ICE AT THE FALLS

I have a hunch that I name a post exactly like this every year.

When the temperature stays well below freezing for over a few days in a row, I have to take myself a couple of miles down the road to Snoqualmie Falls.

I do this repeatedly, yet each time I am amazed at the weather conditions right there.

The parking lot will be slippery, yes, but shrubs, etc are still green, though stiff with cold.

Thirty yards away, mist from the powerful 270-foot falls turns to ice, encasing everything .  Frost "fireflies" flit about and one suddenly feels frost-bitten; almost too cold to take photos. 

So, I made the ritual trip this last week, and took photos which included those above.

Then yesterday Dick and I drove down again, just two days later.

I couldn't believe that fir boughs no longer hung low with ice; greenery was - well, green.  Gone was the ice effect.

However, the Falls had been reduced to about 1/3rd of its width because it had frozen!

It has actually been severely cold long enough for that phenomenon to occur!

I was in a quandary as to how the ice no longer encased everything until a daughter pointed out that the power of the Falls had been reduced and probably no longer sent up enough mist to freeze on things.

...just on itself.

Above the Falls, from the same perspective as the photo above:

BRUMAL BLING

The first frost this fall did not actually freeze on the ground.  But the cold air did catch in spider's webs, turning them to crystal displays.  I discovered this phenomenon while on my early-morning walk, so returned home for my camera, turning my exercise into a delightful stroll of discovery.

AROUND GOLD CREEK POND

We were looking for color on the mountainsides, but we are also very good at "taking in" all our surroundings.  What a surprise that we spent the rest of the 1-mile walk around the lake looking down!

And no wonder!  

We would have given anything to have a guidebook to identify the varieties of

mushrooms we found.

These pure white ones were about the size of a tiny thimbles:

  

Love the tutus!

This velvety variety was smaller than a cluster of grapes:

A closer look:

With forest floor surroundings:

A minuscule white variety illuminated very dark places: 

SEARCHING FOR WINTER

A cancer journey has greatly interrupted my photography experiences.

Daily breast cancer treatments curtailed my outings, and frankly, my interest too.

The magic came together one Saturday in October with cold, plus sun, the treatment-free day, and the availability of photo buddy, Pat.

Up to the Pass we went, hoping for fall colors to still be brightening the mountainsides.

 Better almost than "colors" was the frost, tightening,

lightening the underbrush.

I love how heavy frost embosses the leaf veins, and webs.

Not much color left - we were too late for that - but a single shot of gold on the banks of Lake Keechelus caught our attention.  

Our destination: Gold Creek pond:

Frozen fog hovered low:

 Very tired, dried-up fireweed was a catch-all for frozen webs: