Snow Fields and Willows

This morning on the way up to one of our favorite ski places, about 10 miles from the town of Ketchum, we once again listened to an NPR show called The Story. Today's show featured young photographer Rachel Sussman who launched into a project of shooting ancient natural specimens around the world after a trip to Japan and finding a tree that was said to be 7000 years old. She found the tree, and later in telling the story it occurred to her that combining her photographs with identification of very old life was a project worth doing.

So - given that I plan to ski 32 K tomorrow, which I will report on in terms of my making it or not tomorrow, and therefore wanting to save my legs and shoulders for that, I poked along our 10 K today stopping to shoot willows and gnarled pines and tracks that were shrouded in new snow, all through falling snow and the grey of that light. It was fun, and I have an arsenal of new photos. This one of the willows that grow along the rivers and creeks in otherwise open white fields are one of the very striking aspects of this landscape. They are my choice for today!

Fairly wordy aren't I!