Winter's Grace

The new year roared in like a lion, bringing extremely cold record-breaking temperatures to most of the country, including the Deep South. Here in Vicksburg, the bitter cold quickly took its toll on our plants and winter landscapes, creating, to all appearances, a drab, dreary, and colorless palette. However, from my experience as a photographer, I knew appearances can be deceiving, and the winter palette was far from "drab." The first mild day that came along loudly beckoned to me, as if challenging me to come out of hibernation and capture the essence of God's winter grace. So even though the day was cloudy and the temperature was in the mid-fifties, it seemed almost balmy (compared to the low teens of the previous two days), as I set out with my cameras and headed to one of my favorite places ... the Vicksburg National Military Park. No matter how many photo shoots I do in the park, I never fail to find beauty, serenity, and inspiration there ... and I wasn't disappointed on my most recent visit. I chose to share a few of the pictures I captured that day in a brief slideshow presentation, with the stirring strains of the "John Dunbar Theme" from the movie, "Dances with Wolves," playing in the background.  I hope you enjoy the pictures and will be able to imagine the rustling of the magnolias leaves, the sound of the water rushing over the rocks of Mint Springs, the crunch of the winter grass under my feet as I knelt to get a close up shot of the sage grass, and the awe I felt being in the midst of God's amazing "winter grace." [Don't forget to turn the volume up on your computer before you click on "Play," if you'd like to hear the music.]

Farewell to Winter

I am already looking forward to the arrival of Spring, but, unfortunately, we still have several more weeks of winter to endure before it makes an appearance here in Vicksburg. In the meantime, I thought it might be fun to go out and capture with my camera some of our winter landscapes and scenery, which have a beauty all their own ... and I didn't have to venture far from home to find it.

I drove over to the Vicksburg National Military Park, which is about ten minutes from our house, and I was able to capture most of these pictures from my car, with the exception of the closeup shots.

It was a mostly overcast day and the magnificent magnolias, gingkos, and oaks in the National Cemetery made magnificent silhouettes against the gray skies ...

The next two pictures are of the massive trunk of my favorite old gingko tree in the cemetery. Just look at the character in its strong rugged bark ...

I love that old tree!

I spotted this redbird resting in the branches of a cedar tree not far from the old gingko.

He was a long way off, but I managed to capture the picture from my car with my zoom lens. I love the contrast of his crimson feathers against the green cedar branches.

Just outside the cemetery is Fort Hill.

Fort Hill was the highest elevation in Vicksburg during the time of "The Siege."

As I followed the winding roads through the park, I noticed things that you don't see during the Spring or Summer. Like the tangled vines of honeysuckle and briars ...

And bright green carpets of moss growing along the sides of the road ...

A hole in the trunk of a tree caught my attention, and I used my zoom lens to get a closer look.

As you can see, the hole is out of focus, but I think it turned out to be a much more interesting picture, with the focus ending up (albeit, by mistake) on the sweetgum balls instead of the hole (you can click on the image to get a closer look, if you'd like).

All along the roads were winter grasses, with their pretty rust-colored plumes brightening the landscapes ...

And speaking of "brightening the landscapes," as I left the park, I did a double take as I passed by these colorful purple Irises planted in front of a weathered cedar shake wall ...

I'm still working on my macro skills, and found this lovely little bouquet of "springlike" jonquils a delightful subject to practice on ...

Although I was practically standing on my head to get these pictures, I deemed them to be "keepers."

As well as these delicate little snowbells ...

My lagniappe for the day was this picture of a tugboat on the Yazoo River Diversion Canal ...

It wasn't until I was editing the picture that I realized it was the tugboat that made national news last week when it pushed its load of barges into the railroad bridge crossing the Mississippi River at Vicksburg, causing an oil spill and tying up river traffic for several days.

I"m not sure this turkey could be called lagniappe, but he didn't stay around long enough to pose for a picture.

Overall, I guess you could describe our Mississippi "winterscapes" as drab and blah, but I enjoyed capturing and preserving some of the beauty I found in and amongst the drabness, as I bid farewell to winter and look forward to welcoming Spring's arrival.

Winter's Hidden Beauty

When you think of winter landscapes, what is the first image that pops into your mind?

Something like this, right?

I took that picture last February, during a very rare snowfall here in Vicksburg, but our winter landscapes don't usually look like that. Instead, from mid-November through February, they look pretty much like this:

I know that, at a glance, it looks rather drab and depressing — but if you look a little closer, you will discover that there's a lot more to the landscape than there appears to be.

Hidden in and amongst all that "drabness" are berries ...

And tiny dried flowers that look like little stars ...

And all kinds of interesting grasses growing along the fence rows, which, I admit, do look drab — until you get a closer look.

And if you look past the fence rows into the woods beyond, you might see remnants of Autumn scattered amongst the trees.

If the winter landscape where you live isn't a picturesque snow-covered meadow or country lane, don't despair ... just look a little closer, and I'm sure you will discover, as I did, the beauty hidden within Nature's winter colors.