Interaction between the camera lens and the sun’s rays has sent rainbows tumbling from the top right. I’m not sure if that’s a feature or a flaw… perhaps a bit of both.
Pockets of snowdrops are barely distinguishable from the snow at first glance but, once your eye tunes in, they seem illuminated like tiny, ankle-high lamps. Long, narrow tree shadows accentuate the ray effect while the shade and golden rays together capture that feeling of warmth and exposure we Northerners associate with winter… the lucky ones, that is, who have the means of keeping warm.
I have seen quite a few snowdrops already in 2020 but not anywhere near as magnificent as these, taken during a previous year’s visit to Dunham Massey’s splendid winter garden.
I’m not sure whether twilight or spotlight is most appropriate as I share this for Becky’s JanuarySquares. As part of the challenge, I’ve learned a new hyphenated word, ‘owl-light’, a poetic way of saying ‘dusk’. I’d guess that this is an hour or so too early for that, but if you have an appropriate picture, I’d love to see it!
Susan Rushton 
Great pIcture
Thank you!
What an uplifting sight. Beautiful photo!
I’m glad you liked it.
Owl-light! It is so perfectly matched to this image, which seems as though it belongs in “Midsummer Night’s Dream,” never mind the season. It’s the original magic carpet — no wonder something silver grows there.
Or Midwinter’s Night Dream…
You’re on to something with the magic carpet idea.
Gorgeous light!! Love snowdrops… I’m looking forward to seeing them in Switzerland!
That will be wonderful.
Owl-light is a fab word. And so is this photo. Love the long shadows, the low winter sunlight on the snow and those pretty clumps of snowdrops.
Everything Jude says!
One of many that needed a challenge to coax me to share it 🙂
This is stunningly beautiful Susan, and like Jude I love the new word
It’s a good one, isn’t it? I hope we all get plenty of chances to carry on using it!
Beautiful!!
Thank you!
Love the tern Owl-light, being an amateur photographer, ‘dusk’ is becoming over-used for me. I think I’ll slip in a few Owl-lights here and there.
Lovely photo and superb capture of the light and shadows 🙂
I’m never sure how dark it has to be to count as dusk. When is it twighlight and when dusk? I suppose it’s a moot point in most contexts.
I call Dusk that time when the light is poor (for hand-held shots) and looking towards the sun creates more of a silhouette than clear details of the landscape on the horizon.
Beautiful photo–perfection. I have been meaning to see whether snowdrops are in my favorite garden, but haven’t gotten there yet. Today, leaving work, I was surprised by a line of quince in full, magical bloom. It’s a time of surprises if we but look!
I love quince blossom. I’d have been so excited. Did you take any pictures?
I’ve got some on the phone right now. Not sure how they’ll translate.
Well done, a fabulous, atmospheric shot.
Thank you.
Look at that. So cool. These ones were planted, but do they grow naturally in forests there?
They naturalise when they are happy, but I have a feeling they do need to be planted to start them off where I live. I could be wrong. Bluebells spring up naturally, but they’re a few months later.
The first snowdrops are up in my garden this week, but they are few in number, since I just planted them this fall. I hope they like their location and spread! What a beautiful photo, Susan!
Thank you. I hope so too!