One Foggy Morning

A thin grey fog hung over the trees and my world was not the same. I've walked this land hundreds of times before. Nothing had changed, but on a foggy morning I experienced it in a new way. Through the excessive moisture in the the air I saw the world differently.

Different and a little creepy because everywhere I turned I saw spider webs. I was amazed at the thousands hanging from trees, in bushes, and even on the ground.

Among the prickly needles on the cedar tree hung silken threads and water drops.

The sticky threads, looped from branch to branch reminding me of a Christmas tree decorated with silver tinsel.

Did you know there are several types of spider webs and many spiders are classified by the webs they weave? There are spiral orb webs, tangle webs, funnel webs, tubular webs, and sheet webs. I think I saw them all!!

The one below made me smile. It looked like a fishing pole and the fisherman had gotten his line all tangled.

At least with the moisture from the fog I could see the webs. On normal days I can't see them and I'm always walking into one. I cringe when I feel those sticky threads on me and wonder where is the spider? I know he's nearby, sitting, and waiting for his next meal.

If this doesn’t creep you out and give you chill bumps, the next time you see a spider web, stop and look at it carefully. Be amazed at the intricately designed work of art and engineering by such a little creature.

"Sometimes it looks like I'm dancing,

but it's just that I walked into a spider web."

~ Demetri Martin

Delightful Finds!

The wind is blowing. It seems it's always blowing lately. It could be that I'm more aware of the wind blowing because moving objects are hard to photograph. I've been sticking with things that don't move.

I ran out this morning to take a picture of fungi for a flickr group I belong to. I was hoping to find some with frost on them. That didn't really happen, the sun was too far up. Even though the sun was up, it was pretty chilly; 39 degrees, but feels like 31. I'm bundled, I'm warm, I'm happy.

I did find a little frost...

and of all things a dandelion.

Seriously, little dandelion, it's only January!

I wasn't going far, just out in the yard, but the next thing I knew I was deep into the woods. I just couldn't stop walking. I wanted to see what special treasures I could find today. These woods are so familiar to me, I walk there constantly, but each time is a new experience. They're not the same and I'm not the same.

Some days, like today, I find seedpods with amazing textures and shapes.

 

I also see reflections and abstracts.

I look up and see the sky above me...

 

 

and look down and find smallest of things.

 

 

Each and every day there's more treasures to be found!

Have you found anything that delighted you today?

 

Walk and Click Wednesday ~ February 6, 2013

 

Every morning when I get up the first thing I do is open the blinds over the kitchen sink and see what the weather looks like. What I saw yesterday would probably make most people groan and just want to crawl back in bed with a good book. We were surrounded be a thick blanket of fog, drippy wet fog! That’s perfect for me, I do love fog. I seem very unusual in how I like my weather. I like fog, rain, snow, and preferable below 60 degrees. I know, I know!! It’s weird!

 

On with the story! I quickly ate breakfast, dressed, jumped into my rain boots and a sweater and took off outside with my camera. There’s just something moody and mysterious about fog. The stillness closes in around me and the only sounds I hear are drips of water falling off the trees and the morning song birds. The sounds relax me and refresh me.

 

Our property backs up to a very large wooded area that gives me plenty of tramping grounds and never gets boring! At the very edge of our property is an old railroad bed including a trestle. I love to watch the water flow under the trestle. This is where the creek is the deepest. Sometimes I don’t make it very far in my walks. Sometimes I just sit and listen to the babbling water and watch it’s flow. I’ll tell a little story about the railroad trestle. I grew up just two house away from where I now live, so I've lived in this area since I was about ten. In the old days when the trains ran along this track, my friend and I used to dare each other to stay under the trestle when the train passed over. Pretty scary for two little girls. It creaked and moaned and gravel would sometimes fall through holes between the cross ties. Don't tell my Mom, I'm not sure she knows this!!

 

 

On the other side of the railroad bed a creek with moss covered banks meanders and twists through the woods. When I walk, schedules, or to-do lists never enter my mind. I just breath deep, inhale the earth’s damp smell, and relax.

 

 

I’m always gasping at the little things I see like this spider’s web covered with water droplets. As soon as I tried to get some pictures I knew I’d have to come back when the sun broke through the fog and before it dried up the drops of water. I wasn’t disappointed! The water drops shimmered like diamonds!

 

 

More than anything else, when I walk in the woods I’m filled with awe at the beauty of God’s creation.