Winter Fun

tanjabrittonwriter 58 Comments

I have previously expressed my appreciation for “random acts of art.” As most of us will agree, Mother Nature always has—and always will be—the greatest, most thoughtful, and most innovative artist. And while human art is only a faint echo, a pale imitation of nature’s, it can be extraordinarily beautiful, mentally stimulating, or simply fun.

With winter solstice upon us, I’m sharing some seasonal “random acts of art” I have encountered in recent years, both natural and man-made. Whether we like winter or can’t wait for it to give way to spring, if we interrupt our hibernation occasionally and venture outside to brave the cold, we are bound to find—or, by heeding our inner child’s impulse to play with snow, even contribute to—creations great or small that can help put a smile on our faces and make us truly appreciate winter’s inherent and unique beauty.

To enlarge a photo, click on it. To read its caption, hover your cursor over it.

Funny postcard I keep on my desk in winter
Equine enjoying the snow
Whimsical decoration in the forest
Someone’s Snow Queen
Horned Larks on ice
Artist Winter at work
Leaf embedded in ice
Hoar frost
Ice Hedgehog
Ice Mushroom

Wishing all of us in the northern hemisphere a winter season filled with good health, peace, and beauty, and our fellow bloggers in the southern half of the world a pleasant summer.

58 thoughts on “Winter Fun”

  1. Wonderfully sweet and amusing! Love your photos, Tanja. Take care, stay warm and well. Our ‘summer’ so far has mostly been a cold, rainy, windy form of autumn so I hope 2023 starts in FINE fashion with blue skies and bright sunshine!

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    • Thank you, Liz, I’m glad you enjoyed the images.

      Sorry to hear about your summer, I hope it will improve. We are expecting an Arctic “blast” starting tonight and plan to sit in front of the fireplace for the next couple of days!

      Best wishes for you and Nigel for the end of this and the beginning of next year.

      Tanja

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    • Dankeschön, liebe Ira. Du hast sicher recht–die Ohrenlerchen bedauern sicher, daß ihre Wasserquelle gefroren ist und freuen sich auf wärmere Tage. Aber ohne Kälte gäbe es keine Schneeblumen und weitere Eiskunst, und deshalb sollen wir sie auch willkommen heißen.

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  6. This is fun. The “funny postcard” is better than that – it’s hilarious! I hope the winter season is kind to you in Colorado, and that you are able to get out and about a bit to appreciate its (icy) wonders.

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    • Thank you, Mrs. P, the jay always makes me smile.
      Probably no outings in the near future–we are preparing for an Arctic cold front scheduled to arrive tonight and linger for the next couple of days. I’m sending out warm wishes for all the people and wild relatives living out-of-doors without the luxury of four walls and a roof over their heads.

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  9. Happy Solstice to you! Seems we can start enjoying a wee bit more daylight… hard to believe this year is finally coming to an end. Wishing you a far brighter 2023. I think I’m done with this one! 🥴

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  11. Love all the pics, but the postcard of the Jay really tickles me. I’ve often thought that the Jays needed some warmth as they zip around outside my window on the coldest of days. Wishing you Happy Holidays!
    Best,
    Julie

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    • The Jay photo always put a smile on my face (which is why I keep it on my desk in winter).
      I often worry about our feather friends when the weather turns brutally cold as is predicted for the next several days. I hope they will be able to come out unscathed on the other end (and maybe the food we put out for them helps).
      Wishing you a healthy and pleasant winter season.
      Tanja

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    • Liebe Maren,
      diese Eindrücke stammen aus verschiedenen Wintern. Es hat zwar gestern etwa 2 Zm geschneit und eine Kaltfront aus Kanada brachte sehr kalte Temperaturen mit sich, doch ab morgen wird es wieder wärmer und am Dienstag soll es 15 Grad Celsius erreichen! Die Schwnkungen sind doch sehr extrem.
      Aber wir werden Weihnachten trotzdem genießen und ich hoffe, Du auch.
      Herzliche Grüße,
      Tanja

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  20. What a delightful collection, Tanja. I especially enjoyed your Snow Queen; she reminded me of the small snow person I built on a patio table during our magical Christmas Eve snow in 2004. That was the year that someone built a snow surfer on the beach in Galveston. I didn’t have any birds standing on the ice in their bowl this morning, but there’s a squirrel there now, staring at me. I guess it’s time to go thaw things out. We will be above freezing today, if only slightly, but warmer days are coming, so there won’t be any snow fun for us this time around. Thanks for sharing yours!

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    • Thank you, Linda, I’m glad you found my wintry collection enjoyable and it brought back fond memories for you. I think snow brings out the child in many of us, if we only allow it. The surfing snowman is very apropos for the Texas coast and I’m curious about the statue it was erected next to.

      I hope the Arctic blast wasn’t too detrimental for all the denizens in your part of the country who aren’t equipped to deal with such cold temperatures.

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      • That statue is a memorial to the victims of the 1900 Hurricane in Galveston. It stands right on the seawall. One of the most famous photos of it may be this one, taken as Hurricane Ike was moving toward the coast.

        We’re finally moving out of the cold. Tomorrow’s temperatures will be in the 60s. There weren’t any particular problems with the electrical grid this time. There were some isolated outages, but most were due to very strong winds and downed tree limbs — just like in our intense summer thunderstorms — and from what I read, most were repaired relatively quickly. Farther north, around Dallas and the Panhandle, I think I read there were some problems with frozen natural gas systems, but that hardly made the news here, so it must have been dealt with fairly quickly, too.

        Despite everything, I saw several butterflies today, and the warblers are arriving: right on schedule.

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      • Thank you for the added details about the statue, Linda. The image with the approaching storm takes one’s breath away!

        I’m glad to hear that you weren’t too adversely affected by the cold. It’s shocking to see the images and hear the stories from New York.

        Enjoy your butterflies and warblers–I’m envious. 😊

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  21. Hach….sind das schöne Fotos! Liebe Tanja, deine stimmungsvollen Winterimpressionen zaubern ein Lächeln in mein Gesicht. Besonders mag ich den niedlichen Trupp Vögelchen, die so entspannt aufgereiht auf der Kante des vereisten Bottichs sitzen und interessiert die Umgebung beobachten.
    Wunderbar!
    Liebe Grüße aus dem Bergischen Land…..von Rosie

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  22. I rather like the Snow Queen and the whimsy! Freezing weather came to us at Christmas and I have been feeding the critters to help them survive. Their water bowl froze so I put out another with some tepid water. I was convinced the power was going to fail but was very grateful it did not. One of our old Scottish cats used to love jumping in snow drifts – she had a double layer coat like a wild cat.

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