Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

 

Pre-Blizzard Sun Dogs from our lane (photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison)

It's almost Christmas and I just wanted to take a moment and wish everyone the best this season!  Unfortunately for many it is also bad weather timing!  We have a really nasty blizzard here as I type...started yesterday and is still going strong here this late afternoon.  Visibility can be measured in "Feet" here right now...it is insane.

Yesterday morning when the above photo was taken, it was 18 below zero with a near 50 below zero windchill.  It was just kicking up the wind when this was taken.

 

Sun Dogs at full arc over the barn (photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison)

The next photo was taken this morning at about a quarter to ten...I was out trying to start the pickup/plow and saw the arc...WHOA!  I ran into the studio and grabbed the camera.  I backed up as far as I could up the lane past the barn but ran up against some very high drifts and the studio orchard fence...this was as much as I could manage in one shot.  

It is only the second full arc sun dog I have ever witnessed.  I took another very similar image of the first one here a few years back.  The snow was beginning to kick up so bad that I was lucky I spotted it before the winds just blotted it out!  It's been a terrible afternoon - much worse than yesterday.

The county plows have been pulled off the roads the past two days...we'll see what tomorrow brings.

At any rate - Be safe out there.  Stay inside and off the roads until the plows get a chance to catch up.  Please make this a safe and Blessed Christmas for you and your familiy.

Merry Christmas!

Mid Winter at the Studio

"Late Morning Sun Dogs"

photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison 

A little winter action here at the studio this morning - I would have missed this brilliant late morning display if I hadn't walked over to the house to check on something.  On my walk back I was faced with a nearly full circle light display!  I ran inside and grabbed the camera and this was the first image I took - the right side was dropping out and after the first shot it was gone!  Things can be fleeting! 

Most of us wish winter were fleeting too but I feel less like being outside during this frigid weather and that can mean I get something done inside!  Or something like that?!

Stay warm!!!

 

Still In Our Own Backyard

 "Sun Dogs at Prairie Hill Farm"

photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison

I thought I'd share this morning's frigid sun dogs here on the acreage, and go with the theme I presented last week with what inspires me here right in our own backyard!  Only this week we'll look at just a sampling of photographs garnered here, without leaving the premises...there is something everyday here...and yet I miss most of it I'm sure!

 "Sun Dogs at Prairie Hill Farm"

photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison

We've been having sun dogs lately and this morning was no exception as, the top two images testify.  However I've been putting off photographing them because the landscape is fairly bleak and snowless, taking away much of the winter's charm. Well I finally gave in for a "few" brief moments this morning and tried a couple shots anyway...the temp was at 10 below, but the wind was brisk (35 below windchill) and one shot I wanted to try was decided against and a shot from behind the barn was tried instead...the image directly above is from the edge of the crib, looking south east.

 

 "Big Bluestem in the North Pasture"

photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison

But there are warmer times with hours spent outside here...sometimes just taking it in and other times doing chores in the pasture, yards, gardens or buildings...there's a lot to do here, beside being "inspired"!  But "inspiring" it is, and here's a small sampling of images photographing here on the property, throughout the year!

 

 "Bird Visitors Through the Year"

photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison

 "Cope's Gray Tree Frog in the Grove"

photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison

 "Fawn in the Yard"

photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison

 "Monarchs Roosting in the Back Grove"

photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison

 "Sharp-shinned Hawk in Front of the Studio"

photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison

 "Skunk Paying a Visit"

photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison

 "Male Western Meadow Hawk Dragonfly"

photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison

 "Anvil across the Valley"

photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison

 "Storm in the Valley"

photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison

The weather images can be impressive here with our prairie's Big Sky, but there is so much more that is small or fleeting...things are certainly missed every day.  But what we do find, watch and marvel at, is amazing...we're very blessed.

Once again, I'm procrastinating!  Back to work at the easel!

Hope you're having a warm place to rest this winter, be good to one another and be inspired!

 

In the Middle

Sun Dogs here at Prairie Hill Farm

(click on image for a larger view)

We're in the middle of many things here at the studio and Prairie Hill Farm - winter for one!  A couple days ago our digital thermometer went offline...it stops at 19 below zero fahrenheit.  It popped back on again at 19 below a little after 8 a.m.  I'd been out in the yard filling feeders for the birds and squirrels...it can get a little oppressive for them, out in the open in this weather.

I stopped before going into the studio and took just a quick shot of the sun dogs across the valley...nothing elaborate, just using my small camera.  I've often wished I could find the perfect landscape "nearby" to photograph sun dogs!  

We've also been in the middle of a lot of snow removal lately...that happens at this time of year!  I remember a neighbor speaking to me about the winter snow issues in the valley here a few years back.  He eluded to the fact that since we moved here, we hadn't had a bad winter...I took all the credit with a grin!  :)  Well, that ended last year and we've since gotten pretty good at moving snow on our own.

 Winter Goldfinch at the studio

(click on image for a larger view)

I'm hoping that this is the break in our winter weather for the duration ahead, a nice weekend appears to be a reality!  Any day in the 20's or 30's (faherenheit) is great winter weather!  (I know the birds would appreciate it too!)

I've been in the middle of painting and drawing projects as well.  Some have been extremely taxing...I hate to move onto something else when a piece is unfinished but that is a reality at times.  Sometimes a fresh "face" can help recover from painters block.  Oh ya...it happens.  :P

I've also been in the middle of marketing and business planning.  This is not something I relish but a necessity for any artist that is working out there as a freelancer - a full-time studio.  I am planning on beginning a newsletter in the near future...this is for my collectors and other clients that have purchased work here at the studio or other galleries I sell through.  If you are someone that would be interested in being included as a studio newsletter subscriber, watch for future news about this.

"In the Middle" is a time of transition or just a place you find yourself often as you move through life.  Here's hoping you're in the middle of something very good!

Ufda!

No, I'm not Norwegian...Georgie is though, and although she doesn't exactly say it like that, she certainly makes it known "It's cold out there!" Well, I suppose it's not so bad compared to many winters past here or say, North Dakota or N Minnesota...International Falls was 36 below this morning compared to our mere 6 below (we are supposed to get near an actual 26 below tomorrow morning though).

The sun dogs were in full display this morning at sunrise, like so many cold mornings we experienced back before Christmas. I've been missing so many photo opportunities of sun dogs this winter that I decided to quick suit up and plow out to the south pasture fence a fast as I could to at least record this one. I must admit the landscape wasn't exactly adding or contributing to making the image anything unusual or particularly inspiring; I guess if I have aspirations for a landscape image that'd hold up technically and artistically on it's own, I'd better get up before dawn and drive to a more eloquent location and hope for a good sun dog event...or maybe just file this all in the back of my mind for a future painting...!?

The acreage is in need of a few hours work to get blown out right now but since we do all the work and the forecast is talking about more high winds, I think we'll hold out for a couple days yet before cranking up the snowblower and arm and back muscles! I'll just stay in the studio for now and see if I can earn my keep that way.

Keep warm!