A recent thaw

Sunrise reflected in the icy creek.

 

Glorious daytime mountain lions

 This was an amazing scrape last fall, with mountain lions regularly checking out the scents during daylight. It makes me so happy to see them so comfortable in this habitat.

Intricate ice

The ice! It is all covered by snow now, and I am already looking forward to the spring melt!

 

 

Bears doing dances, including my favorite bear - Tiny!

 Yes, Tiny the black bear is still alive and dominant. He now spends the whole mating season in the forest near my new place. I love him!

Frozen Beauty

This was from a very cold day when the creek was getting closing to being covered by ice. The glow of the sun on the water caught my eye, and I froze my fingers and toes while I tried to capture the beauty.

 

Mountain lions following each other

A female mountain lion visited a scrape under a huge spruce tree. She was followed by a male (in long version of video - see link in comments). The amazing thing about this spot is that there's a trail only 20 yards away, yet the lions seem so relaxed when there.

 

 

Mother Nature

 Nature is the best artist I know!

Comparison

Which do you like better? They are the same scene but the first one used a much longer shutter time than the second. No matter what, I love the reflection of the sky on the water when there are intricate ice formations nearby.

 

 

 

Glowing

The glowing sight of sunshine reflecting in the creek next to exquisite ice makes me happy. The forecast for this week is very cold so I suspect that the creek will finally close up. We shall see.

 

 

Awed

 Yesterday was my favorite day on the creek since it started freezing over. It was bone-achingly cold but the beauty was incredible.