Icy in Black & White

Yesterday afternoon, our two married kids and spouses (and Izzy-Dog) left for home, College Daughter left to go shopping.......Husband and Younger Son were snoozing in front of the TV. Breathing a sigh of relief at the sudden peace and quiet, I prepared to settle in comfortably to read more about Dewey the famous library cat of Spencer, Iowa. Within a few minutes, two of the kids phoned to say, "Mom......the ice all over everything looks really cool.......you'd better take a drive and snap some pictures." Sheesh......there is just no rest for the wicked!

Tree branches and ditch weed stems glittered brilliantly in the frigid sunshine. Too bad I can't seem to capture the sparkles very well with the camera. I toured around a few square-mile sections adjacent to the one we live in; it was slow-going as the gravel roads were glare ice underneath a loose layer of snow. Thank goodness the paved roads are now clear and dry for holiday travellers. There was little traffic on the gravel roads, of course. Only an idiot like me and a few pickups crawling along full of orange-garbed pheasant hunters scanning the ditches. Hey......I was hunting, too......hunting for scenes to photograph!
These sparrows weren't wearing ice coats, but they were eye-catching, regardless, perched atop an evergreen tree.

Editing this next photo to black and white brings out the shadowy rays cutting across Crane Creek. I don't pretend to know anything about photography, because I truly don't know anything beyond point the camera and press the button. Maybe someday I'll take a class.

Br-r-r! These photos reflect the fact that it was very cold yesterday! I was frozen and shivering---almost to the point of teeth chattering---by the time I got home........hot cocoa was the first order of business at that point!
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[Hey, let me know if you don't like the embedded comment box. I can easily go back to using the pop-up box. I'm curious to know which one people like better.]

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