It is pretty wellknown that we Birds are responsible for bringing our native Minnesota’s snowy weather with us out to Colorado this year. Colorado Springs had a couple heavy snowfalls last week while Minnesota, which last year had about 3 feet at this point, has nothing much to speak of.
Sorry, or, Thank you. Take whichever you prefer.
Have you ever looked at a snowflake? My sister has this coffe table book called Snowflakes: Featuring the Amazing Micro-Photography of Kenneth Libbrecht. This is the first year that I have actually looked through the whole thing. Breathtaking.
(See more about the subject at www.SnowCrystals.com)
original photo: Kenneth Libbrecht
Throughout the book there are a number of quotes. Allow me to share some with you.
AND HERE COMES THE SNOW, A LANGUAGE IN WHICH NO WORD IS EVER REPEATED.
–William Mathews (1942-1997),
an American poet and essayist
original photo: Kenneth Libbrecht
“THE QUESTION IS NOT WHAT YOU LOOK AT, BUT WHAT YOU SEE.”
– Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862),
American author, naturalist, pacifist, philosopher, and transcendentalist
original photo: Kenneth Libbrecht
“IF I HAD INFLUENCE WITH THE GOOD FAIRY WHO IS SUPPOSED TO PRESIDE OVER THE CHRISTENING OF ALL CHILDREN, I SHOULD ASK THAT HER GIFT TO EACH CHILD IN THE WORLD BE A SENSE OF WONDER SO INDESTRUCTIBLE THAT IT WOULD LAST THROUGHOUT LIFE. “
–Rachel Carson (1907-1964),
writer, scientist, and ecologist from Pennsylvania
original photo: Kenneth Libbrecht
“THE MOST BEAUTIFUL THING WE CAN EXPERIENCE IS THE MYSTERIOUS. IT IS THE SOURCE OF ALL TRUE ART AND SCIENCE. HE TO WHOM THIS EMOTION IS A STRANGER, WHO CAN NO LONGER PAUSE TO WONDER AND STAND RAPT IN AWE, IS AS GOOD AS DEAD: HIS EYES ARE CLOSED.”
– Stanislaw Ulam (1909-1984),
Polish mathematician
original photo: Kenneth Libbrecht
“NATURE DOES NOTHING USELESSLY.”
– Aristotle (394 BC – 322 BC),
Greek philosopher
original photos: Kenneth Libbrecht
“ONE CANNOT FIX ONE’S EYES ON THE COMMONEST NATURAL PRODUCTION WITHOUT FINDING FOOD FOR A RAMBLING FANCY.”
– Jane Austen (1775-1817), English novelist
original photo: Kenneth Libbrecht
“IN ALL THINGS OF NATURE THERE IS SOMETHING OF THE MARVELOUS.”
– Aristotle
original photo: Kenneth Libbrecht
“NEW BEAUTY MEETS US AT EVERY STEP IN ALL OUR WANDERINGS.”
– John Muir (1838-1914),
Scottish-American naturalist, author, and preservationist
- original photo: Kenneth Libbrecht
“THE PURSUIT OF TRUTH AND BEAUTY IS A SPHERE OF ACTIVITY IN WHICH WE ARE PERMITTED TO REMAIN CHILDREN ALL OUR LIVES.”
– Albert Einstein (1879-1955),
German-born theoretical physicist
original photo: Kenneth Libbrecht
“THEY SAY THAT EVERY SNOWFLAKE IS DIFFERENT.
IF THAT WERE TRUE, HOW COULD THE WORLD GO ON?
HOW COULD WE EVER GET UP OFF OUR KNEES?
HOW COULD WE EVER RECOVER FROM THE WONDER OF IT?”– Jeanette Winterson (b. 1959),
English author
photo: Naomi Bird
“THOSE WHO DWELL AMONG THE BEAUTIES AND MYSTERIES OF THE EARTH ARE NEVER ALONE OR WEARY OF LIFE.”– Rachel Carson
- photo: Naomi Bird
“NO SNOWFLAKE EVER FALLS IN THE WRONG PLACE.”– Zen Proverb
photo: Naomi Bird
“NOT WHAT WE HAVE, BUT WHAT WE ENJOY, CONSTITUTES OUR ABBUNDANCE.”– Jean Antoine Petit-Senn (1792-1870),
French-Swiss poet
- Pike’s Peak through the trees. From my sister’s sidewalk.
Does that make them any less beautiful?
“THE MOST BEAUTIFUL THING WE CAN EXPERIENCE IS THE MYSTERIOUS. IT IS THE SOURCE OF ALL TRUE ART AND SCIENCE. HE TO WHOM THIS EMOTION IS A STRANGER, WHO CAN NO LONGER PAUSE TO WONDER AND STAND RAPT IN AWE, IS AS GOOD AS DEAD: HIS EYES ARE CLOSED.” Amazing quote! So true!
Isn’t it though? I had to read it a few times to soak it in.
Thank you for posting these amazing designs and quotes. The architecture of snow is amazing and profound. Maybe when we get to heaven we will get to visit the factory!
Thanks for your comment, Carol. They are amazing indeed. On the day that you posted that we were enjoying a long snow here – enough to make some vanilla snowcream with the kiddos. Not only do those flake look amazing – add some milk, sugar, and vanilla, and they taste pretty good too 🙂