If you grew up in a place where white Christmases and snowmen were a part of winter, you might recall that a forecast for snow always triggered that secret childhood wish — a snow day. Or, should I say, A SNOW DAY!? But what does a forecast for snow trigger in the mind of a retired guy with a camera? A SNOW DAY!
This has not been much of a winter for snow in Madison, though we did wake to a dusting on Christmas morning. The grass still poked through it though so it wasn’t too impressive. New Year’s Eve began with rain but then turned to snow so that 2019 started with what I would call the first real snow fall of the season. It continued to snow most of New Year’s day. When it ended, it left a nice four-inch blanket over the city. So, after eating, drinking, loafing, and enjoying the comfort of family and friends over the holidays, on January 2nd I finally dusted off my camera and headed out to one of my usual nature hiking haunts, Owen Conservation Park.
The day had dawned with white skies. Though it didn’t appear to be snowing, tiny flakes continued to settle down on the surroundings. I shoved my camera into a 2.5 gallon Hefty zip-lock bag to provide some additional protection when I wasn’t shooting. The snow seemed to cling more tightly to the branches than I’ve usually seen. Maybe the rain at the start of this event helped to hold it in place by forming a freezing base for the subsequent snow. No one else was present when I first arrived so, for awhile at least, I had 100 acres of winter wonderland to myself.
[Click on any of the images below to enlarge them.]
Sequoia trees reaching to the sky are majestic. Autumn hillsides full of maple trees are a colorful delight. But, the huge gnarled branches of open-grown oaks seem to reach out to the world and speak of the history of the land. I love the oaks that stand watch over Owen any time of the year. When their limbs are clothed in a fresh snowfall, however, I often just stand and stare for a while until I finally remember to raise my camera.I eventually encountered another camera carrying hiker on the trails. We made the usual photographer small talk about the beautiful weather and scenery. She mentioned that one of her favorite spots that day was the creek that ran along the edge of the park. Although I’d hiked this park for over ten years, I wasn’t familiar with the place she was describing. She offered some directions accompanied by a little hand waving and pointing and I headed off to see what I could find. I soon came upon a small stream just outside the border of the park where the water flowed around a myriad of snow-covered rocks. She was right. I walked along and had to stop every ten feet to work a new scene. When the creek turned towards the nearby residential area I cut back through the oak savanna and returned to my car. This hike was a great way to start off the new year.
As an exercise in contrast, the next day began with blue skies and bright sunshine. I was surprised to see that most of the trees were still sheathed with snow. My wife was planning to ski at Owen, so I decided to go along, camera in hand, to see how the scenery compared to the previous day. On closer look the snow on the trees did appear a little more ragged than the day before and the trails were well trampled. I was surprised to see that some ice had formed in the stream, giving a lacy waist to the snow capped rocks. All in all, these two snow days were very enjoyable. I can’t, however, swear that they surpassed those long-ago snow days at Franksville Grade School.