Sunbeams Romance with Snow

Snow is unique. No two flakes are alike.  Each flake carries its own intricate DNA design pattern.  When you look over an abundance of snow, as in this picture, it's difficult to believe that the millions of flakes that have fallen are independent; even though when together as a collective whole they give birth to perfect model of the mystical frozen flake.

The blue bird sky and brilliant sun add overwhelming life to this picture.  With the kiss of the sunbeams, suddenly individual and solitary snowflakes take on an appearance of tiny diamonds. 

Steamboat is known for its trademark "champagne powder" and in this photograph the eye can imagine a flute of the bubbly and a dash of diamonds for the skier or snowshoer's delight. 

Once again, Mother Nature, in all her glory, brings together all her cherished children and paints an epic moment for the human eye, who were lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time.

...tiny bubbles tickle my frozen nose, and millions of tiny diamonds give me pause to breathe in the jeweled silence of an afternoon adventure deep within a grove of trees, freshly decorated with Mother Nature's frozen tears... ann mcarthur 1/19/144

A Diamond in the Rough

Trying out a new lens proved fruitful.  A close up shot of this budding pine allowed me to capture the tiny droplets of water that hid between the needles.  A simple drop of water doubles as a diamond.  In my opinion, I'd rather have the droplet of water then the real diamond. 




One at first, alone on a perch.  Slowly, effortlessly, the little droplets appear, to join their dozen or so other crystallized H2O.  Cold air whooshes around them, until suddenly they are frozen in time.   Ann McArthur May 22, 2013