LaFayette NY...winter wonderland

My parents live in LaFayette, NY which is the next town over from mine. I however, live in a valley (the sunrise and sunset really are different in the valleys) and they live over the mountain and in a higher elevation. The idea that they only live about eight miles from me and our weather is so different at times, astounds me. It is usually a little warmer at my place, the snow isn't quite so bad (they get a little more) and the ice sticks to the trees better up there.

I took these pictures last Sunday. When I was arriving, the scene before me was almost unbelievable. Not a bit of any color was visible, only white and a faded blue in the sky. It literally looked like God shook a sugar shaker overhead and it stayed where it landed. Every tree, from trunk to twig was perfectly cast in white...like they were spray painted. An hour or two later, when I left and was able to get these pictures, the ice/frost had begun to melt...just a little.

I'm lovin' taking winter pictures this year (I use them for research/reference for painting). They all look like I took them black and white or photo shopped them...I swear, the only thing I did was crop and lighten up the background a little. The top/first picture is my favorite. The only color is the little red barn in the center of a vast blanket of white. I hope you enjoyed this journey!