Field Notes: Winter Landscapes
~ by Jim Eagleman courtesy photos
Yes, spring wildflowers are gorgeous— and who doesn’ t recall this past autumn’ s spectacular display? But I have to admit winter landscapes have always pleased me, from playing in them as a boy in rural Pennsylvania, to watching them from a windshield or living room. Winter is a favorite.
Monochromatic and quiet, the scarcity of color and sound is a nice break. Still, little surprises of color can occur. Winter’ s metaphors from the poets often include stillness, its sense of silence and darkness, a season of hibernation, a time when everything dies a little. Long freezing winter nights and crisp days can even inspire harsh feelings to some who endure them.
Not all poets see winter as a bleak and lifeless season. In Robert Frost’ s“ Dust of Snow,” a crow’ s movement overhead causes snow to dust the walker passing under a tree. The dust,“... has given my heart a change of mood and saved some part of a day I had rued,” I confess to be a bit like Frost and look for the beauty and joy at a time of year some can’ t fathom as pleasant.
I once recalled a hiker who stopped in my office at the Nature Center. It was a snowy and frigid day— no one in the park— and from the looks of his cold face, he had been out a long time. Prepared for the hike, he wrestled off his backpack full of camera gear, stomped his feet and shook snow from his shoulders.“ I think I saw it,” he exclaimed. I smiled thinking he caught a glimpse of an animal he wanted to photograph, but asked anyway,“ You saw it?”“ Yep,” he replied.“ All 283 subtle shades of gray!”
He told me he had heard of the park and its wide angle vistas from camper friends. He had finally scheduled a visit and wanted winter scenes to include in a project.“ I make my living as a photographer, have for years, and winter is my escape time,” he said.“ I love to be out. It’ s the color I look for.”
50 Our Brown County • Jan./ Feb. 2019