Filigreed Stone
An April snow-storm brings incredible, bright textural relief to the slanting stone of the Flatiron formation to the west of Boulder, Colorado.
Springtime where the mountains meet the High Plains of Colorado is a dynamic, torrid affair that is as mercurial as it is enjoyable. Temperatures were in the 70s a few days previously, and plants were blithely leafing out, stretching their limbs into warm, spring air. Cyclists roamed the roads in spandexed droves. Seedlings I planted at the end of March were sprouting under lamps in the warming garage, and one’s thoughts turned toward greening and the growing season to come.
Then, of course, Cold Maker returned for a mischievous self-funded and self-curated display of splendid performance art. Outside temperatures dropped to 21 ˚F, and garage temperatures plummeted into the 40s. Though I have seedling heat mats, I also inadvertently and systematically turned them off at night with a timing device. The wood stove was revived, and we attended to indoor projects and bread-baking. The following day I ventured up the hill after dropping my youngest at school. The garden seedlings have for the most part succumbed to damping off, brought on by cool conditions and pathogenic fungus, but the photographic opportunities provided some compensation.
I re-read James Welch’s beautiful book Fools Crow a few years back, and he introduces the reader to the Pikuni concept of Cold Maker. That name seems somehow more true to character than ‘Old Man Winter.’
Filigreed Stone
An April snow-storm brings incredible, bright textural relief to the slanting stone of the Flatiron formation to the west of Boulder, Colorado.
Springtime where the mountains meet the High Plains of Colorado is a dynamic, torrid affair that is as mercurial as it is enjoyable. Temperatures were in the 70s a few days previously, and plants were blithely leafing out, stretching their limbs into warm, spring air. Cyclists roamed the roads in spandexed droves. Seedlings I planted at the end of March were sprouting under lamps in the warming garage, and one’s thoughts turned toward greening and the growing season to come.
Then, of course, Cold Maker returned for a mischievous self-funded and self-curated display of splendid performance art. Outside temperatures dropped to 21 ˚F, and garage temperatures plummeted into the 40s. Though I have seedling heat mats, I also inadvertently and systematically turned them off at night with a timing device. The wood stove was revived, and we attended to indoor projects and bread-baking. The following day I ventured up the hill after dropping my youngest at school. The garden seedlings have for the most part succumbed to damping off, brought on by cool conditions and pathogenic fungus, but the photographic opportunities provided some compensation.
I re-read James Welch’s beautiful book Fools Crow a few years back, and he introduces the reader to the Pikuni concept of Cold Maker. That name seems somehow more true to character than ‘Old Man Winter.’