Delusions of Springtime in the Barrens

It was turning into a nice afternoon, so my husband and I went for a walk: around the corner, up Tow Hill, and into the Scotia Barrens. The snow is gone here, but ice remains on the Tow Hill Ponds. It is not quite the slurry ice that is a little more like slush. More like the glaze on pottery. Sadly, I can't put it into words but I CAN put it into pictures!

We walked around one of the bigger ponds, and the ice was still thick in spots. But on this end, it was starting to melt, and so what we had was a fine thin layer of ice over top of water, and when the light hit it, it made it shine, and the colors were fantastic! There is an impressionist vibe to this image, and I think of those tiny ice bits as pointillist dots of color, working together to make my image.

We are in a warming trend here in central Pennsylvania that is supposed to last most of the coming week. With an afternoon like this, we were already starting to have delusions of springtime. It's a wicked game, when it does that in early February, for you know what's coming next: snow, cold, and disappointment, for it's still February! LOL! 

Not disappointing for me, of course, but for a lot of people who mind that sort of thing. And yes, I DO understand. I've had Februaries where I wanted to walk as far as I could walk from here, get on a bus, disappear, and never ever come back again! (That's known as "a case of the Februaries," in my book.)

Also, I have a bit of joyful news to share, and that is that people are wanting to PAINT my pictures. I've had three different friends ask to paint versions of my photos in the past few weeks, and I can't even TELL you how flattered I am about all of that! 

As a photographer, I feel I am only as good as the photos I've taken TODAY. I strive to achieve ONE good to really good image each day, for Blip. Making something beautiful feels to me like one of the most godlike endeavors we can engage in; and the fact that something I made inspires other artists to want to make something too, well it tickles me PINK. It really does.

I have told people on my friends list that they are welcome to share my photos (but please keep my name with them), use them as cover photos, put them on their phone desktops, etc. I have also given permission for them - upon request - to paint the images I've captured with my camera.

I've had requests to paint the flaming tree above the mailbox on Tow Hill, the glimpse of orange leaves in the mist, and now, before I was even out of bed on this day, a request to paint this image above, in water colors. All three requests were made by excited artists whose enthusiasm moved me. There is so much joy in the process of creating!

So I have said YES, and I am practically jumping with glee. I can't wait to see the result! In the meantime, please enjoy this photo of my beloved woods and waters of the Scotia Barrens. And don't get fooled; no matter what the groundhog says, springtime doesn't arrive quite this early in the year!

My soundtrack song for this image of springtime pretending to be born is Chris Isaak, with Wicked Game. (I used it before in a blip called Love Song for a Broken-Hearted Moon.) I fell in love the minute I heard it in the movie Wild at Heart, which chronicles the adventures of Sailor (Nicolas Cage) and Lula (Laura Dern). Lula's quote, if you'll recall, is "This whole world's wild at heart and weird on top." I am a huge fan of this song, and I bet there are a few versions you have not heard yet. Here are a couple of them I like:
Chris Klafford
Daisy Gray
Lusaint
Tenacious D (yes, that's Jack Black)
London Grammar
Raign