In Wild Basin last week, with two to three feet of snow on the ground, I went looking for the creek. Last summer, the St. Vrain was rushing, over-exuberant and spilling over the banks, but in this winter of heavy snows, only the distant sound of rushing water reveals its location. Copeland Falls was completely hidden, disguised as a white hillside (below). It’s only my memory that knows where the falls are, that can picture them under their disguise as they were last summer: a thick, clear curtain of water plunging over the boulder (below, the falls last June).
It’s good to remember these things now in the deep of winter, when spring seems a long way off. How long will it take for the sun to melt the almost four feet of snow behind my cabin, where it’s sheltered from the desiccating winds and sun? To get to the water pump, I’ve had to shovel a path through the snow, which keeps getting filled in with every new snowstorm.
Along St. Vrain Creek last week, everything was subdued, except where the creek managed to break through the ice, forming a blue eye that provides just a glimpse of the dark cold water underneath the ice. In another section of the creek are strange holes, like the kind Alice went down, surrounded by piles of snow. What created these?
Way above this valley is a deep blue Colorado sky. But down here everything is covered in white: the rocks, the trees, the creek. If I can listen hard enough, somewhere under these piles of snow lie spring.
Wonderful writing...I love the way snow transforms the landscape. Your photos are beautiful.
Posted by: shoney | February 20, 2012 at 05:51 PM
Love before and after (or in this case summer and winter) shots!
Posted by: Jotham | February 22, 2012 at 09:09 AM
The St. Vrain through Wild Basin is one of my favorite places to fish. Fun to see it in its winter garb...but now I'm very itchy for spring! "If I can listen hard enough, somewhere under these piles of snow lie spring." -- I will start listening even harder now! Beautiful post.
Posted by: Erin Block | February 27, 2012 at 08:58 AM
Sigh. I too am ready for spring. But it will be a long conversation between winter and spring for the next few months! Still, the owls and eagles are sure spring is on the way. I still don't understand nesting in the middle of snow, but they seem to thrive on it. Love your contrasting photos of the seasons.
Posted by: Priscilla | February 28, 2012 at 12:15 PM