Winter does not want to let go. It has been a quiet winter, not super cold and very little frozen precipitation, until this past week.

I enjoy various forms of weather, fog, rain and snow. They help me see the area around in a different way, the world seems different when it is foggy, it is cleaned and refreshed when it rains, and snow changes the land scape. I always love to go out and explore to see the familiar changed to some thing new.

Today we have a blanket of sleet on the ground and wind chills in the teens. But spring is coming! The picture above was taken at Devil’s Den State Park last year. We had a some rain during the week and the red bud were blooming.

I like cooler weather, but this year it has been so cloudy that I am counting down the days until Spring.

The themes of life seem to repeat in subtle ways. The pattern on the fungi reminds me of the growth rings on a tree. Some rings are thick and dark others are thin and light with a variety between the two extremes.

This picture was taking at Devil’s Den a few weeks ago. It is the end of an old log by the river bed on one of the bike trails.

If you ever find yourself in Old Main on the University of Arkansas campus,and you have a few minutes to spare, go see the Clock room.  The mechanism that runs the clock in the tower is housed in a small room on the fourth floor. It is nicely painted and you can see all the cogs working.

The mechanism is in a glass case and there are windows along one side of the room so it is difficult to get a picture without glare.