How Quickly Things Change

Last Thursday it was sunny in the morning and I was greeted at my Greenville work site by a good-sized, "forked-horn" buck. (Convenient expression, I guess. "Forked antlers" is awkward.) By afternoon, the sky was clouding over and the weather reports all indicated a double-whammy storm was coming. Well, the first wham arrived last night, and early this morning we awoke to around 4" on the ground. A nice lull allowed for a few photos without getting my camera wet, but as I type, a heavy snowfall has resumed.

The second photo down is of a California Black Oak by my driveway that, as of last night, has lost all its leaves. It seems like only a few days ago I was photographing the beautiful Oak Treehoppers on its branches on a warm and sunny afternoon.

The next photo down is of a Douglas-fir in my back yard whose branches slope gracefully downward under the load of snow. Like a willow, when the weight reaches a certain point, the branches bend downward enough for the snow to slide off. They quickly spring back toward horizontal and begin collecting another load. Seems like watching this through a few cycles would be a good meditation, but who sits still that long? Certainly not I.

Next photo down is my tool shed. The adjacent split-rail fence covered with snow is one of my favorite subjects.

Last is a driveway scene in which the last little tree bearing colorful leaves is peeking out from under the larger oaks and Douglas-firs. I suspect its leaves will not survive the second wham that's supposed to arrive tonight.

I can't say I'm quite ready for winter. One symptom of that is that I have a powerful urge, right now, to drive down to the Oroville-Chico area to photograph some insects. :(