Winter 2015 #5 Trees reflected in the melting snow, Fresh Pond, Cambridge, MA, March. (c) DE Wolf 2015.

March the first marked the beginning of meteorological spring.  Boston and Cambridge remain waste deep in mountains of dirty snow.  Still there are signs that Winter’s Witch will soon be beaten.  We had our first serious melt today, and I slogged through it along Fresh Pond in Cambridge.  Spring’s signs are definitely there.  There is the unmistakeable greenish yellow tone of the willows ready to burst fourth. I was greeted by a bulldog named Kaylee, who was just so excited to be out and about.  I heard and saw the first male cardinal proclaiming his territory and love of mate from the tallest tree. And I found just enough open water on the pond to be a sure sign that the ducks will soon feel welcome and return.

As for the melt, I became photographically intrigued by the bare trees reflected in the puddles. I offer two of these as Figures 1 and 2. There is a certain delight in the fuzzy focus, or lack there of, brought on my the wind blowing over the water.  For someone as obsessed by sharpness as I the impressionist sense is disconcerting, but appealing.

And as for Winter’s Witch:

“I’m melting! Melting! Oh, what a world! What a world!”

Figure 2 – Sycamore reflected in melting March snow, Fresh Pond, Cambridge, MA. (c) DE Wolf 2015

Both photographs taken with a Canon T2i using a EF70-200mm f/4L USM lens ISO 1600 Aperture-Priority AE mode with no exposure compensation

Figure 1 at 113 mm 1/4000th sec at f/4.0

Figure 2 at 70 mm 1/2500th sec at f/4.0