Saturday, January 15, 2011

Snow Shadows


One cannot see the shadows without seeing the sunlight. Posted by Picasa

“Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.” ~ Abraham Lincoln (16th US President, 1809-1865)
All the snow at Christmas afforded beautiful shadows when the sun finally appeared. There is nothing more beautiful that smooth, clean, white snow with sun sparkling through the crystals. It hides the drab green, gray and brown of winter grass and gives a magical fairy land look to the landscape. Our Japanese maple tree finally shed its last leaf and now all that remains is the stark trunk and branches. And yet when the sun came out, they cast a beautiful shadow on the fresh snow; a shadow that would not be so intricate and delicate if the leaves were still present. Even in winter, nature's bones are gorgeous.

Sometimes the shadow of an object is taller and larger than the object itself. Everyone has seen the twisted tree casting a gnarled and frightening shadow on the wall of the scared little boy in his bed as the wind made it move back and forth like a giant monster. Yet in the light of day, the tree is really insignificant. Even men (and women) can sometimes be like this tree.
"When small men begin to cast big shadows, it means that the sun is about to set." ~ Lin Yutang
Something to think about isn't it?

(end of post)

8 comments:

Tracey@Aloha Monkeys said...

What a gorgeous picture! I posted a snow picture too, but it's just a last minute post. I didn't have the time to actually hunt for a nicer one.

healingmagichands said...

What a stunning photo.   I just love how the shadows follow the shape of the snow.  Beautiful.

twinkidjk@aol.com said...

Perfect picture

Ginny Hartzler said...

Indeed, a thought provoking post. And such a strangly beautiful shadow, I think I would have missed it altogether. I completly agree with you about the sparkling snow with the sun on it. And yet I've never been able to capture it on camera.

sandra said...

this is really impressive. I love it. the shadows are so well defined they look like ribbons painted on the snow. great shot! really great!

LivingforGod said...

Great shot! I love snow and shadows on snow.  Nice quotes, too.

kenju said...

That is a really wonderful photo, SRP. Bravo!

Michelle@RamblingWoods said...

and there is a lot of big shadow casting going on....I agree....