Reub's journey

23 January 2013

Escaping the miasma





 It's like a Bermuda Triangle of frozen fog here in this part of the Willamette valley, every day adrift in a windless, cold, thick cloud that swallows the distant mountains, the trees, the people, the animals. It's the kind of weather pattern that sends people with seasonal affective disorder diving under happy lamps, and those who can afford it head off to Hawaii or Arizona.





The nights are cold and any puddles left behind by past rains are now frozen hard in the morning, ripples and all.




 The morning landscape is enshrouded in a ghostly white coat.



 Every blade of grass dressed as if for a wedding.


 
 The cobwebs I hadn't noticed last week are now in plain sight, threaded with ice. The spiders are busy here in the winter and I hardly knew it until now.



 
 Every drop of water transforms to a bead of ice, sparkling in the dimness like a little light.




 If you have the legs for it, you can drive part way up nearby Mary's Peak and hike the 3 miles to the top.  We saw a few other people there, and one of them asked "Are you escaping the miasma?"





 And there it lay below us, the dark vapors of winter covering town,  a pale beautiful cloud-lake, with Mt. Jefferson beyond.






 Blue sky above, clouds below. It's good to remember how close the sun is.




 Today when I walked the dogs in the woods I thought it was beginning to rain, but it was the lichen's little chandeliers of ice turning into water again, pattering on the ground beneath. Valley weather.





 This afternoon it has begun to rain in earnest and it's probably snowing atop Mary's Peak. I must create my own light. A fire in the fireplace. A candle perhaps.




This felt luminary was made by my niece, who would be happy to teach you how on her delightful blog.
A little light to ward off the miasma.

38 comments:

  1. THese are just gorgeous photos! And I am going to check out that luminary too.

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    1. Thanks Becky! Debbie has good directions on how to make these, if you're interested.

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  2. Inspiring pictures! They almost send me to walk in the rain. Almost.

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  3. I did not realize you were in my neck of the woods!! Yes, we've been shrouded in the heaviest fog ever. Its been very surreal!

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    1. Don't you have a dog? They force me into the worst weather, and I'm always grateful. :)

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  4. I'm moving to Arizona, Florida, southern California, someplace, anyplace, away from here.

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    1. This is not a good climate for anybody in chronic pain. At least not in the winter. The summer though...

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  5. I would enjoy the beauty of that for one day...maybe. Then I would be heading south.

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    1. Good thing you live in Texas! You might like the politics better here, though.

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  6. I love the thought of blades of grass dressed up as if for a wedding.

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  7. wow. i know it can make day after day of it miserable for you, but dang, it makes for gorgeous photos! both inside it and 'escaped' from it. :)

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    1. Thanks twg! I'm not really miserable, not as as much as some people. I like the rain and fog; it's atmospheric and beautiful. What is strange is to go for 3 months in the summer with no precipitation at all.

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  8. Simply stunning photography here. Amazing how ice is transformed into "art". Exquisite pieces of art. Hope you escape SAD and warm up soon.

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    1. Thank you Gail. I will certainly escape SAD. And there is a fire in the fireplace right now.

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  9. So amazingly beautiful! Those spider webs...wow! I'm glad you get outside and see the beauty in the cold and fog. Thank you for sharing (and stay warm!)

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    1. Thank you Barbara. The only way to get through this season is to embrace it as best as one can. It is truly beautiful.

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  10. Amazing, Breath taking & Spectacular captures of the winter season. Shows nature at its glorious best. The tall (redwood?) trees look incredibly beautiful but completely out of place amongst the ice,snow & frost.

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  11. i love that word .. miasma ... it feels good on the tongue ... i was just whining about how cold it is here but you win, its a lot colder there .. and a lot prettier ..

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  12. Laoch, thank you.

    RR, the trees are an old growth stand of Noble Fir growing on the side of Mary's Peak and they are spectacular. You have to be willing to hike a way to see them though.

    Daryl, I hadn't thought of that word in so long, but when the hiker said "miasma" I had to go for it! Such a cool word!

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  13. What a lot of very beautiful photos you got out of such dreary days. All it takes is eyes to see the beauty and the imagination to dress it in words.

    Lovely, particularly the small things like lichen and cobwebs.

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    1. Thank you Friko. Dreary weather often makes for better photos I think.

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  14. Beautiful shots. Can i follow you and you follow me?
    Regards from Portugal

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    1. Thanks Fabio. My general rule of thumb is "Lurk first, follow later!" I'll come watch you for awhile!

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  15. These photos are FANTASTIC... even if it does look too cold for me. Wow, I've never seen anything like what's in some of them. Frozen spider webs? OMG!

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    1. Thanks Ms.A! Frozen spider webs are sooooooper creepy, so glad you appreciated them!

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  16. Wow! Those photos are magnificent! Just gorgeous.
    I can relate to the cold, living in WI. ;) But those mountains! Wow. I'm just a tad jealous. :)

    Thank you for visiting my blog! You have a lovely place here.

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    1. Hi Kat! If you grow up in the northern Midwest winters elsewhere seem tame, don't they? Nothing like a long Wisconsin winter to remind me that this is not so bad.

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  17. This is an exquisite post, images and ideas. I've gotten above the low Pacific Northwest overcast, by climbing up and beyond Multnomah Falls. It's really important to do so. Your images are beautiful!

    Hope you get some clear sky a little closer to home sometime soon!

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    1. Thank you Reya. The sun was shining this morning, although a bit of rain has set in this afternoon. So nice to get a peek at the sun once in while. But I have to get out, rain or shine.

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  18. Wonderful poetry, too. You amaze me.

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  19. Fabulous photos. My son climbed Spencer's Butte to see if the sunlight was really still alive. He sent photos of the Butte's shadow resting solidly blue on the dense fog.

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  20. Wow, this is the one of the most beautiful blog posts i have ever read anywhere Kerry. The photo's are sublime and you make me wish i was there at this very second, even though the weather was inclement.

    You've managed to change my day for the better

    Thank you

    Saul

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    1. Thank you so much Saul. You have also improved my day with your sweet words. We wish you were here too.

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