Garden Chronicles: Weather and Light

Observing Weather

The first image here was taken upon arrival to the garden at the point of peak-ice.. at this point, the ice balance has been freezing and accumulating ice since its creation.  It is now Day 8 for the entire garden, but Day 3 for the ice balance.  Today is when temperatures finally rise above zero and begin weakening the ice.

The second ice balance is shown below at sunrise as well.. Notice how the balance is frozen, but then the water level receded by a couple inches.  This seems like a consistent early morning happening.  There is a lot of time and process all bundled up in this image.. obviously, the rocks were set in balance, then ice accumulated over time, then more time passed as the creek receded… however, the water level comes back up throughout the day.  Also notice the icicles on the left.. there are small glints of yellow light in the icicles.. the glints of light are from the sun peaking through the trees and slightly illuminating the ice for a few moments before full sunlight… :)

The three following images are taken from backside angles of the heart-rock ice balance.  This side is where most of the ice accumulation occurred as it was most exposed to the splashing water.  I LOVE the ice formations all around this balance.. The formation has new character each day depending on freezing and thawing temperatures… The forms are ones i’ve never seen before.. purely alien. purely beautiful. purely perfect AND imperfect.

Below are close-ups of the ice formations around my balance. LOVE. :D

 

Context

These images are a reminder of the context in which the ice balances exist.. they are not separate form the garden I’ve been developing for 8 days now.  I like to think of all these single rocks as guardians for my ice balances.  They attract most of the obvious attention with their placement, and for the vigilant, they point to the “gems” of my garden.. (the ice balances)

Notice below how the ice balance is towered over by a precariously balanced “guardian” rock.  Though I held my new ice balance in high esteem, It felt intuitive to have a potentially devastating balance just overhead.  If that one rock blew over, it would entirely destroy my evolving ice balance.  I find more excitement in unpredictability. Knowing everything could disappear within seconds added an enchanting mood to my overall efforts.. I grew even more appreciative that the elements decided not to disturb my childish fascination..

 

Observing Light

Also one of the more interesting elements of today was the transition of light through the sky.  Each angle delivered a unique glow to this balance.  Equal quality shined when a cloud passed in front of the sun as well, as shown in the left-most picture below.  The middle picture is direct sunlight from late afternoon.  Meanwhile, the right-most balance is just as the sun was disappearing behind the mountain, projecting a slightly muted glow through the more translucent section of ice.. BEAUTIFUL