Snowbounding!

The national collective cry over the weather has reached a fevered pitch.  Unfortunately there’s nothing we can do about it except congratulate the weather forecasters for calling it correctly this year.  The only other thing we can also do is shovel out, retreat by the fireside and grin and bear it for another six weeks or so. 

Last week, while I was barnbound and feeling the onset of cabin fever, I ventured out to shovel from the barn to the driveway.  When I stepped outside to grab my shovel I spied a deer bounding across the fields toward me.  I ran back inside for my trusty point-n-shoot camera hoping I could take a snap.  Little did I know that buck here was leading a team that was close on his antlers.  I was so amazed to see this group bounding and leaping so gracefully in the deep snow.  It made me have a deeper appreciation for this season – realizing it brings a beauty and elegance that no other season offers.

 

 

  

Photos by Joel Woodard

Leather and Lace(s)

Ya know, it’s a real buzz kill when you’re lacing up your boots to go out and shovel the thigh-high snow and the bootlaces break. This is what happened to me yesterday morning.  The original leather laces just snapped.  I was not surprised since leather will dry out and break, but this kind of thing always seems to happen at the most inopportune time. 

So I sighed and jury-rigged the broken lace to get me through the chore at hand.  After I had finished shoveling, I headed out for Saturday morning errands which included a trip to the grocery store.  My first thought was to replace the leather laces with the same but then I spied these cool red ones and thought, why not add a little spark to the footwear?  In the dreary winter days of winter while I may always be looking toward the skies for the light, now when I look down I have another reason to smile.

Photos by Joel Woodard

Rustic Chic Color Fields

Fall’s first blanket of snow fell yesterday.  Before the eye-rolling starts and ennui kicks in about not needing to see yet another snow-covered field and trees, take a minute and think about how color and texture in nature affect you – as a person, your work, your mood. 

If you’re in an artistic field like I am (no pun intended), it can seem trite to say “my work is influenced by nature” or some other thing.  But when you really take a little time to scrutinize the colors in something and how light or the lack of it shifts your perception – whether it’s a snow-covered field or the loose change in your pocket – you’ll discover it’s difficult to really pin color down.

My wife and I are always playing a game we call “What Color is That?”.  We don’t go in for “oh, that’s blue” or “oh, that’s white”, because that doesn’t mean anything.  We say things like “oh, that’s ‘frog in a blender'” or “that’s ‘peach frappe'”.

Go into your own back yard or field or neighborhood park or alley and study the colors that nature (and man) have put there.  Really study how the colors relate to one another as well as how they stand alone in contrast to some other object. Observe  how esoteric and obscure some of the colors can actually be.  You’ll find out there’s no such thing as “blue” or “pink” or “white”. 

And so as I woke up this morning to a sprawling vista of snow,  I knew that today there would be a vast array of color in untold shades just waiting to be named – out there in the rustic chic color fields.

All photos by Joel Woodard