Going to the laundromat is one of those things a person cannot avoid. I know. I’ve tried. There are, however, good ways to use the downtime between Sort, Load and Fold, should a person be provident enough to bring a camera along.
Behold the Ice. Can’t you just imagine what it must have been like to look up . . . and up, and up . . . at the Glacier moving inexorably over the land? Can’t you hear the theme music from 2001: A Space Odyssey? Isn’t it extraordinary that we once thought of 2001 as the distant future?
But just as the Ice Cometh, the Ice Goeth, leaving behind fanciful shapes, dripping icicles, and the sure knowledge that one day, should we live long enough, there will be a Spring. Not now of course. Maybe not until 3001. Still, something to hold onto.
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Look at all that ice long enough and all you want to do is go back home and make things cozy. I was experimenting with closeups, seeking to achieve the desirable “bokeh” of my betters with my beloved point’n’shoot camera. I failed at bokeh, but I ended up with cozy. Cozy is good, I think. Here, have a cup.
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Now I’m off to a Township Board meeting. In due course I will write it up for the Elk Rapids News. I will endeavor to cast more light than heat. Keep warm, keep safe. Be cozy.
Torch Lake Views 
Cindy Lou
February 17, 2010
Ummmm…all cozied up now thanx to you!
Gerry
February 17, 2010
I am glad to hear it.
Scott Thomas Photography
February 17, 2010
Cozy indeed. Not sure if a small P&S can get that bokeh look. Might try not using macro and get in as close as you can to your subject the camera will allow. That might do it.
Gerry
February 17, 2010
I will give that a try, Scott. Thank you. I’ve of tried it before by accident, and gotten, um, foreground bokeh with background detail! Maybe if I plan it that way, I can make it come out right. Or not. Digital prints are cheap!
flandrumhill
February 17, 2010
Gerry, being cozy is *always* the point.
Unfortunately, I don’t have any icicles on my house, otherwise they’d be put to great use in a sword fight with my grandson. Although they’re cold and sharp, I’ve always found them to make a home look cozier.
Gerry
February 17, 2010
Whoa, Grandma! What sharp icicles you have! I suppose just a few icicles artfully disposed about the place add a cozy touch. However, quantities of them are merely a warning of roof leaks to come, and I have had enough of roof leaks to last me the rest of my natural life. I’m such a sourpuss. Comes of having no grandchildren to have swordfights with.
uphilldowndale
February 17, 2010
I have a jug of ‘honesty’ seed pods in my kitchen, I had a bowl of pretty pebbles and a sea urchin, but Spud the dog ate them. The kitchen does not feel cosy it feels like we’ve just moved in! All my pretty thing are on the top shelf or in the cupboard.
Gerry
February 17, 2010
I remember what it was like to have a curious toddler. (I forget almost everything, but Rob the Firefighter was a memorable toddler by anyone’s standards.) Just think how nice it will be when Spud has a year under each paw. You can become reacquainted with all your pretty things . . . (He ate the pebbles?!?)
Anna Surface
February 17, 2010
Yikes! That is some serious ice and icicles! I do like the cozy photos. Bokeh? Well, I’m not good at that and that happens only by mistake. LOL
Gerry
February 17, 2010
I’m glad you liked the cozy photos. I quite liked them myself. I aspire to bokeh because I like the effect, but I am resigned to life without it. We do have some serious icicles here and there. Amy up in Flandrum Hill (Nova Scotia) says she likes to play swordfighting with her grandson using icicles. Wouldn’t they have fun at the Wash Basket in Central Lake?
Kathy
February 19, 2010
Don’t know about sword fighting with those icicles…yikes! (I think my son may have tried it with a few trees years ago…hopefully not with his little sister.) I’ve been photographing dozens of icicles off the house and garage roof, too. They are so intriguing. And sometimes hard to get just the right icicle shot to show them off to the best advantage.
Gerry
February 19, 2010
I’m fascinated by icicles that bend backward toward the house, is if they were being blown by a strong wind, and by sheets of ice that extend way out from the roof, forming fanciful patterns. You would think they’d simply break off, but they last a long time.
isathreadsoflife
February 21, 2010
Lovely cosyness and Winter natural sculptures. love this leaf like a golden embroidery.
Gerry
February 21, 2010
Thank you, Isabelle. That leaf is special. It was a gift from my friend Carol Park who grew up in Colorado where the aspens turn the mountains gold in autumn. Its golden beauty reminds me of our long friendship. We were neighbors for almost 30 years, and our grown children have known each other for as long as they can remember.