Sweet Memories

When we were kids, me and my brother were spending part of the winter holidays at out grandparents at the countryside. Life were very different back then, especially during winter at the countryside. Those houses were build by our great grandparents and were not up to modern standards, nor were any other homes in most areas. Life during communism was tough but that's another topic.

I remember during those periods winter was very different from what we have now. Winter was cold, temperatures were way below zero, sometimes dropping to -20°C or below. For us kids this was not a problem, we were happy to have snow and made the most of it playing outside, sometimes coming home with icy clothes and limbs, to my mother's desperation.

One of the exciting and fun moments were when we got to watch ice flowers on the window. We were very happy to see these wonderful ice flowers on the windows in the morning and were able to watch it for hours, figuring out what they represent.

Sometimes we thought we saw an animal, a flower, a house and so on. Kids imagination is limitless and I'm proud to tell you, I haven't changed. Look at the photos above and try to figure out what they represent. In this one for example I can see a mountain with some trees. Is it real? NO, of course not, but it's a fun game.

The Miracle

I'm always saying nature is the best artist and have been giving countless examples to support it. Today I'd like to show you another wonderful example. If you've seen ice flowers and looked at it carefully you must have seen how sophisticated and beautiful they are. Artists are reproducing them on canvas, paper etc., with more or less success. You can see some very interesting pieces as creativity has no limits and there are many very talented artists out there but still, for me the original is created by nature.

Look at this photo for example. Look at how detailed and perfect everything is.

Global Warming?

I'm pretty sure most of you are rolling your eyes when you hear about global warming as there's everywhere. In the news, in TV, newspapers, radio, magazines, everywhere. No matter who you are or where you live, this should concern you as it's real. Unfortunately we don't always see or feel the effects of it but that is about to change.

This winter I was looking forward to seeing some snow, as every year by the way. I live in a country where there should be four seasons but unfortunately there aren't. Spring is skipped many times, summer is too hot and winter is far from what it was once, like when we were kids.

This winter for example temperatures were mild, dropping below zero only by night and we got no snow at all, except from some rime like precipitation that looked like snow and melted in a few hours. Last night we got lucky, winter thought it's time to show up and we got some snow. This morning the temperature dropped to -12°C and I personally was lucky to see these beauties.

Lucky Me!

Windows these days are made using a technology that doesn't allow frost or ice flower formation. If you get them anyway, that means your windows are not protecting you anymore. This is another reason (beside global warming) why we can't see Ice flowers anymore. Lucky me I have a big glass on my balcony (waiting to be repurposed) and this morning I saw these beauties.

As an amateur photographer, my first reaction was to go out and capture as many as I can, which I obviously did. After checking them I continued my day thinking of all those sweet moments from our childhood. The after an hour or so went to check it again and was none! As the sun came up, all was melted!

Enjoy The Moment

Life is not always easy and I bet each of us has a lot of challenges to face every day but that doesn't mean we can't enjoy little things that come for free, you just have to keep your eyes open. This was my gift for today, a free gift from nature and I'm really happy with it.