A Late Winter Portrait
Posted on February 21, 2014 Posted by John Scalzi 25 Comments
Thanks to higher temperatures and a rainstorm, the snow pack has melted out of yard, but there’s still a fair amount of icy scree, which you may see in the foreground here. Krissy took this picture whilst walking the dog; I thought it was pretty good one. (you can see a larger version here.)
She also got a closeup of the ice you see there, and found some interesting formations in it:
Ice blossoms, basically. They’ll be gone by the end of the day.
Today, no rain or snow or storms, just wind gusts up to 50mph all day long. Fun!
Assuming that’s your house in the background, I have to say that’s an awesome farmer’s porch you have. Sadly, here in NH my house faces south, and a covered porch like that would just block too much natural light in the winter, but I’ve always wanted one. I hope you get a lot of use out of it!
It’s a beautiful shot, but the dog seems somewhat unenthusiastic about the whole walking thing…
We got all that rain as snow here in MN. So, it was an actual official blizzard with the wind gusting above 50.
I see that band of storms you guys already dealt with is now heading my way. For the moment though, it’s just foggy. I remain vigilant against the Fog Bears.
That’s a nice looking piece of property.
I respectfully suggest that the word you want is not scree (steep rocky debris at the base of a clifff) but rather riprap (rocks placed on an embankment to prevent erosion). Like someone said, the difference between the right word and almost the right word, is, um, so totally important.
The only other place I’ve heard the word “scree” is in a song by Peter Gabriel-era Genesis (“The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway”, I think, but it might have been a different one).
@awsnyde:
Correct. The song title is “Riding the Scree”. It document’s Rael’s attempt to retrieve the tube containing the object removed during “The Colony of Slippermen”.
As for our host, if the rock was placed there intentionally, it’s rip-rap. If nature made it accumulate there, it’s scree (not to be confused with scrith).
Walking the dog? Looks more like taking the dog out for a nap.
I love the line of trees against the horizon. So glad I arrived too late to experience the scree versus riprap debate firsthand.
“Ice blossoms” …
Didn’t you have some (small) “Snow rollers” too?
Cool area for weather, that Bradford. :-)
A whole bunch of different thoughts all logjammed when I saw these. I’ll pry out a few:
1. That top one is a gorgeous photograph. If you ever get tired of writing (ha!) you have an alternate living there…
2. That second one is a beautiful formation. It’s things like that that make me realize how little I know about meteorology and the physical chemistry of water (though I know more than the average person).
3. Man, you could hold a small SCA camping event in your yard. It would mess up the lawn though. Still, fantasies about a combination camping event and SF con (SCAlziCon?) run through the poisoned waters of my mind, like dying fish in West Virginia.
4. Damn, I don’t camp. Last time I spent a night in a tent I nearly died. Not going there.
5. I agree about the porch. Must be a great place to hang out in nice weather (or mildly bad weather like rain without wind).
Love.
Xopher:
Actually, it’s Krissy who took the photo. She has a good eye as well.
Wow. No wonder Athena has the knack, with good eyes on both sides. So to speak.
Ice blossoms are awesome. Beautiful, delicate and short lived.
Very nice.
Is that a HDR filter applied (or on the camera), or just cold winter sunlight?
Daisy is a natural!
C.S. Lewis used “scree” in Voyage of the Dawn Treader.
Another synonym for scree would be “talus”.
Nobody else thought of Wyeth’s “Christina’s World?”
Lovely photos!
Yesterday was the first time I took Snap, my foster service-puppy, out for his exercise without FREEZING HALF TO DEATH since… oh, November. It was nice.
Wait… ScalziCon? That’s a concept just waiting to materialize!
Xopher@12:18 pm
combination camping event and SF con
Thus the “Scalzistock Ohio 2020” badge ribbons that appeared during Chicon…
Here’s hoping that your canoes are ready for when Rio Scalzi goes into full flood.
Folks, I’m away until 3/3, so comments are being suspended for now.
Awesome. Your photography gives me a sense of tranquility.
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