I went for a walk a few days ago and found a few Swiss chard plants in a front yard garden.  The stalks had the most vivid colors but I didn’t have my camera.  Since then it’s been quite cold and frosty at night.  When I went for a walk today, I remembered the camera and found that the weather had made the stalks droop into lovely flower like shapes.

Here’s a few shots of them.

This one is growing from a collapsed stem

Nature love abstract foms

It was an amazing day for glistening natural plant forms  The sun was just coming out and melting the frost and ice from last night.

Frost on the spider web on the porch in the frozen fog of morning

 

Spiders like to ride my husband’s bike

Across the street from Columbia park buds are swelling amid the frost and lichen

Small icy chandelier

Ice Forest

And I always love to photograph dramatic old tree trunks:

I look at these everyday natural beauties and want to draw them all, but I never have time.  Instead I collect many, many, many reference photos. I love the digital technology that allows me to keep up this habit.  It trains my eye, so when I do get time to draw, my mind is ready.  On days when I’m too tired to walk, the pictures are here to give me that window into nature that is so restorative, no matter what the internal or external weather.  The next best thing is to share them. 

Look around in wonder whenever you can.