Inspiration

An Out Of The World Abstract Visit From Mother Nature

Shelley

Have you ever wondered why a wild animal does what it does? Or how Mother Nature and Old Man Winter know when to do what it is they do to trigger a change in seasons? As I pondered those questions, I didn’t go for clarity as much as I went for seeking signs of Mother Nature’s gift of abstraction.

Walk lightly in the spring; Mother Earth is pregnant.

Proverb

I’ve still been watching out the windows to see what the critters are doing in their world compared to my world. Looking desperately for signs of spring. It’s cheap entertainment!

Plus, I’m here to tell you that I’ve been feeling a bit like a wild animal myself.

One who has been coaxed into a shelter cage…

– free to come and go, while at the same time feeling all penned up in my four walls.

It’s safe here, but I do want to go somewhere to help feed my creativity and let it burst free from the hold winter has had on us here in Wisconsin. Enough already, Mother Nature, is white snow all you’ve got for us?!

I’m ready to take a lunge forward into Spring and see what happens. My brother heard a Robin singing and saw it too – that’s great news, the Robins returning means we’ll for sure have 3 more snows on the Robins’ tail before Spring arrives.

Each leap of faith that spring will arrive tells me to trust my previous paths made to survive winter, especially when we’re in the tail-ended thick of it.

Nature gives to every time and season some beauties of its own.

Charles Dickens

The spring-forward of the clocks wakes up certain desires in the rabbits in the yard…we saw a baby one this past week. Don’t rabbits ever take a break from making more rabbits?

I love to watch them dance around the yard and discover new paths.

I wonder if rabbits feel out of their world when they are sitting vulnerable to predators against the white snow.

Pausing to contemplate their next move. Looking extra cute.

He sure dashes back to safety in a hurry.

Or maybe they’re creating their own form of abstract art with their tracks that lead predators off in different directions?

I wondered – could be an abstract artist like our little rabbit?

Well…fate happened this week! Mother Nature provided an icy opportunity right before my eyes to grab my camera and play the role of an Abstract Artist.

It was like being in an art gallery where every window was an abstract painting.

The photo I took with my iPhone for Instagram was my favorite of the day. I don’t know how the dark blue looked so royal blue, but it was cool!

The ice was fascinating to watch as it came and went throughout the day.

Icicles formed on the railings.

The Tea House had two rows of them.

The ice coating on the windows grabbed my attention.

Do you like the block edges above or the fancy edges below?

Mother Nature is quite an abstract artist indeed.

As each layer lay, the ice collected, melted, and slowly dripped…

Painted in a crystal clear way on every surface – on tree branches and ice on icicles.

The lawn furniture was painted with extra thick ice.

As the day warmed up, Mother Nature kissed the ice goodbye and released it from surfaces.

By mid-afternoon, all the ice had disappeared.

I think it’s time for Old Man Winter to get Mother Nature drunk, and have a little fun making Spring

Quotesgram.com

The next morning, a strange frost appeared in one window. I wondered if it was from a different world – ice creatures growing from the bottom up. Odd! 🤔

The last photo on my SD card for February looks a bit like a crowd of aliens dancing across the window…hooray, the last ice party for February!

🙌🏻

We’re Here – Marching into March!

Me dressed in layers to take an early morning walk! I look like a creature from outer space!

Bring on Spring! The wild critters have reappeared on warming up surfaces to entertain us until we can be out in the world of our backyard playing ourselves on spring’s green surfaces too.

Post Inspiration – Linda G. Hill’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday – Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “wild animal.” Choose a wild animal (or many wild animals) and use it any way you’d like in your post. Enjoy! And Terri Webster Schrandt’s Sunday Stills Mar 5 – Out of this World; and Brian at Bushboys World – Last on the Card for February.

PS – What is your favorite sign to watch for when it comes to the arrival of Spring? Are you ready for the clocks to spring ahead? Do you get the spring cleaning bug at this time of year? What are you writing down and checking off of your to-do lists so you’re ready for the change in seasons?

Published by Shelley

Letting my quirk out one post at a time.

53 thoughts on “An Out Of The World Abstract Visit From Mother Nature”

  1. Feeling like a caged animal…great metaphor, Shelly! That rabbit is having a blast in your yard. But your icy window abstracts are truly out of this world, and I love the last one with the alien ice dancers at the window! Seems my blogger friends in the Northern US are all experiencing this lengthy, weird winter. March may be here but she didn’t get the memo!

    1. Thanks, Terri 😍😁 I was really surprised by the alien ice dancers, at first we thought maybe out new windows had malfunctioned, but there hasn’t been a reappearance of them since.
      Yes, we’re really tired of winter. March needs to win the battle for spring soon!

    1. Thank you, John!!! Glad you enjoyed the post. I hope you survived the windstorms you have going through Vegas!

  3. I like the little rabbit hopping around in the snow making trails. Great winter pictures. 🙂

    1. Hi Barbara, thank you, I’m glad you enjoyed the pictures!! I hope signs of spring are popping up where you live!

  4. I love your photos. The icy windows do look like abstract paintings. I am never ready for them to turn the clocks ahead, but it will happen without my support. I will hang on until the trees start to show some colorful blossoms.

    I hope you have a great week.

    1. Thanks, Dan, I’m glad you enjoyed the photos!
      I’m not sure I’m ready for the clock changing either. We’ve started practicing this week so it won’t be as shocking to our kitty clocks come Sunday!
      Your trees will show blossoms before ours, so I look forward to seeing those photos in your posts!
      I hope you have a great week too!!!

      1. We always hope the time change will push MiMi into demanding food at a reasonable hour. It never seems to help. We used to try to ease Maddie’s medication into the new routine, but it didn’t seem to matter.

        1. Our Dessy is working slowly at nudging the time of feeding ahead – she is extra early each morning so by Sunday we’ll probably all be rescheduled to her new Spring ahead time.
          Our dogs seemed to adjust easier than the cats. Aww, I still miss seeing Maddie in your posts 😢

  5. A delightful winters tale Shelley. You do come from the land of ice and snow. How lucky to have such an interesting Last Photo. Love it 🙂 Thanks for joining in Shelley 🙂 🙂

    1. Thank you, Brian – I’m glad you enjoyed the post! 😁 I thought of you and your abstract posts when I saw the ice on the windows. Thanks for hosting the Last Photo challenge, it was fun to have something to share for February!!

  6. Block edges for me! And I love all your photos of ice. I suppose I’m sentimental, missing the good-and-cold winters of my childhood. No snow at all here this winter (sad face!). But I am getting ready for spring–it’s a beautifully sunny Sunday here today. Hope you’re well, friend!

    1. Hi Rebecca! Thank you for sharing your thoughts and feedback, much appreciated.
      Your sentimental heart is a gift. 🤗 I’m glad I can share some photos of the winter so you can reminisce about childhood winters.
      I’m SO ready for spring! I’m glad to hear it is happening in your area – send some warm sun my way please!
      Soon, the end of your running the kids every day to school will end too! 😎
      Thank you, yes, all is well here. I hope you’re well too dear friend!

        1. Yeah, what made sense decades ago might not make as much sense now with technology available. I don’t like seeing our young kids out waiting for the bus in the dark. In early spring and late summer I’ve watched our local farmer use lights on his tractors when he’s either too early or too late to the planting or harvesting. I’d be game for setting the clocks 1/2 way in between and calling the deal done. 🤷🏻‍♀️

  8. Nature is quite the abstract artist! Your snow gives me shivers. Just returned back to my Ohio home after 2 months south. Many from Wisconsin there. I’m sure they didn’t miss the snow. One thing about March … In like a lion but out like a lamb. Welk, at least in my area. Have a good March!

    1. Hi Frank! Thanks, I’m glad you agree about Mother Nature’s gift of abstract art.
      Aw, I bet it’s hard to return to cold after having 2 months in the south. I have some friends who do the same thing and they always say they don’t miss the snow.
      I hope the lion and lamb thing comes true! We’ve paid our winter dues for the year.
      Thank you, I hope you have a great March too!!

    1. Hi Janis! Dessy is cheering your DS team on! She’s 100% on board for getting fed sooner rather than later. 😻😹

      Thanks, yes, the bunnies have found and claimed their way to/fro the tea house – no matter what we would’ve tried to do to prevent them from finding those shelter spots, they’d find alternative routes. They own the yard!

  11. Hi Shelley! How much more snow did you get since this post? It appears March is our snowy month, right when we’d like to be done with the stuff and hear/see/smell the signs of spring. I’ve heard geese here and our mourning dove pair have made a reappearance. I also have a friend who lives about 40 minutes west of here who saw a flock of swans in the local pond. Spring wants to come, it just needs to kick old man winter in the backside.

    1. Hi Mary! We’ve gotten about 8-10 more inches, but some melted on the warmer days. We did get 3 more inches overnight and it is snowing again today. I’m hoping that next Friday’s storm is the goodbye winter storm!
      We’re seeing Robins now so spring is so close I can hear it 😉

        1. Yeah, I agree – winter better leave before the first day of spring! I remember in 2013 we received a foot of snow in early May. Oh, man, if that happens I don’t know what I’ll do! 🤣

  12. Those are definitely great photos to depict the theme. the bunny photos brought to mind the story of peter cottontail. I’m sure you are very ready for spring.

    1. Thank you, Kirstin, I enjoyed your photos! I loved seeing all the bright colors you captured, and you moon shots too!
      Oh, yes, indeed, we’re ready for Spring!!

  13. These are great Winter shots and I love the ice pictures Shelley. You’re right – the last few images do look a little unearthly. With all the ice covering everything, including your windows, it would make you feel even more cooped up due to Winter. The pictures of the snow in the yard – never-ending snow and the poor bunnies out there, another one looking cute; you’re right that it is like a sitting duck out there in the snow. That’s how I feel about my squirrels in the snow. Most of the time they stay put and eat their peanuts and seeds, but then take a notion to run across the snow and try to bury it – “no, no, no!” They don’t understand how a dark dot on the snow is a bullseye target for the hawk. I hope I never see that happen. I wish you could be free from snow and ice soon … we’re slogging through March, almost halfway there … you can do it!

    1. Thank you, Linda, I’m glad you enjoyed the photos.
      Yeah, the rabbits seem to know when they can hop around and when not to. With the recent snow we got, none of them were out hopping around. The squirrel did though, he is hungry and kept coming back to the window feeder. It has become a game to him, I knock on the window and he just leans out and looks at me to see if I’m really a threat. Once I open the door he dashes off and returns later.
      Yes, we’re slogging through March…I hope April 1 isn’t a joke with another storm. 🤣

      1. When we had “Sammy” the squirrel that went to three houses … a neighbor’s across the street, Marge and this house, he was obstinate. I would feed everyone before I went to work, so I wasn’t mindful of what happened in the backyard, but Marge filled my mom and I in on the scoop – she would chase Sammy away from one feeder and he’d head to another one. He had an attitude that whatever was put out to be eaten was for his mouth only. 🙂 I’m glad the rabbits sense a predator. Whew! Arnie, the older walker that I talked to sometimes and passed away last year, told me he saw the squirrels waiting until the last possible moment to bolt as they wanted to finish a treat. One day he saw one get nabbed by a hawk.

    1. Hi Linda! Yes, I can access the link. WOW…your garden was such an enchanting wildlife sanctuary. I’m so impressed, thank you for sharing the photos!!! I know you’ve said it was a lot of work, but do you think you’ll pursue gardening again when you retire?

      1. Glad you liked it Shelley! If I knew the link still worked I would have included it in that post, but truly, not everyone would watch a 100+ slideshow of garden pics. At one time my garden was my life … it was at its peak from 2008 to 2010, but in 2010 I got the first digital camera so I decided to take a lot of photos. Good thing due to everything essentially being wiped out. It looks bad along the back fence from the shed having blown over and it fell apart, two trees that DTE came and hacked up the next day as they were too close to the power lines (they had nothing to do with that fire) and those trees caused a lot of shade – I have sparse grass now.

        I look at it every day and think to myself: “do I just have the perimeter gardens which are now empty and back gardens just ripped up and sod put in, plus the trees cut down – it will be costly but then no more gardening activities in the backyard … if not for climate change, I would do it (when retired), but I think of a fellow blogger who loves gardening and talked about days and days on end lugging the hose around for all her perennials, roses and annuals and to keep the grass green … I don’t know if I want that burden again. It was a lot of work back then and I was a lot younger. I painted and decoupaged the pout chair and milk stool at the side of the house too. It took me all Winter one year to do it, a little every weekend in the basement, then play around with decals and a finishing coat. If it was going to rain, I put them on the back patio along with some of the yard art that I didn’t want to get ruined. I still have the chair and stool downstairs. P.S. – I had not looked at these photos in about five years … it was like watching someone else’s house. 🙂

        1. Yes, I enjoyed seeing your garden. It was definitely a labor of love. I think you’re wise to consider your own desires and how much you’d enjoy doing all the work at this point in your life. My MIL loves to garden to keep busy, but it takes her all summer long to get to all of her gardens. I’ve often wondered how we could just have rock gardens that don’t need much attention. I don’t think that would be any easier.
          I hope you enjoyed looking back on the happy memories – you should be proud of what you did and enjoyed doing back then.

          1. Yes, I really have to dwell on it some more – I broke off more of the branches on the clematis, the lilac bush and the lilac tree – the lilac tree was not green, but the wood seemed moist. I’ll look at it again in another week and see if I should trim it or call in the company which removes bushes and trees. I can’t stress just how bad it looks out there now, not just from the fire, but those two now-misshapen trees and some elm seeds which grew and I can’t reach. The guy behind IS rebuilding a garage. They were working on digging the foundation yesterday and I checked it out this a.m. – that will help as my redwood fence burned, his stockade fence burned and the garage rubble was taken away. This is on the easement – another factor. If there are sewer problems, the City has the right to tear up the yard and their “fix” is pitiful – they scatter some grass seed, some straw and dirt over that and call it done.

          2. Oh, dang, that must be frustrating and sad at the same time.
            Hopefully, the guy will put up a nice looking fence that you can enjoy looking at? I also hope there aren’t any septic issues. They are NOT fun to have! We have the same kind of fixing crews here in our state. It takes forever for the grass to grow back nicely.

          3. I don’t know what happened to my grass – there isn’t much of the lawn left now with the generator taking up space. I’ve been toying with mulched paths too. I just don’t know … there is no grass to mow back there right now.

          5. That’s an idea Shelley – I never thought of that. Some of those ornamental grasses are pretty. In one of the pics in the garden slideshow, I saw the one and only ornamental grass I ever planted.

          6. That’s what I want to do at one of our rentals that has a horrible hill to mow. I don’t know how quickly they grow, but I do like seeing them in full bloom and blowing in the wind! My daughter lives by a house that they planted wild flower seeds for the whole yard so that they attract butterflies and they don’t have to mow.

          7. I think I saw on “Birds and Blooms” that even when the grasses die off they still look good in the Winter and provide some shelter for birds then too. I like that idea of the wildflowers growing everywhere – I don’t have any grass back there now – it is now becoming moss and mud and I have no clue if it has a disease that wiped out the grass or those trees maybe caused too much shade … I have no idea what caused it but it’s a real mess back there.

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