Frosty Feeding Under the Old Oak

by Mike Lee

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Frosty Feeding Under the Old Oak

Artist

Mike Lee

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Photograph - Digital Photography

Description

Fairly frequently in winter, usually after a period with significant rain, my local area in the Honey Lake Valley of northern California gets an inversion layer up against the high mountains to the west, trapping cool damp air near the valley floor at 4000 feet in elevation. When this happens, the result is often days or even weeks of freezing fog (or pogonip from the Shoshone "payinappih" for “cloud”) which coats the landscape with a thick layer of hoar frost. If one can bundle up enough to be out in it, it can be absolutely beautiful to look upon.

This image was captured less than a mile from my Janesville home. I love the beautiful old black oak that sits alone in this field. Unfortunately, when conditions are clear there is a great deal of background clutter that is less than photogenic. I felt compelled to take advantage of the fog obscuring most of that clutter on this December day. I thought the irrigation “wheel line” and cattle grazing in the frozen field adjacent to the frosty tree contributed wonderfully to a very “rural America” feeling.

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December 3rd, 2024

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