Crystalline Roses

Crystalline roses sparkled in the pale morning light. The fog drifted through the trees coating every leaf and bud with a shimmering cold frost. My breath steamed. My heart quieted. Every season has its own exquisite grace. I had discovered the shy secret beauty of a cold winter's day. A rose. How unexpected.

Rose Sparkle
Icy and sparkling in the dim winter light, a cluster of ruby red rose hips highlight the winter garden.
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Crystal Rose
Sparkling and frozen, cherry red rose hips dangle like Christmas ornaments from the old red twig rose bush on a frosty winter day.
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Crystalline Roses Set
This pair of sparkling cherry red rose hips photographs will bring the beauty of a winter garden inside your home.
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Hidden Treasures

Karen Casey Smith's work with mandalas started in 1995. She started with colored pencils but now primarily uses flower photography to create the most extraordinary pieces of art. Her interest in mandalas combine two of her great interests, that of creating art and healing. She says, "it is always an amazing experience, and a delightful surprise to see the patterns that emerge while making the flower mandalas. Each mandala has its own vibrational frequency. They bring in healing energy where they are displayed."

I hope you enjoy Karen's unique talent as much as I have. Visit her shop at Etsy or 1000 Markets to see all of her mandalas as well as a variety of other outstanding photography.

Hidden Treasures
The Hidden Treasures flower mandala guides us to look for the treasures within. It was created from a photo of a beautiful yellow lily.
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Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade karencaseysmith.etsy.com

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Thorns in Snow Fine Art Greeting Card

You may recall that I recently shared a photograph of Thorns in Snow on my "Abstractions in Winter" blog post. I had such a positive response that I decided to offer it as a greeting card. I'll be working on a nature set of greeting cards and would love to hear your suggestions. Let me know your favorites that you would like to see as cards. Thanks!

Thorns in Snow Fine Art Greeting Card
This greeting card of a jagged bare bush poking up through fresh snow is printed on the inside as well as the outside in full color. The inside is a lovely soft and pale version of the thorns and is ready for your personal message. Each card measures a bountiful 5.5" x 8.5" and includes a white envelope.
click here for purchase information on this blank greeting card

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February 2010 Calendar for your Computer

Can you believe that it is almost February 2010? It seems like we just finished the holidays. But it is true, next week it will be February and I wanted to give you another desktop wallpaper with the new month on it. I hope you enjoy!

download this free desktop wallpaper calendar for February 2010 here

Easy Instructions
After clicking on the above link
you will be at my Flickr page. Simply click on
"Download the Original size"
at the top left of the page.
The file will then download to your desktop!

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Baby Elk and Friends

The day that I searched for the large elk herd in Rocky Mountain National Park, I spotted a separate tiny group of about a dozen animals on my way home. (Read more about my stalking a wild elk herd here.) Of course, I had to get out and catch a few more shots especially when I noticed the little calf. She was adorable, prancing around the adults, exploring the nearby thickets, and in general, just looking cute. I hope you enjoy my images of a very cute elk baby.

Interesting facts about elk calves:

Calves are born spotted, the same as many deer species, and they lose their spots by the end of summer. After two weeks, calves are able to join the herd and are fully weaned at two months of age. Elk calves weigh as much as an adult white-tailed deer by the time they are six months old. The offspring will remain with their mothers for almost a year, leaving about the time that the next season's offspring are produced. Elk live an average 10 to 13 years in the wild.

Peek a Boo Elk
A baby elk peeks out from behind a pine sapling in Rocky Mountain National Park, to look for mama.
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Baby Elk Calf
The baby elk calf pauses to see if mama elk is watching and following in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado.
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Tasty Tidbit
A baby elk determinedly walks through the middle of the herd on the way to a tasty destination.

Elk Solitaire
A young elk cow follows the herd to a better grazing meadow in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado.
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Sugarplum Bracelet

A friend of mine and very talented jewelry designer, jbEbert, designs one-of-a-kind bracelets and necklaces that the stars seek. She carefully chooses only the finest stones and hand picks each for its unique color before carefully hand wrapping gold wire into a design that is not only beautiful but comfortable too.

Judy is also a woman with a big heart. She generously donates 10% of each sale to Heifer International. She says, "I believe well-fed, productive people of any culture and religion cherish peace. So, Heifer is my choice."

This Sugarplum bracelet is just dripping in pearls with interspersed sparkling pastel cubic zirconia briolettes. What a fabulous work of art to wear on your wrist! Please check out the shop of jbEbert, Irresistible Gemstone Jewelry for more drop dead gorgeous jewelry.

Sugarplum Bracelet
A confection of a bracelet, sprinkled with pastel cubic zirconium sparkling like sugar among the mélange of white pearls with undertones of pink and blue. The gem set clasp is adorned with a pearl charm.
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Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade jbEbert.etsy.com

Etsy Buy Handmade JulieMagersSoulen

Black-Billed Magpie

The black-billed magpie is a member of the crow family and commonly found in the western half of North America. It is one of only four North American birds that the tail makes up half of the bird's length. The bird is black with white shoulders, a white belly, and iridescent dark wings and tail.

Any trip to Rocky Mountain National Park is highlighted with critters that like a free hand out. The black-billed magpie is one of these little thieves and you must be constantly wary or they will take a sandwich or cracker right out of your hand. It is strongly discouraged to feed these animals as cute as they are. When winter arrives and the crowds thin the poor little guys are left to fend for themselves and many starve to death. I never feed them but I do take advantage of their precocious nature and catch their pictures when they get close.

Magpie
A black-billed magpie rests on a dead branch and inquisitively watches my progress hiking on a snow packed trail in Rocky Mountain National Park.
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Magpie Silhouette
A black silhouette of a black-billed magpie perched on a single branch and set on a background of a deep azure evening sky.
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Wandering with Wapiti

It was a perfect winter day to drive up to Rocky Mountain National Park in Estes Park, Colorado. The sun was shining and the temperature was in the 50s. Even the wind was not blowing hard which is unusual in the winter months at high altitude. My personal mission was to find wapiti. I asked the friendly ranger at the entrance station where the elk herd was but she did not know. So I drove to one of two places that I knew the herd usually wintered. As I drove down the bumpy dirt road into Moraine Park there was not an elk to be seen. Disappointed I almost turned around to head to the other wintering meadow, Upper Beaver Meadows. Instead I decided to get out of the truck and walk to Cub Lake.

The trail was snow packed and slippery. I had not really intended on bushwhacking, so without gators and crampons, my attention was on my feet. I stopped to take in the view and noticed in the far distance across the meadow was the whole herd of over two hundred animals stretched out in a long line. My excitement rising and ill equipped feet forgotten, I left the trail plunging into knee deep snow and started toward the herd. It took some time to reach them. I approached slowly as I did not want to alarm any dominant males hanging around. Eventually two large bulls spotted me and started in my direction. Being polite, I crouched down behind some brush and waited for them to disregard me. This process went on for awhile and by then the weak winter sun was disappearing behind the ridge casting a lovely light on the river birch behind the herd. I stopped and watched as they all started to bed down for the night. It was a day to remember.

Wapiti Sepia
A dominant bull elk in Rocky Mountain National Park guards his harem protectively, keeping watch as I in turn watch him. This fine art photograph has been altered to give it the look of a vintage photo that could have been taken when Rocky Mountain National Park was first established in 1915.
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Wapiti Dusk
As the sun begins to set behind the nearby moraine in Rocky Mountain National Park the North American wapiti, or elk, begin to settle down for the night as the sunset lights the river birch behind them.
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The Girls
A group of elk cows, one pair looking to be a mother and daughter, watch closely for predators in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado.
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Branching Out

Today I want to share one of my very favorite pieces of art on Etsy. This framed photograph is stunning and the frame is a lovingly restored vintage window frame with original hardware. The pairing is exquisite! This is a one of a kind piece that would look beautiful in your living room. Please click on Made by Swirly Girl today and check out her wonderful assortment of cards, coasters, and matted photo art.

Branching Out Matted and Framed Photo Art
This signed and dated print of "Branching Out", a fine art photo of a tree silhouetted against a brooding sky is professionally framed with double matting and set in a vintage window frame (with new glass)with original hardware. The wood on the frame has been stripped of it's original paint and lovingly coated with beeswax for a rich natural luster that brings out the wood's aged patina and grain.
Ready to hang on your wall!
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Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade madebyswirlygirl.etsy.com

Natural Objects of Art

Nature is my inspiration. Do you remember when you were a child and every little flower and bug in your backyard fascinated you? It is still that way with me when I allow it. That is when I pull out my camera and recapture the natural world of my childhood. My recent photos have sparked a debate in my family as to which one is the "best" or a personal favorite. Tell me which one you prefer.

Mahogany Winter
A mountain mahogany bush with its russet winter leaves contrasts with the soft tones of a fresh snow in Colorado.
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Winter Blues
Bare winter branches thrust up through the snow in a spot of sunlight filtered by green pines.
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Frozen Granite
A large snow covered granite boulder shelters a lone golden stem of mullein, a remnant of summer past.

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Tracks in the Snow

It has been a busy weekend on our mountain top. I love to go out after a fresh snowfall and see who has been out and about. Today the traffic has been heavy. I saw the tracks of deer, a solitary bobcat, numerous bunnies, and the tiny tracks of a forest deer mouse. Do you find their scampering tracks to the tiny hill as humorous as I do?

Mountain or Molehill
Tiny tracks of a forest mouse venture out to explore on a sunny winter day. Is that a mountain or a molehill?





Bunny Tracks
A trail of rabbit tracks leads up a snowbank and into a forest.

Bobcat Tracks
The tracks of a solitary bobcat on a hunt wander into the deep forest undetected by man or mouse.

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Send Flowers

It is January in Colorado and that means cold and snow. We had a storm front plunge the mercury to below zero as the snow fell. So because of the cold shivery temperatures I felt inclined to stay inside and work on a new set of flower cards that so many of you have asked me to do. I think they came out really well and am proud to offer them for your approval. They have the look of fine stationery with the insides as lovely as the outside. Tell me what you think.

All Occasion Flower Greeting Card Set of 4
This greeting card set of four lovely flowers in shades of blushing pink, brilliant blue, and soft lavender is professionally printed on the inside as well as the outside in full color. The inside of each card is a lovely soft and pale version of each individual card's flower and is ready for your personal message. Each card measures a bountiful 5.5" x 8.5" and includes a white envelope.
click here for purchase information on this flower greeting card set

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Abstractions in Winter

A winter's walk turns into a meditation. As I amble down the narrow snow banked lane the quietness of the forest seeps into me. The mind's chatter of the many things to do fall away and are replaced with an eternal moment. The common thorny brush turns into a work of art against the fresh snow. A single pine needle catches my attention and becomes center stage, highlighted by the soft glow of a winter sun. I pause and gaze at the beauty, my attention so totally focused on the pine needle that time freezes along with my breath.

Thorns in Snow
A jagged bare bush pokes through the fresh snow providing a contrast between the soft snow and sharp thorns.
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Solitaire
A single pine needle rests lightly on a bed of icy crystals producing a moment of zen.
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