Sometimes the light in the winter in Nova Scotia has a special quality to it. This no doubt has to do with the contrasts of snow, blue sky, dark branches, the moisture in the air and the position of the sun. Whatever the reason for it, at those particular times you are happy if you are able to catch it in a photograph as it is fleeting. This was taken at 8:30 in the morning, facing Northwest, with the sun coming up behind me on my right. I took another photo here fewer than 30 seconds after this one and that unique quality had gone. This old maple is, as regular readers will know, my favourite tree in the garden, which always seems to star in so many of my home landscapes. For those reading the other post being published today (link here), the lilies in that post are just to the left of this tree, behind and up on that little bank that you see.

You can see the photo in full size on my landscape gallery here.

Sometimes the snow falls straight down and sticks. It sticks to everything and what it clings to just hangs there, with no wind to knock it to the ground. This snowfall was just like that. Still, peaceful and quiet. The bushes to either side of this little footbridge near our house hung so low with the weight of it that I had to almost crawl underneath. I really didn’t want to disturb the scene, it had such a peaceful feel about it. Walks like this are so rare. I wanted to share part of this one.

Early the next morning the snow was still clinging to all of the branches. This snow-covered lilac bush outside my window had such lovely clean lines of white and brown. By the afternoon it had fallen off.

The other day, rain brought fog over the snow and it reminded me of these photographs taken early last year. I know I seem to dislike the winter’s lack of flowers, but the snow and even the cold brings a different beauty to the landscape. The fog gives a dreamy quality to the snowy landscape that I really love, though we seldome see it. This is one of my favourite trees in our garden, so old and almost completely rotten, so not likely to be here for much longer, but the branches are so beautiful against the Northern sky. And those footsteps…. whose are they?

The photograph below was taken at the same time, of much younger trees in the field facing East, just starting off their lives in our often harsh climate. This part of the sky looks completely different! I hope you enjoy this bonus post in the midst of our pandemic and Flower a Day regular postings. Just for a change.

It’s a beautiful year for fall foliage here and the other evening I saw this wonderful display of the full rainbow over the trees at the bottom of our field. I couldn’t get the whole rainbow in but it’s all here!

Although the photos are a good size here, they are larger on the gallery which you get when clicking on the images. You can swipe to view next or play as a slideshow or pinch to zoom on mobile. Enjoy!

Leaves against the stormy sky

Rainbow in Autumn

Rainbow over the trees

Dogs chasing the end of the rainbow