Bone Structure Of The Landscape

In the middle of the week I was outside on a very sunny day

It was so incredibly warm that I spent a good part of the day with the arms of my long sleeved top pushed up while I was busy outside.  

The next morning I walked outside onto the front porch and found this scene.

There was a common expression in Tennessee - if you don't like the weather just wait for 10 minutes and it'll change.

Changeable weather is apparently not exclusive just to Tennessee.

The upper sixties of the day before had changed to now only the upper teens.

But the sun was still shining, the wind was not gusting, and the snow provided a beautiful white cover to the frequent blandness of the BLM land that surrounds us.

It was cold.  It was sunny.  Snow covered the ground and it was a beautiful day.

These pictures were all taken early in the morning and over the course of just a few minutes.

The sun was barely over the horizon of the BLM hills close to the house and the world, as it always seems to be after it has snowed, was very quiet.....................

A picture taken from the porch in front of the house, looking south towards the snow covered Carter Mountain.

This mountain range is located at the end of the Southfork about 40 miles from the house.

It looks huge because it IS huge, and the snow makes this mountain look so very beautiful.................

Looking down into the wide valley that is located below the house.

Part of Rattlesnake Mountain in the background................

I prefer winter and fall, when you feel the bone structure of the landscape - the loneliness of it, the dead feeling of winter. Something waits beneath it, the whole story doesn't show............Andrew Wyeth