The geometry of nature, part 2

We got yet another snowstorm yesterday, which left us with several more inches of snow. It was pretty to look at, as you can see from this photo I took from the small deck outside our bedroom.

It wasn't as pretty to deal with, as I found out while spending several hours afterwards shoveling and snowplowing -- this snow was heavier and wetter than it looked.

Then later in the day, the wind kicked up quite fiercely, and by nighttime it was howling. When we went to bed last night, we could feel the house vibrating as the occasional huge gust of wind hit. It took a while to get to sleep with that noise.

This morning, I looked out of the bedroom window and saw another example of nature's geometry.

I think that branch may have been blown off one of the trees behind our house, and fell with enough force to get stuck in the deep, crusty snow in the backyard… and then got pushed around in last night's fierce wind, carving that perfect arc into yesterday's layer of snow. -- PL

The geometry of nature

Jeannine and I went out on cross-country skis yesterday, taking advantage of some sunny conditions and the recent snowfall. The snow wasn't that great for skiing, as there were only a few inches and in places the snow had barely covered the grass, but we had fun sliding and tromping around.

While out in a field by our house, I noticed something curious, something I don't recall having seen before. There were perfect arcs drawn in the snow, with no human footprints anywhere nearby.

It only took a moment to realize what had happened -- the snowstorm of several days previous had been accompanied by brisk and blustery winds. The winds had pressed some of the taller weeds down and then pushed them back and forth, pivoting them on their stems, allowing the tops of the plants to scrape away snow.

Not much of a mystery, really, but it was interesting to look at... one more example of geometry seen in nature. -- PL