The Many Moods of Squak Slough

A Winter Walk

I'm back.  Between the holidays and illness, it's taken me awhile to get back into the swing of things.  So let's ease into it with a walk to enjoy a crisp, sunny winter day.

I find it fascinating how frost interacts with different surfaces.

The water may look inviting, but that's actually a layer of ice on top.

And it's probably best to avoid our "hippo".  For the record, I did not even see him until I pulled the pictures up on the computer.

A little warmth on this chilly day - the fiery branches of a Red Bark Maple.

Frost, ice and bare branches:  clearly, this is winter.

And yet, a hint . . .

. . . of the promise of spring.

A Review

In the previous post, I shared about our quilt group's field trip to La Conner's Quilt Museum.  Today, I'd like to share my thoughts about the exhibit itself.

Field Trip!

This past Sunday, some members of our quilting group took a little trip up to La Conner, WA, to see the current exhibit called Material Men.  (I'll share more about the exhibit in my next post.)

It was cold and rainy outside, but inside this beautiful Victorian era mansion, we were quite comfortable.  There were three floors of amazing quilts, countless rooms filled with period furnishings, and two very friendly staff members to make us feel welcome.

Afterwards, we headed over to Dawn's.  She lives far enough away from the rest of us that most of us have never been to her place before.  She treated us to a little show-n-tell, a cozy time of fellowship and . . .

dessert!

Autumn Stroll

Join me on a little nature walk.  Yes, I know, we did this just a little while back.  But it keeps changing outside!  Most of the bright reds are gone but the big maples have turned golden yellow and are putting on a grand display.

Here's our contribution to the neighborhood show.









Looking the other direction from this, there used to be a clump of huge cottonwoods which was also impressive.  However, they had a habit of dropping limbs.  So now we have stumps and . . .

fungus . . .amongus!  (Sorry, I couldn't resist)

Okay, let's meander back towards the maple.

What's this?  I thought we already had the Last Rose of Summer. With the mild fall we've had they just keep going.

Hanging out with the rose is an assortment of lichen.  I think this one looks like Einstein's hair.

Are you lichen this?  (I know, there's no end to my wittiness.  I'm sure you're thinking there's no beginning either.)

Oh, look at this little guy.  Only about an inch tall.  Cute.

Oh my, I think I took too many pictures!  How do I make this manageable?  Maybe categories will help.

Usually, it's the colors that catch my eye first.  

If I look a little longer, it's the textures.

Sometimes, it's the light - directly, or indirectly.

Or what the light reveals.  When I took this I could only see the one big strand.

And then there's the broad subject of perspective.

Near.  It's amazing what you see when you get up close and personal.  This moss is growing on the roof of the shed.

Far.  The tree next door is perfectly placed for our viewing pleasure from the kitchen.

But it called for some more "near."  (With permission, of course.)

And, one of my favorite perspectives - up.

I hope you enjoyed the stroll.  I'm sure we'll do it again sometime.