Sunday, January 10, 2010

Frosted Garden

Possumhaw Holly
Ilex decidua

Watching snowfall from the front porch of my mom's lake house, I was struck mute by the sheer beauty of my possumhaw hollies across the street. The bright red ilex decidua was heavily laden with plump, red berries. Fluffed up Mockingbirds would alight within its drooping branches, pick off a berry and fly off into the heavy flurries. Snowfall is rare here, and one of such beauty - sans ice - beckons this Southerner outdoors and across the street, to her home, her yard, to witness this miraculous dusting and record it for all time.

Virginia Sweetspire
Itea virginica
Seed pods leftover from spring still adorn the mass planting of Virginia Sweetspires that ramble along the foundation of our home. Such sweet magic when I looked at them and the the hollies, topped with snow, through my new macro lens. The snowfall didn't consist of pretty little rounded circles of ice but instead sharp shards like broken glass.

Byer's Golden Possumhaw Holly
Ilex decidua
The golden possumhaw holly was not to be outdone by its red relative. The golden berries and slate gray leaves dusted with icy crystals is nearly mouth-wateringly beautiful.

Roads were closed for a spell, therefore road trips were infrequent. Did I see white pelicans?

...stay tuned...

6 comments:

Gaelyn said...

These macros are so crisp and clear I feel like I could hurt myself on those snow spikes. Great compostion and contrast. Hope you can enjoy this bit of snow.

Bo Mackison said...

All that frosty stuff sure looks pretty on your possumhaw. (What a great descriptive name - possumhaw!)

inadvertent farmer said...

Love golden holly...so unique! If you add the frost it is awesome, Kim

Rachel said...

Congrats on the new macro. It is clearly in good hands. Gold and slate blue are such a beautiful combo and those shards of ice... sigh. Thank you for a view into your wonderland.

Eve said...

Beautiful Debi. I'm glad you ventured out. I, on the other hand, was not interested in the slightest to go. I've seen so much of that, but now feel like I might have missed something special. It's still frosty here and we still have a little snow on the ground! I can't wait for spring!!

Diane Schuller said...

Good heavens, I have not visited because I truly thought you had closed the doors here. I see I was wrong! Such beautiful images and oh how I enjoy your writing. Gosh, I'll have to start making you a regular stop again now that I know you are blogging.

PS: With my new resolution to spend much less online time I don't visit a lot, but I Do come by from time to time. Yours is going to be on my station stops for sure!

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