A Winter Garden of Icy Delight

We had some snow/sleet/freezing rain yesterday, so today I went down to my spiritual home to see what effect was achieved by Mama Gaiea's brush. Unfortunately a lot of people and their dogs had been on the paths in Ballard Park so I couldn't take any pictures of pristine, untouched snow. And all the other shots I took of the woods and the boulders in snow just didn't do anything for me when I looked at them here at home.

Until I got to the quarry floor...

We've been having our annual Winter Festival this week in Newport, and tonight is Ballard Park's annual contribution the the festivities, the Illuminated Garden. I can't make it down for the lights in the dark part - an hour's walk over icy sidewalks and roads twice in one day is more than even I can face - but I can show you what they've done this year, and it's just as beautiful by daylight.

You see, they came up with something different this year - ice ornaments:


One of the Friends of Ballard Park board members came up with it, and the kids at Underwood Elementary School made them as a class project. Basically, you pour water in the lid of one of those big plastic buckets, add leaves, grass, twigs, pine cones (and some also added a little vegetable coloring), and put them outside to freeze. Not forgetting, of course, to put in a string to hang them by. When they've hung awhile (and they hung these on Thursday) they start to melt, so you also get interesting icicles hanging off the bottom.

In any case, I got down to the quarry to see the trees, including my Sacred Oak, festooned with these ice ornaments:




and with party lights:




So let's walk around in the quarry some more.






I'll check back every few days to check on what they look like as they melt.