Late Morning

Riverview Gardens, Appleton, Wisconsin

Left the house at 4:45 AM to meet with friends at church. A frosty morning at 3F. Every Saturday morning we sit in silence and attempt to reduce the noise in our lives. I happened to be sitting near a window watching the sun come up, the first time in almost four days. My focus shifted from noise to light.

Sections of Riverview, a former private golf course, serve as community gardens. Other sections are being restored to prairie. I turned my car into the vacant parking lot facing east to take solar advantage of a rising sun. By now it was 9F. Anything above zero and no wind is good.

In keeping with Wisconsin tradition, stakes marked trails for snowmobiles. The six inch snow pack was easier traveling than wading through two to three foot drifts. When its this cold you don't have to worry about staying dry. Snow just doesn't melt. No solution however keeping my shutter release finger from frostbite. I found myself bracketing three exposures and tucking my hand inside my jacket under my arm.

It took about a a minute or two for feeling to return and then I'd pick the tripod up and move to another location. And so, I trudged around the garden until I felt the cold creeping through my boots. Cathedrals of light and shadows- I wanted to stay.

I'll pray for another day and return with my snowshoes and warmer mittens.