Thorns Of Frost

Day 78: When I got up this morning, it was to a cold house. I'd neglected to call the oil company before Christmas as planned, and the tank had run dry. Fortunately, I live in a small service area, so when I called the office and spoke to the driver, he said he'd be out as soon as the roads were safe to drive. After he'd filled the tank, he advised me to wait a few hours before firing it up in order to let the ancient muck settle back to the bottom, so I went out for a walk. What the heck, if I'm going to be cold anyway, I'd rather be cold outside.

I hadn't gone far down the road when I noticed frost-covered teasel heads, so I waded through the snow in the ditch and started taking pictures. As I panned the landscape on zoom while peering at the flip-screen, this iced-up Canada thistle jumped into view. Y'know, it's not often you can say that thistles have any redeeming merit other than as part of an extremely complex ecologic chain. One certainly does not associate this common, invasive and problematic weed with beauty, yet here it springs forth with elegant and delicate grace. That said, I will be content to photograph thistles on their own side of the fence, thank you, and will keep an alternate food source in good supply for the Goldfinches who visit my yard.