy studio and clicking on the photo will take you to the listing for more information.


And now, a few notes about an unusual phenomena that's been happening around the farm here the past couple of days. It started Thursday when I heard a flock of geese going overhead and was quite surprised by how many there were. Then, they landed within sight of the house, in a sort of drainage area in the neighboring corn field. I was surprised enough to try to get these photos because geese don't stick around this area in the dead of winter. (Sorry the photos aren't great, I was hanging out a window with my telephoto lens being used at maximum to capture the image.)



Yesterday, the flock tripled in size!! I'm thinking this may be because there is some stray corn dropped on the field during the harvest was about 2 weeks ago. There was sun yesterday, briefly, and that hill they were on faces south, so no doubt, that was a welcome break from temperatures in the teens. While I did not get photos when the flock increased, be assured I'll try to capture this phenomena should the feathered friends return later today.

And now, I've got so many questions about what I've seen: Can these geese tolerate the below freezing weather without shelter? And if they need shelter, where do they go? What do they do for water when all the streams and the ponds are frozen solid? And most curious of all, why didn't or don't they just go further south to escape this bitter cold? I need to take some time to call a couple of local hunter friends to see if I can learn a little more about these birds!

Have a great weekend! Do keep warm if you're in a part of the country currently dealing with these frigid temps!