ice skirt on water, detail of ice on the river bank, all photos taken by Jim during a winter walk along the Rio Grande, photos © 2007 by Jim. All rights reserved.
the freezing cold snaps
you open like a locket
you can’t close up again
reflecting pond, cottonwood peering through brush, reflected in the Rio Grande in winter, photo © 2007 by Jim. All rights reserved.
i LOVE that haiku. you’ve captured exactly how it feels. and since the thermometer here said 2 degrees this morning, i should know. 🙂
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Love the ice in water photo.
We have a big storm coming in out here. Our ash tree dumps its leaves every year after Christmas, and we raked this weekend, filling a bin yet leaving a pile.
I just know those leaves will blow out from their protected corner, and I’ll be raking again.
Ah, well. All of this will just make the cocoa, the hot tea, or the coffee taste that much better. Stay warm, yb.
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thanks, polkadotwitch. I love your moniker and the avatar. Very lovely photo.
It got cold, cold this morning. Probably about 15 degrees. Not as cold as a lot of places.
Hey, ben, I’ve come to think of blowing and/or raking leaves as a ritual of winter instead of fall. I guess our leaves don’t really all hit the ground until winter either. I probably won’t rake the bulk of them until March.
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what a beautiful haiku. that is what it feels like,
when the cold get in and you can’t get it out again.
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Yes, that’s how it felt to me this morning when I went outside to walk my daughter to the end of the drive. A cold blast of air that woke me up completely. In some ways I didn’t want it to get out again.
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yb.
I love the haiku and the pictures are wonderful. I especially like the reflection of the ice on the water in “ice skirt on water”. Tell Jim I love his photos, he has a good eye.
R3
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Thanks, R3. I’ll let Jim know. I already read him the other comments. Getting this feedback and seeing his photos on the blog really jazzes him up to take more photos. I noticed after I showed him the post that he was out in the orchard with the camera. He studied photography in college, and he has a good eye, as you say.
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Ok, now that top photo is just brilliant. What wonderful, crisp contrasts and the movement, frozen in time…I’m looking at it on my lousy PC screen and all the details come through amazingly. On my Mac, I can’t wait to see how clear!
There isn’t any danger in the ice cracking? I’m not sure where Jim is standing during the shot. Anyway, 2 thumbs way up!
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The ice photo is cool!! Literally, of course:D
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No danger of the ice cracking. Or, well, if it did crack, you’d only fall about six inches to the sandy bottom of the river from what I can tell. You can kind of see the river bottom if you look behind the clear water. I think this photo was taken near the bank of the river. Not that the Rio Grande here near us gets very deep at any point. There are deep parts, but it’s not very deep in this area…just meandering.
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Jim’s photos are amazing. Geometric, biomorphic representations of cold. Your poem too shows how rigid and brittle the cold can be. Your family is very creative. Lucky Em!
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Ybonesy! You have been holding out and not letting us know you have a very talented husband!
The photos are fantastic. I feel ‘his own’ photography blog coming on…
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Hi ybonesy, I’m finally getting a chance to comment on your piece. Long day.
What I wanted to tell you earlier was that your haiku is made up of the same lines that jumped out at me from your second 15 minute writing practice with our writing group this morning. (I distinctly remember thinking about these lines when I read your practice.)
What strikes me is that you took several of the most grounded, centered lines from that practice and turned them into haiku. Telling of your ability to recognize ground. And also of the bare bones essence of haiku.
I think most people know that we practice in an online group outside of this venue. Your haiku speaks to me of the value of process.
Jim, you do have a good eye. I hope people are clicking on the smaller ones and viewing them in greater detail in Flickr. The Ice Crack Over Hole especially pops in the larger size. That one and the top photo, Ice Skirt On Water are my favorites. With the sand photo coming in a close 3rd. Keep shooting!
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Photos: magnificence of detail. Haiku: perfect metaphor of ice expanding
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YB, these photos are lovely! Jim does have quite the eye. Cold here also, so we are enjoying the heat & beauty of a wonderful fire in the fireplace. Stay warm! D
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yb, I have never seen such a breath-takingly beautiful photo of ice as the”ice skirt”!! Being quite ignorant of the Rio Grande River, I assumed it to be muddy and murky. How does this ice become so crystal clear?
(Or did you and Jim work some kind of magical spell on it?) I love your haiku, as much as the photo, as the sharpness of your chosen words just crackle like ice! Made me shiver when I read it! Brrry good…both of you!
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Thanks, everyone, for the great comments and encouragement. We had a friend over for dinner and I read to her and Jim the comments that came in. He was happy 8) . Then he showed me an awesome turkey pic he took today. I’ll try to post it soon with an update on the great roaming Turks.
QM, I wondered if you would notice the haiku from this morning’s writing practice. When I went back and read it, the lines jumped out at me, too. You’re right — that’s the value of the process. I always tell people who are new to writing practice that the pieces will be raw but that there might be a gem or two in the rawness. It was a treat to find my own gem.
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BTW, Marylin, I passed on your question to Jim. He said in the winter the river is pretty clear. That top skirt ice is water/snow that settled on the top of other snow and didn’t have any sediments in it. But mostly, he says, it’s that the water is pretty clear in the winter.
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ybonesy – Ice skirt on water is wonderful as it makes me want to touch my tongue to feel the ice filigree ( and hope my tongue doesn’t get stuck on) 😀 The frozen silt runnels of the riverbank shot is rich and gorgeous. Reflecting pond just blew me away – the light wavery vertical tendrils near the bottom of the composition and the subtle distortions of the tree limbs make a gorgeous organic lattice-work. Jim has a very fine, refined way of seeing.
Now I want to see Jim’s recent shots of the turkeys. “More, please!” G
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Beautiful haiku and photos. You’ve both captured winter so well. 🙂
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That’s really interesting about the river being clearer in winter. I wonder if that’s true of our Mississippi here. Or the Susquehanna in PA.
ybonesy, remember when we swam the Rio Grande during part of our silence in the Writing Intensive last year? It was such an amazing experience to be that open from the silence and dive into the cold, muddy Rio Grande. It was quite brown at that time (deep summer). And then, the high cliffs, sage, cactus. Most people screamed when they first hit the water. Well, at least I did!
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The locket simile is very apropos. 🙂
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I just wanted to say that I returned to this post today to take more time to look at the ice skirt photo. I found that for me it was much like staring at clouds in the sky & imagining what they resemble. The more I stared (admired) at the photo I saw many different things. A person front & center of the shot, making that final climb to the top. Towards the left side & about half way up the skirt I saw 2 people watching this person. The splashes of water looked like the area was surrounded by tree tops. This was the most relaxing 15 minutes I have had today & plan to return again & again to view it. Great capture Jim! D
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G, I also loved the twig — the way it seemed to pierce the watery mirage. And I like the term you used — ice filigree. (I know a local artisan who does silver filigree, and it is indeed absolutely intricate like the ice pattern.)
QM, ouch, yes, I remember the cold plunge, then being out of breath. That was fun. That was summer, too, wasn’t it? But the water was still cold.
jason, you and TIV both mentioned the locket metaphor/similie (I don’t know the difference — will have to look that up). But what I want to say is that it’s amazing to me how this imagery comes out out of seemingly nowhere. Practice is surprising that way.
D, Is the front-and-center climber wearing a parka with his hood on? And are the two people watching almost naked? If so, it might be that I see them, too!!
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YB, no this time I was being totally serious. This photo really has me mesmorized! I wish I could have a copy to frame & display. D
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I was being totally serious, too!! Was it the naked part that made it sound like not? Oh well, I guess you’re not seeing the same people that I am. BTW, I had been seeing a bearded man (again, I am serious here) at one point yesterday, but then he disappeared.
I’m glad you have found so much in this photo (visually and in terms of relaxation). I’ll send the jpg to QM and she can send it to you.
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diddy and yb, I see the person climbing the slope. To me though, they have angel wings. It reminds me of ybonesy’s post on the Virgin Mary (The Virgin Mary Appears On A Bug (LINK). It’s fun to cloud watch or water watch and see what appears.
When I study the photo again, I’m amazed at the depth, the reflection of the ice (under the ice) and on the water. So many different phases of water, all in different patterns of suspension.
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YB, I think you are seeing the same people as me, but the ones I see are fully clothed. Could be my poor eyesight! I’ll have to stare at them a little closer!A big thanks for sending the jpg onto QM & then me. I will truly cherish it!
QM, I also found that if I stared long enough that there were angels amongst the mist.I also saw an animal but it changed from dog to goat as I stared. I almost didn’t comment I about the visions I saw in this photo for fear that readers would think I was under the influence! I love staring at clouds, especially with my grandson, Brant. Also helps to build a vivid imagination! D
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